Play It Again Sam: The Sekonic L-208

Back in 2016, I wrote about a little light meter I bought to use with my Canon P rangefinder; the Sekonic L-208 Twin Mate. The Twin Mate looks 1950s or 1960s vintage, but it’s still being made today and retails for about $129. I’ve been using a meter-less Nikon F for the past few weeks and I’ve been taking the Twin Mate along with me to occasionally check my Sunny 16 skills. I had forgotten how useful this meter is and how it helps you really visualize f/stop and shutter speed combinations.

The L-208 is powered by a CR2032 3 volt battery, which has been in my meter for seven years and still going strong.

You can measure both reflective and incident light by sliding the little diffuser on the front of the meter. Set the ISO of your film on the face of the meter and press the little button. The red needle registers the amount of light. Turn the calculator dial until the green pointer and the red needle line up and read any number of aperture and shutter speed settings. Easy peasy. The numbers on the L-208 are clear and large enough for my old eyes. And every light meter reading is a little photography lesson.

The meter also comes with a hot shoe attachment, so you can mount it on your camera if you so desire. There’s also a lanyard so you can wear it around your neck. I just slip mine in my pocket.

The Sekonic L-208 Twin Mate is one of those products that just works and works well. And that’s why I’ve given it another shout out.