Keks have recently released a new light meter, the Keks KM02. This new meter has whole load of new features compared to the previous Keks EM01 (reviewed here). It’s also smaller and lighter than the previous model, has a fractionally longer battery life and is supposedly more accurate than the EM01 (which seemed pretty spot on to me). All in all, on paper it sounds like it could be a winner. I was certainly very interested in reviewing it!
Shoe mounted light meters are slowly evolving, with different brands bringing new smaller and progressively more digital meters to the market. But the “analog” kind, with the satisfyingly clicky dials, stays highly popular among the analog photography crowd. The Voigtlander VCii still sits at the top, as the premium priced benchmark of reliable performance. Doomo Meter D came out as the more affordable, yet maybe not as accurate alternative. And recently TTArtisan decided to join this corner of the market with their own offering – the TTArtisan Light Meter – pushing the price even lower. This new model is priced around 65 USD at international sellers, half the price of Doomo and almost a quarter of the cost of the Voigtlander, making it the obvious low-budget choice. I purchased mine in China at even lower price, just 43 USD.
The Doomo Meter S is a OLED screen readout counterpart to the Doomo Meter D. It’s smaller, USB chargeable, and only has one button and one dial. On paper it looks quite interesting, but in the sea of other options for shoe mount meters now out there, does it amount to anything that separates it from its competitors? The answer, I think, is yes – though what separates it from the competition might not be ideal for everyone.
I’ve reviewed a whole load of the new crop of shoe mount light meters recently. I’ve liked something about all (most) of the meters I’ve tried, but trying them in quick succession has also revealed the shortcomings of each of them to me too. As such, I thought it might be useful to make a bit of a comparison article looking at their various pros & cons and who I think each meter is designed for.
Of course, all of this is still opinion, but hopefully it should still provide useful reading for anyone who’s got themselves into a bit of choice paralysis. I know I’d probably be a little confused we’re I trying to pick one and hadn’t had the opportunity I’ve had to play with all of them.
The Keks EM-01 is the last shoe mount light meter I will be reviewing for this little series of reviews – for the time being at least. I have so far looked at the Voigtlander VCii, Reveni, Hedeco Lime One, Doomo Meter D, V-201X and now the Keks. So far, they have all had their pros and cons, so I was intrigued to see what the Keks could do for me.
