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Product Description
From the Manufacturer
L-358 FlashMaster
The Sekonic L-358 displays an f-stop range of f/1.0 to f/90.9, and a shutter speed range of 30-minutes to 1/8000th-of-a-second (1/1000th in Flash mode), both of which can be displayed in full-, half-, and third-stop intervals to mirror your camera's exposure display. When set to "full," the exposure is displayed in tenth-of-a-stop increments with repeat accuracy of +/- 0.1 EV.
For motion picture applications, the L-358 calculates cine readings from 2 to 360 frames-per-second. As with all Sekonic meters, the Sekonic L-358 Flash Master includes a 3-year warranty and the best customer support you're ever likely to find.The simple solution to creative light control with optional wireless triggering
| Directional light is powerful. It guides the viewer, creates mood, and adds dimension, depth, and texture. If you want to create a signature style that elevates your photography to the next level, the mastery of off-camera lighting should be your next goal. Subjects – clients – are not impressed with a shoot, view, and adjust photo style. Lighting ratios, ambient balance, and final exposure must be set confidently. Knowledge and use of the tools of photography assure that the outcome is the intended one. And for images like this one, the Sekonic L-358is the professional photographer’s meter of choice. |
Incident Li
ght Metering
| Unlike in-camera metering, handheld, incident light meters don’t require multi-patterned readings, complex exposure control systems, or +/- exposure correction when they fail. They are, in fact, the simplest and most direct way to determine exposure. And because incident meters measure the light that falls on your subject, they provide camera settings that render the image exactly the way it appears. Blacks are black. Grays are gray. Whites are white. Retracting the Sekonic L-358’s Lumisphere enables you to quickly judge the brightness of multiple light sources for fast, accurate adjustment of lighting ratios. |
Ambient Light Metering
| Take shutter-priority or aperture-priority readings from 30 minutes up to1/8000 second and f/1 to f/90.9 with ¹/10-stop accuracy. The L-358 displays exposure both digitally and on an analog scale for easy readout. Custom functions enable adjusting the shutter speed and aperture readout for full-, half-, and third-stop increments to mirror the setting of your camera. You can change exposure settings after reading and the meter will automatically compensate to maintain the proper exposure. And the extended sensitivity range, EV -2 to 22.9 for ISO 100, allows taking exposure measurements in virtually any kind of light. |
Flash Light Metering
| Shutter-priority readings of flash light can be made with a synch cord or cordlessly at shutter speeds from 30 minutes to 1/1000 second.The L-358 automatically resets after each reading in cordless mode to enable fast adjustment of flash brightness. The multi-flash function enables accumulating an unlimited amount of flash pops for times when a single flash pop cannot achieve the proper exposure or the amount of depth of field needed for the subject. |
Optional Radio Flash Triggering
Simply plug the optional Sekonic RT-32 Transmitter Module into the battery compartment and wirelessly trigger flash units up to 100 feet away. The transmitter offers 32 digital coded channels and Quad-Triggering Zones and is compatible with PocketWizard® radio triggering systems, as well as the PocketWizard Wireless Freedom partners.
Analyzing Function
The L-358 is especially useful for on-location shooting to lighten shadows or reduce background detail. That’s because it measures ambient and flash simultaneously and automatically indicates the percentage of flash in the total exposure. You can easily adjust the ambient flash mix by turning the Jog Wheel. The digital display indicates the camera settings and an analog display shows the relationship between ambient and flash and the total exposure.
Sekonic L-358 Functions
| All controls are at your finger tips. Familiar Jog Wheel operation and large LCD readout make settings fast and easy. |
Contrast Function
Setting up lighting ratios or checking the evenness of a background or scene is push-button simple. Take a reading of the key or reference light and press the AVE/?EV button to create a standard. Then press the measuring button to display the brightness difference between the standard and new reading.
