I have recently got myself Adams' "Negative" book, and there he goes in depth on this subject. I don't know how lattitude of classic BW films compares to C41, but I doubt that for "color print" film spot metering is an overkill. Especially if you scanning -- one can get a lot out of film by doing multiple scans with scanner set to different exposures. I have to admit, I haven't got a spotmeter myself (looking for one now), but the examples shown in the book look mighty impressive.
Best, Mishka
