Product Description

Gossen GO 4045 Starlite is a all-In-one multifunctional lightmeter. Exposure meter for ambient and flash, cine filming and photometry metering. 1° and 5° spot built into the swivel head. Supplied with case, Strap and Battery.

Product Details

• Brand: Gossen
• Model: GO 4045
• Dimensions: .85 pounds

Features

• Multiple Metering Functions - Measures ambient & flash, both incident and reflected light
• Dual ISO settings - allow the programming of a second film speed; work with two different film speeds simultaneously
• Rugged Construction - Resistant to dirt, dust, and water.
• Exposure correction - Preprogramming of exposure correction values in 1/10 stop increments (EV -7.9 to +7.9)

Customer Reviews

Gossen Starlite contra Sekonic L-7458DR
I own both the Gossen and the somewhat equivalent Sekonic light meters.

Gossen StarLite ~$670
Sekonic L-758DR ~$499


Comparison:
1) The Sekonic is much less expensive with many more features for the money
2) The Gossen just seems "cheap'. The battery cover is a pain to remove. You need a coin and even then you have to shake it or pry it off. There is no real sealing. The Sekonic, on the other hand, has a very positive latch and the cover has a rubber gasket. I can open and close the Sekonic ten times in the time it takes to remove the Gossen's cover once.
3) The Sekonic has an adjustable eyepiece ( correction ) for the spot meter while the Gossen does not.
4) The Gossen's case is a very tight fit and you have to work to put it in the case and to remove it. The Sekonic's case is somewhat better.
5) The Sekonic is relatively easy to configure. The Gossen has DIP switches inside the ( inacessible ) battery compartment. The manual for the Gossen is confusing as the DIP switch's numbering is INTERNALLY is 4..1 from the top DOWN and the manual numbers the opposite. ( You have to figure this out. The illustration showing the actual settings for the DIP switch is correct ) Unless you are playing around, you probably only have to set the Gossen's DIP switch a few times.
6) It takes a LOT of torque to raise or lower the Gossen's lumisphere; the Sekonic's is much easier to raise or lower.

Accessibility:
7) For people with photosensitive / pattern sensitive epilepsy, the Sekonic is probably the worst piece of equipment I own or have ever used. It is just blink, blink, blink. You turn it on, it blinks for ten seconds. You change the mode, it blinks for ten seconds. When you attempt to make a measurement outside of it's measuring range, it blinks. The analog display at the bottom has blinking elements ( I just had a moderate complex partial seizure a couple of minutes ago when I turned it on to check it out for this review ) With the Gossen, when it encounters an out-of-measuring range error, it just indicates "Err" with no blinking. Nevertheless, only about 10% or so of the Gossen's functionality is accessible - you cannot use anything except the basic lightmeter functions if you want to avoid blinking elements on the display.

Anyways, if you love blinking displays and don't care about accessibility, the Sekonic is the clear choice. Otherwise, go far the Gossen as it is at least somewhat usable compared to the Sekonic's extreme unusability for epileptics.

Comment: the Sekonic is so hopeless I probably will never even turn it on again except for a more extensive review and I am going to suffer when I do that.