Additional Features:
| Reflected light metering: Included Lumigrid or optional 1, 5, and 10-degree viewfinder spot attachments Swivel head 9-reading memory plus averaging Illuminated Data panel Dust-proof and splash-proof (JIS Standard Water Resistance Class 4) Cine frame rates from from 2 to 360 fps |
Technical Specifications:
| Type: | Digital exposure meter for ambient and flash light |
| Receptor Head: | Rotating Domed Head 90° to the right, 180° to the left, Retractable for Contrast Reading |
| Light Receiving Method: | Incident light and reflected light |
| Receptor Incident Light: | Convertible to flat diffuser (Lumisphere in down position) |
| Receptor Reflected Light: | Light receiving angle 54° (Lumigrid) |
| Light Receptor Element: | 2-Silicon photo diodes (incident and reflected) |
Measuring Range and Modes
| Measuring Modes Ambient Light: | - Aperture priority metering - EV metering - Shutter priority metering |
| Measuring Modes Flash: | - Measurement using the optional wireless flash radio triggering system (cumulative and non-cumulative) - Without synchro cord (cumulative and non-cumulative) - With synchro cord (cumulative and non-cumulative) |
| Measuring Range (ISO 100) Ambient Light: | - Incident light EV-2 to EV 22.9 - Reflected light EV-2 to EV 22.9 with 54° Lumigrid |
| Measuring Range (ISO 100) Flash: | - Incident Light f/1.0 to f/90.9 (approx. f/124) - Reflected Light f/1.0 to 90.9 (approx. f/124) with 54° Lumigrid |
| Repeatability Repeat Accuracy: | (+/-) 0.1 EV or less |
| Calibration Constant Incident: | Lumisphere C = 340, Flat Diffuser C = 250 |
| Calibration Constant Reflected: | K = 12.5 |
Display Range and Modes
| Display Range Film Speed: | ISO 3 to 8000 (in 1/3 steps) |
| Display Range Shutter Speeds Ambient: | 30 min to 1/8000 sec. (in 1, 1/2, 1/3 steps) plus 1/200, 1895/400 |
| Display Range Shutter Speeds Flash: | 30 min to 1/1000 sec. (in 1, 1/2, 1/3 steps) plus 1/75, 1/80, 1/90, 1/100, 1/200, 1/400 |
| Display Range Aperture: | f/1.0 to f/90.9 (in 1, 1/2, 1/3 steps) |
| Display Range EV: | EV -10.0 to EV 40.0 (in 1/10 steps) |
| Display Cine Speeds fps: | 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 18, 24, 25, 30, 32, 36, 40, 48, 50, 60, 64, 72, 96, 120, 128, 150, 200, 240, 256, 300, 360 (shutter angle: 180°) |
| Display Range Analog Scale Aperture: | f/1 to f/90 (in 1/2 steps) |
| Display Range Analog Scale Shutter Speed: | 2 sec. to 1/4000 sec. (in 1/2 steps) |
Other
| Exposure Out Of Range: | Eu (underexposure) or Eo (overexposure) |
| Memory Function: | 9 readings |
| Average Function: | Up to 9 readings can be averaged |
| Brightness Difference Function: | (+/-) EV (1/10 stop) |
| Flash Analyzing Function: | 0 to 100% in 10% increments |
| Multiple Flash Function: | Infinite number of flash readings (Only one digit is displayed when the cumulated number is ten or more) |
| Calibration Compensation: | (+/-) 1.0 EV (in 1/10th steps) |
| Exposure Compensation: | (+/-) 9.9 EV in 1/10 steps) |
| Custom Functions: | DIP Switch Mode Selection |
| All Weather Feature: | JIS Standard Water Resistance Class 4, Splash Proof Type |
| Auto Power Off: | Yes, 20 minutes after last use |
| Battery Power Indicator Display: | Icon with 3 status |
| Second ISO Film Speed Setting: | ISO 3 to 8000 |
| Battery(Power): | (1) 3V Battery, Model CR123A Lithium |
| Operating Temperature Range: | 14? to 122? F / -10? to 50? C |
| Storage Temperature Range: | -4? to 140? F / -20? to 60? C |
Radio Triggering
| Radio Triggering Radio: | Complex 16/24 bit digitally coded w/ optional RT-32N Module |
| Radio Triggering Channels: | 1 to 16 channels standard, 17 to 32 "Quad Triggering" |
| Radio Triggering Range: | Up to 100 feet from transmitter to receiver |
| Radio Wave Frequency Europe: | - CH1-CH16 433.62MHz - CH17-CH32 434.22MHz |
| Radio Wave Frequency USA Canada: | - CH1-CH16 344.00MHz - CH17-CH32 346.50MHz |
Dimension and Weight
