Good, cheap lightmeter?

[milkyspit]

At this point I am clearly hooked as a flashaholic /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif and would like the ability to evaluate some of my lights, including my own (admittedly very simple) mods. I'd really like to get my hands on a decent light meter, preferably digital, without getting into crazy amounts of money that I'd have to justify to my wife. Does such an animal exist?

 

[e=mc²]

Hey Milkyspit, I don't know your price range, but this link I found from another thread: Lux Meter
I don't own this one (or any lightmeter for that matter), but I am contemplating getting it. I see that you are also from NJ. I am in the Northeastern quadrant of the state, in Bergen Co. Whereabouts are you located?


Ed.

 

[flashlightlens]

This one is also pretty popular for the price.

 

[milkyspit]

[ QUOTE ]
e=mc² said:
Hey Milkyspit, I don't know your price range, but this link I found from another thread: Lux Meter
I don't own this one (or any lightmeter for that matter), but I am contemplating getting it. I see that you are also from NJ. I am in the Northeastern quadrant of the state, in Bergen Co. Whereabouts are you located?


Ed.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Ed, I'm in the northwestern portion of NJ, in Hunterdon County. I'm a computer consultant and trying to keep enough business going to work from home. Also father to two little boys, also a confessed gadgeteer and flashaholic. Quite a challenging combination! Feel free to fire a private message my way if you'd like to chat off-topic; I'd love to hear from you.

And thank you for the familydefense.com link to the "Digital Light Meter." It seems cheap enough; anyone have experience with that unit, and know if it gives reasonable readings? Or perhaps there are different models that might be better picks? I did see that someone (Mr. Bulk?) was using a Meterman LM631. What's the right choice for me? I'm totally clueless on this subject.

 

[brightnorm]

[ QUOTE ]
e=mc² said:
Hey Milkyspit, I don't know your price range, but this link I found from another thread: Lux Meter
...Ed.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had that one but gave it to a friend because I seemed to be getting inconsistant readings with it. Of course that may have reflected more on my elementary technique than upon the meter.

I bought a MeterMan and am very happy with it. I figure that if it's good enough for Mr. Bulk and other modders, it's good enough for me.

Brightnorm

 

[FalconFX]

The usual suspect here is the LM631... Meterman...

 

[jdriller]

Get the Meterman

 

[GeorgeB]

milkyspit,

I have seen this meter recommend on the board, but I don't have one and can't vouch for it personally.
http://www.web-tronics.com/new5in1dmmin.html

George

 

[e=mc²]

By my previous post, I am in no way knocking the Meterman, in fact, that's the one I'd prefer also, but can it be had at a decent price. To me, price IS an obstacle that I cannot hurdle at this time. (New home, remodeling, etc. all within the past 6 months. Wallet is still reeling...). So my funds are limited. If you have the resources, then by all means, the Meterman gets a thumbs up from this mad scientist as well.


Ed.

 

[Sigman]

I've got the Meterman also...I believe that price that Circuit Spec is offering is below MSP/retail and they give you a free DMM also (read the banner at the top of that previously posted link, you have to enter a code at checkout or something...). So their lower price coupled with the free DMM really offsets the price...not an ad for them, just trying to be a "thrifty consumer"...

 

[milkyspit]

I went ahead and ordered the Meterman from Circuit Specialists (a.k.a. Web-tronics), where they also threw in a free DMM per Sigman's post. Seems like it's sort of the standard among many folks around here, and if I only need to buy one digital light meter over the course of my life, I guess in the end the cost won't really matter much. Thanks for all the help! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif Just wanted to followup on what I did.

 

[PaulW]

Congratulations on your purchase. I did the same thing a month or two ago. And the free meter is nice. It gave me a second one so that I can measure both voltage and current simultaneously. I can now do run-time tests, easily recording volts, amps, and lux.

Have fun with it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[FalconFX]

I think you'll be quite glad of the ease and usefulness of the Meterman... It hasn't disappointed me yet...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

 

[LightChucker]

[ QUOTE ]
jdriller said:
Get the Meterman

[/ QUOTE ]

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/huh.gif OK, I did.

This should allow me to answer my own questions about the performance of my lights. (I hope!)

Chuck

 

[milkyspit]

[ QUOTE ]
PaulW said:
Congratulations on your purchase. I did the same thing a month or two ago. And the free meter is nice. It gave me a second one so that I can measure both voltage and current simultaneously. I can now do run-time tests, easily recording volts, amps, and lux.

Have fun with it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

PaulW, this is sort of off-topic, but how do you hook the DMM's into your lights for testing? I've had a heck of a time, since the roundness and diameter of some parts make them hard to clip onto, and often the wiring is inaccessible within the barrel. I've gotta be missing something here...

 

[paulr]

Type "incident light meter" into the ebay search form and you should find a lot of cheap analog ones intended for photography. Converting the EV readings into lux, footcandles, or whatever is left as an exercise. In any case it's a simple way of getting relative readings if not absolute ones.

 

[PaulW]

Milkyspit,

I found that trying to measure a battery-bulb circuit in the flashlight was very difficult and often unproductive. I kept getting readings that jumped around, giving me worthless measurements.

So I invested some considerable time and effort and have made a breadboard (a scrap piece of 1 by 12) for testing with the goal of reducing inadvertant resistance at the high currents I use (up to 2.5 amps). It has soldered terminals with wires and bannana plugs to go directly into the meters -- with wires and clip leads to go to lamp assemblies -- with a line of 123 battery holders in series so that I can select applied voltage. The connections are either soldered or use heavy-duty connectors. I place the voltmeter, ammeter, and light meter on the board.

I have no alkaline cell holders, so for them I just temporarily solder a wire from the batteries to the solder terminals.

For some lamp assemblies the alligator clips work fine. For more difficult bulbs (like a PR base) at high current levels, I solder wires to the bulb.

Paul

 

[Spectre]

I am interested in buying a Meterman LM631. Does anyone know a webshop that sends them to europe?