which light meter at dx?

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers
1

As the title states, I want to buy a light meter from dx. I would go elsewhere, but I got a $50 gift card there, and want to spend it.
http://dx.com/p/lodestar-premium-digital-light-meter-20000-lux-7954
That’s the one I’m thinking about getting, but I would also prefer one with a case.
Any one got a light meter from dx that’s good? I don’t need super accurate readings, I’d be happy with consistency in readings.

Thanks guys.
Oh and I’d prefer not to spend all of the gift card on it, I’d like to have some left for other odds and ends. $30 or less would be great

2

I have the SKU5100, which allows measurements up to 200klux.

It's fairly good & consistent, as long as you make sure that you are using fresh battery. (There's no battery indicator - and you'll get weird results with depleted battery!)

3

Thanks. I was also looking at that one too. The one I linked had a review from Dr Jones, I’m assuming our Dr Jones…
I like the fact it has a case with it. Keep it protected and dust free in storage

4

any other suggestions or comments on any of them? im going to be ordering in a little bit.

5

I wish mine had a peak hold option. Get one that has that for no regrets.

6

i think im going to get the one that the linked… looks like it will be fine for me. it has a hold, not sure if that would be peak hold?

7

I have this one, I can not calibrate it, but the readings look about right. Most important is that the readings have been very consistent thusfar. Oh, and it does not say on the housing, but it reads up to 100000 lux, not 50000

8

It doesn’t have peak hold, just current data hold.
It is a good light meter, though.

In the end it comes to your choice - do you need the lower range (0.01-1 lux) more or do you need the upper range (20k-200k lux) more?
My guess is the latter, so - the-’s luxmeter will fit your needs better than the one you linked to in the opening post. But both should be good.

(if I may, maybe you could spend you money better if you buy another luxmeter from GameSalor - it’s only about 12$ and has peak hold according to the specs. I still haven’t received mine, probably will take a few more weeks, then I could compare it to my current luxmeter which is the one from - the-’s link)

9

for $12, if you like it let me know and i can splurge lol

only reason i am looking at DX for it is i have a $50 gift card im itching to spend. i was originally thinking of splurging on a flashy host… but figured i want a light meter so i can get an idea of how much of a difference the mods i do/have done were

10

Guys,
take a look at this:
CLICK
It’s a comparison between cheap meter from China and professional meter with homologation, worth above $500 (white one). Huge differences… However it’s possible to calibrate chinese stuff (last pictures).

11

I have the same one and it works well. Lux meter - $7 shipped

12

That’s not really surprising.
I bought a C1330B for my girlfriend’s brother (from the same source as mine, Manafont), and our luxmeters give different readings, about 10% difference (I think mine give lower readings than his, not sure).

What’s important with these cheap luxmeters is that they are consistent, especially in a few weeks period. Not sure how consistent they are in longer periods, i.e. how often do they need to be calibrated, but for comparative readings they should be just as fine as the professional luxmeters. (btw, the same goes for cheap multimeters)

As for the experiment from the Polish forum - I (M$ Excel) calculated a linear regression of the luxmeters data - it’s y = 1.1684x + 48.858 with R² = 0.9994, so the difference is quite consistent and linear. (obviously not enough data to make this result statistically valid, but still, probably good enough for our needs)

13

i ordered the one - the - recommended. i had to order from DX because i had the gift card to spend

BTW - the - , its a PITA to type your name with the formatting of the text on this forum lol

14

You’re right Haggai, difference is quite consistent and linear but still is huge and not acceptable for me: in this example from 17% to 43%

15

I have this same model from DX. You’ll need a screwdriver to open up the battery cover and put in the 9V battery at first. (So have your screwdriver ready; I didn’t so could not play with the meter till I found a screwdriver :bigsmile: )

It’s rather okay to use, though the connection out of the displaying case is a little flimsy, loose and not sturdy. But yeah good enough for me (since I always keep it in the case it comes with).

Can see the lux drop slowly by 0.1 at a time when I leave my light on ceiling bounce.

16

well, the one i decided on was not in stock… so i chose to order this one http://dx.com/p/sst-50-smooth-aluminum-reflector-5-1cm-diameter-47997
i had to pay the difference and there are no reviews or comments on it, so i hope it is good enough for what i will use it for

17

Pulsar, that’s a SST-50 smooth reflector, not a light meter?

18

Haha oops… Just seeing if you guys are paying attention :bigsmile:
http://dx.com/p/2-3-lcd-digital-light-meter-red-black-10-99999-rpm-4-x-aa-143582

19

Just got it tonight. Got 112k@1m with my t13 mod… might have done something wrong, but sounds about what I was expecting.
Got 10k@1m with my 7g2cs. A little high, but I had it on x100 so it wasn’t so accurate.
Measuring at 2m I got about 50k@1m, and at 3m I got 32k@1m with my stock 2d mag led.
Tail standing my ea4 right beside my meter I was getting consistent readings…

So far I’m happy. It is able to be user calibrated also.

20

Right on! I have the same one on the way in the mail, so I am glad you are happy so far. I will need lessons on how to use it and how to get proper measurements. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to do some reviews and do some contributing to this forum.