| Product Dimensions: | 6.10x2.30x1.50 in./6.00x15.00x4.00 cm |
| Product Weight: | 0.40lbs./0.20kg. |
Item Includes:
L-358 Case, CR123A Battery, Strap, Synchro Terminal Cap and Lumigrid
Product Description
Since its introduction, Sekonic's L-358 Flash Master has become the best-selling digital flash meter in its class. Weather-sealed against the nastiest of working conditions, the L-358 delivers dead-nuts accurate flash and ambient light reading in both incident and reflected modes.For mixed lighting scenarios, the L-358 displays the combined exposure values of both flash and ambient light sources, including the percentage of flash in total exposure in 10-percent increments. Dual ISO buttons allow for quick exposure factoring when working with two differing film speeds, film and Polaroids, or other situations where comparison readings are desired.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
132 of 133 people found the following review helpful
By iPP
This Sekonic L-358 light meter is an excellent meter. I have fallen in love with it. Lots of Today's 35mm SLR camera meters are TTL Meters (reflected light measurement meters). Sekonic L-358 is such a high precision instrument which measures incident, reflected, flash (cord & cordless). I got great digital photos after I have used the reading on 2 different cameras under normal & Flash lights.
The pictures are great out of your camera and do not require any editing if used properly according to the instructions. I like the built in Memory function to store readings, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, 2 ISO functions, Weather proof Seal, Can include optional radio transmitter + receiver modules to wirelessly trigger flash units, So far Battery Life has been Good. This meter does not use "AA" it uses CR-123A so you will have to always carry one spare with you.
The pictures are great out of your camera and do not require any editing if used properly according to the instructions. I like the built in Memory function to store readings, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, 2 ISO functions, Weather proof Seal, Can include optional radio transmitter + receiver modules to wirelessly trigger flash units, So far Battery Life has been Good. This meter does not use "AA" it uses CR-123A so you will have to always carry one spare with you.
50 of 54 people found the following review helpful
By Bill
I bought this meter because I bought a manual focus lens for my Nikon D50. This camera body does not meter with the old manual lenses. After a week of using it, I can say it performs well. It offers incident and reflected measurements. However, to switch from incident to reflected, you have to take off the lumisphere and mount the lumigrid. It offers shutter and aperture priority modes. I prefer aperture priority-choose an aperture, and the meter selects a shutter speed. You can choose 2 ISO settings. The meter will stay on ISO 1 until you push ISO 2 for a brief reading. When you let go of the ISO 2 button, it goes back to ISO 1.
The Sekonic L-358 also does flash metering(reflected and incident). This is helpful to me because my D50 will not do TTL flash with my older flash units-Nikon SB-80DX. It has flash corded mode-connect flash and meter with sync cord. It also has cordless flash mode. When you press the measurement button, you will have up to 90 seconds to fire the flash. It will even measure multiple flash bursts. However, it will not read them all if the bursts are too quick. I'd recommend leaving at least 1/2 second between bursts to take a reading. There's also flash to ambient light ratio readings.
Another reason I chose this model is you can buy optional spot meter attachments for it-1, 5, and 10 degree heads.
It also has many features I've never used and probably never will, so I can't comment on those. Such as wireless radio flash triggering(I think optional accessories are required), memories, averaging of multiple readings, and more.
