Sekonic Launches World's First Color Touchscreen Light Meters

No portrait or product photographer should ever be without a handheld light meter. The advantages over a camera's internal meter can - and does - fill volumes. Sekonic has taken the handheld meter to a new level with the introduction of the L-478 series, the world?s first meters for photographers and filmmakers featuring a color touchscreen control panel.

With exposure information displayed in large, easy-to-read numbers, changing settings is as simple as a finger tap or swipe. The large 2.7-inch color LCD shows ambient, flash, cine, and other information. Settings are dialed in by simply touching or sliding a finger over the screen. It supports an ISO range of 3 to 409,600 in 1/3-stop increments and apertures from f/0.5 to f/162.2.

The meter lets you exposure profile your camera to ensure the two devices are accurately calibrated to each other. Simply photograph a target, load it into the Sekonic software, and then upload it to the meter via USB. Doing so assures that you have all the detail desired before pressing the shutter. Exposure profiling spans a +/- 10-stop range, assuring it will work with future cameras as dynamic ranges expand. The meter can create and store up to ten profiles made with Sekonic or X-Rite exposure targets.

Comparing ratios of multiple lights is pushbutton simple, a boon for studio photographers. For users of PocketWizard wireless flash triggers, the L-478DR model is compatible with the entire family of PocketWizard radio transceivers and receivers. Dynalite, Lumedyne, Photogenic and Profoto flashes that incorporate PocketWizard's technology are automatically supported. AlienBees, Einstein, Elinchrom, Canon, Nikon, and White Lightning flashes connected to PocketWizard ControlTL products are also compatible with the L-478DR for power control.

Street prices range from $389 for the L-478D base model to $469 for the L-478DR with PocketWizard support. An add-on 5-degree spot-meter attachment is $109.