I want to learn more about light and I think finally getting a light meter will help do the trick. I'd like to see the amount of light coming from different light bulbs and the differences in the sun as it sets/rises. I don't feel like my camera's light meter is that helpful with this, I can figure a different in stops but I don't have a clear amount of actual light and how it falls off a subject. I'm using a panasonic Gh1 and a canon 600d as my cameras, and I'd like to use the meter for stills and video. A few years ago when I first looked into light meters it seemed like for all the features (such as 1 degree spot) you needed a $600 + meter, but I recently read [this](https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/6854/why-use-a-dedicated-light-meter-instead-of-the-one-built-into-the-camera) thread where a much cheaper [$230 Sekonic version](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/B000BTCJNG) was mentioned and the person who answered the question actually used the cheap meter. 

So I'm wondering what you guys think, and would if a $600+ meter would be future proof? Because that could possibly effect my decision if I'm going be looking to upgrade in a year. Thanks guys!