Which Meter?

[Vicente]

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Hello,

 

Im currently using an MR meter which is now giving of incorrect exposures... Should I send the meter for a fix to "Quality Light Metric" or should I abandon it and purchase a new VC meter.

 

Does anyone have any experience with the longevity and accuracy of a fixed meter through "QLM" as im hoping to save more with this option.

 

Thanks!

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[elgenper]

Well, if you can accept carrying one more thing, a separate handheld meter is far superior to clip-on units. One can meter before even taking the camera out, the readout and scales are far more comprehensive and informative, and they can handle incident light metering, which is often the best method of all, once one gets the knack of it.

 

Good, used meters like the Luna range can be had cheaply these days (beware of used selenium meters; they age and are seldom accurate by now).

[gyoung]

Well, if you can accept carrying one more thing, a separate handheld meter is far superior to clip-on units. One can meter before even taking the camera out, the readout and scales are far more comprehensive and informative, and they can handle incident light metering, which is often the best method of all, once one gets the knack of it.

 

Good, used meters like the Luna range can be had cheaply these days (beware of used selenium meters; they age and are seldom accurate by now).

 

I replaced my MR when it went 'beyond economic repair' with a VCII voigtlander, which will also go on the III, but it takes a while to remember to change the shutter speed as well as the aperture since its not linked like the leicameters.

 

And I have a Weston Master IV for 'serious' stuff, selenium but still good about 20 years after its last new cell.

 

Gerry

[pico]

[...]And I have a Weston Master IV for 'serious' stuff, selenium but still good about 20 years after its last new cell.

 

Gerry

 

Gerry, who repairs old Westons, which models and how much was it? I have many of them, and only four work identically.

 

Thank you in advance.

[gyoung]

Gerry, who repairs old Westons, which models and how much was it? I have many of them, and only four work identically.

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Mine was done when any good repairer in the UK could do them, but the last repairer was Megatron (in Holland I think) but they went out of business (retirement) last spring, so I don't now who I would try now. If it goes again I might have to finally retire a meter I have relied on for my whole professional career and since, my first one was bought in 1961 !

 

Gerry

[bocaburger]

I brought back several MR4 meters from the dead and calibrated them for 1.5v batteries. Because they couple to the shutter dial they're the next-best-thing to a built-in meter on the Leica M series. CdS cells are less sensitive to low light and slower to react than Silicon cells, but I've never found either to be a problem. You do have to switch ranges if the light is such that the needle goes off scale, but that too is not a major hassle. I would go for a refurbishment if it isn't much more than the cost of a VCII. The VCII would be my second choice. It memorizes the reading for IIRC 15 seconds so you can still take a reading at eyelevel using the 90mm framelines manually via the selector lever, to estimate what the meter cell is seeing. I have a couple of the original VC meters, which don't memorize after the button-push, and other than the convenience of having it in the shoe, it basically is nothing more than a handheld meter.

[octo]

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My MR still works ok but I have a couple of VCII and, yes, I forget that it's not coupled to the speed. So I also carry a Weston IV for serious shooting: mostly in incident light mode and it works beautifully.

I replaced my MR when it went 'beyond economic repair' with a VCII voigtlander, which will also go on the III, but it takes a while to remember to change the shutter speed as well as the aperture since its not linked like the leicameters.

 

And I have a Weston Master IV for 'serious' stuff, selenium but still good about 20 years after its last new cell.

 

Gerry