John,
I have a pinless (Ligno-Scanner), but for the price you want, I would go with the pin type. I have heard good things about the Mini-Ligno. Important question is what moisture range are you looking for? The Mini-Ligno covers 6 - 20 while the Min-Ligno E/D covers 6 - 45.
These meters lump wood species into two groups and you can switch between them. I would think there would be some error there, but it probably does not matter for your purpose. More expensive meters have more detailed species corrections. Mine allows for any specific gravity. That is just part of the trade off for less expensive.
You also need to factor the temperature of the wood. A chart comes with these meters to adjust your values. More expensive meters take care of this for you.
The Mini-Ligno's run from $100 to $130 on the internet. I believe both Rockler and Woodcraft have the E/D for about $119.
I guess that the point you should take away from my post is that you need to find out what exactly you are getting for your price and be sure you are comfortable with the trade-offs. There are reasons why some are cheaper than others, it is the features. You need to compare the specs because price alone will not be enough.