Something that you should consider-not all lenses transmit the EXACT same amount of light. In theory they should, but that's not always the case.... Read more ›
The Sekonic L-358 also does flash metering(reflected and incident). This is helpful to me because my D50 will not do TTL flash with my older flash units-Nikon SB-80DX. It has flash corded mode-connect flash and meter with sync cord. It also has cordless flash mode. When you press the measurement button, you will have up to 90 seconds to fire the flash. It will even measure multiple flash bursts. However, it will not read them all if the bursts are too quick. I'd recommend leaving at least 1/2 second between bursts to take a reading. There's also flash to ambient light ratio readings.
Another reason I chose this model is you can buy optional spot meter attachments for it-1, 5, and 10 degree heads.
It also has many features I've never used and probably never will, so I can't comment on those. Such as wireless radio flash triggering(I think optional accessories are required), memories, averaging of multiple readings, and more.
Something that you should consider-not all lenses transmit the EXACT same amount of light. In theory they should, but that's not always the case.... Read more ›
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Does what it's supposed to do - a couple tweaks would've been nice
April 28, 2009
By Dave
Amazon Verified Purchase
Using primarily as a studio flash meter and for church formals.
Unit meters as expected for a $240 unit, so no applause for that.
I like:
- The retractable lumpishere (from dome, to flat). VERY useful.
- Ability to show ambient/flash as a percentage. Useful.
I HATE:
That the unit requires two hands to operate. For every operation, you
need to hold down one of the functions buttons then scroll the wheel
to change the value. This really stinks, since I'm usually holding
something else in my other hand. Another 'dip' switch, as Sekonic
calls them, should be added that allows the unit to be operated with
one-hand (ie., automatically 'holds' certain function button while you
toggle).
Unit meters as expected for a $240 unit, so no applause for that.
I like:
- The retractable lumpishere (from dome, to flat). VERY useful.
- Ability to show ambient/flash as a percentage. Useful.
I HATE:
That the unit requires two hands to operate. For every operation, you
need to hold down one of the functions buttons then scroll the wheel
to change the value. This really stinks, since I'm usually holding
something else in my other hand. Another 'dip' switch, as Sekonic
calls them, should be added that allows the unit to be operated with
one-hand (ie., automatically 'holds' certain function button while you
toggle).
41 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I purchased this light meter when I got a chance to use a film medium format camera for awhile. It has every feature that I could like and was so good at exposure measurements that I started using it on my Canon 30D digital when the time for the shot permitted.
At first when I purchased it I thought it was so 'old school' to have a lightmeter, but I knew I was going to have it to use the medium format film camera I had and I wanted to go with strobes eventually so I was going to need it as well for the best results. I was quite surprised to find out how much of a difference it makes on digital and it pointed out how even a good digital camera can only do so good of an exposure prediction because of color and reflection assumptions it has to make.
If you've got to get exposure right on, then get a good light meter. The L-358 is a great light meter for the money.
At first when I purchased it I thought it was so 'old school' to have a lightmeter, but I knew I was going to have it to use the medium format film camera I had and I wanted to go with strobes eventually so I was going to need it as well for the best results. I was quite surprised to find out how much of a difference it makes on digital and it pointed out how even a good digital camera can only do so good of an exposure prediction because of color and reflection assumptions it has to make.
If you've got to get exposure right on, then get a good light meter. The L-358 is a great light meter for the money.
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I read a light meter review recently where the reviewer said; "even if you don't think you need a light meter, you do." This is good advice.
Three huge advantages come to mind after using this meter once.
First, it is a tremendous time saver during the shoot and afterwards in post processing, take a light reading, set your camera to what the meter reads and shoot.
Second, repeatability - even if you are shooting low/high key or going for artistic effects; you can reproduce lighting ratios/scenarios you like easily in the future. When you don't have a light meter you can spend countless hours tweaking the power settings on your strobes or multiple shoe mount flash units to get a few shots right.......and when you're done and have packed it all up......the next day, week, month....you have no way to get back to those settings again.
Third, better pictures.
Having an LCD/preview and histograms are useful but DSLRs, even the most advanced cameras in the world, can not do what a light meter can. In camera metering has no way of measuring or calculating the light output from studio strobes. TTL, iTTL & all these intelligent flash systems (for shoe mount flash units) still have a place when you are shooting events and there is no time to take light readings. But after using this light meter I can honestly say that if there is time and the shots are important I will never rely on iTTL systems ever again. iTTL flash results are all over the place, when you meter the light and shoot in manual the results will be 100% predictable 100% of the time. My speedlights are going to live in manual mode when there is time to use a light meter from now on.
I doubt you can beat the Sekonic L-358 at this price point.... Read more ›
Three huge advantages come to mind after using this meter once.
First, it is a tremendous time saver during the shoot and afterwards in post processing, take a light reading, set your camera to what the meter reads and shoot.
Second, repeatability - even if you are shooting low/high key or going for artistic effects; you can reproduce lighting ratios/scenarios you like easily in the future. When you don't have a light meter you can spend countless hours tweaking the power settings on your strobes or multiple shoe mount flash units to get a few shots right.......and when you're done and have packed it all up......the next day, week, month....you have no way to get back to those settings again.
Third, better pictures.
Having an LCD/preview and histograms are useful but DSLRs, even the most advanced cameras in the world, can not do what a light meter can. In camera metering has no way of measuring or calculating the light output from studio strobes. TTL, iTTL & all these intelligent flash systems (for shoe mount flash units) still have a place when you are shooting events and there is no time to take light readings. But after using this light meter I can honestly say that if there is time and the shots are important I will never rely on iTTL systems ever again. iTTL flash results are all over the place, when you meter the light and shoot in manual the results will be 100% predictable 100% of the time. My speedlights are going to live in manual mode when there is time to use a light meter from now on.
I doubt you can beat the Sekonic L-358 at this price point.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sekonic L-358 Flash Master Light Meter
This meter has become my new best friend! I have no idea where I would be sometimes without it.
Kristie
Kristie
Published 1 month ago by Kristie
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed at this price level.
I thought it would provide 2 of the 3 settings, ie iso,ss, fstop, but it only provides either the ss or the fstop. Just 1 reading. Hey, $350.00. Read more
Published 1 month ago by mark kevin
5.0 out of 5 stars
what can i add
to already very well regarded light meter ,it is used by professionals and and amateurs photographers all over the world,i guess it could be cheaper.
Published 2 months ago by F. al-shirsawy
5.0 out of 5 stars
would not leave home without my light meter
if your not using a light meter you are wrong.
this meter makes work simple and fast, knowing
what your light is saves on all of those dreaded
sample pictures while... Read more
this meter makes work simple and fast, knowing
what your light is saves on all of those dreaded
sample pictures while... Read more
Published 2 months ago by TTALLY
5.0 out of 5 stars
what a deal on a light meter
Sekonic really went all out on this unit--i like using the various ways it can be utilized--shutter speed or aperature--various averaging techniques and easy to use--a quality soft... Read more
Published 3 months ago by bentspokes
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wowza!
This was recommended to me by a 20 year pro photog, and man was he right! I can use this for everything! Totally accurate! Taking my work to another level!
Published 3 months ago by Brady Cole
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you're a photographer, you should have one of these
I used to think that guessing at time/aperture was fine enough and I am pretty good at it. In the studio it would take me five or six shots and then I figured I could fix anything... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Rick Wallace
5.0 out of 5 stars
The correct exposure, first time, every time.
Great meter, beats 'chimping'. Easy to use. Only one negative, the manual was obviously written by a technician and is not that easy to follow.
Published 3 months ago by Mr. C. J. Upton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy to use
Very accurate and easy to use. Just select the light source type and press the button. Simple. It's especially useful for night photography besides the obvious flash... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Wes
5.0 out of 5 stars
Industry Standard Light Meter
What can I say that hasn't been said it's nice to have an incidental light meter. This is a full featured Light Meter and works wonderfully!
Published 3 months ago by Jeffrey Shapiro
