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Leicameter MR-4


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2 minutes ago, a.noctilux said:

Mike,

beware, the plastic cover which slides out for battery is very fragile.

With time passing the plastic cover became hard to slide.

I had one or two MR with broken cover, taped to keep battery inside.

I have not had one break but it is a very poor design. Metrawatt were probably not the best choice to provide the meter.

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Gee, I opened and closed the cover yesterday, and was thinking what a "cheap" design that was.  I have no idea how it could be done better.

I don't know what "Metrawatt" is or does - did they manufacture the meter?

I will re-read all the instructions up above about how to mate my meter to my M3 without damaging anything.  With luck, it will just slide in place, but I'm expecting to do all the fitting as described.  I tried to use the Sekonic meter this morning, but in the default configuration it covers up the shutter speed dial on the M3.  I guess I need to offset the plastic mounting component so the meter is moved to my left, better exposing the shutter speeds on the M3.

Nothing to do with the metering, but it was a pleasure to use the M3's viewfinder!!!!!  I wish my M10 had that viewfinder.

Edited by MikeMyers
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39 minutes ago, MikeMyers said:

 

I don't know what "Metrawatt" is or does - did they manufacture the meter?

Nothing to do with the metering, but it was a pleasure to use the M3's viewfinder!!!!!  I wish my M10 had that viewfinder.

Metrawatt AG manufactured the meter for Leica. Formed in Nuremberg in 1933,  and since 1993 they have become Gossen-Metrawatt.

Obviously everyone is different but I find the M10 finder superior to the M3.

 

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Hello Everybody,

If they had made the battery cover out of steel as thick as the plastic cover. Including the "curl" to catch & align the meter body. And had put a small piece of tape (User replaceable.). where the cover touches the "+" side of the battery. There would be less problems.

Best Regards,

Michael

Edited by Michael Geschlecht
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vor 19 Stunden schrieb a.noctilux:

beware, the plastic cover which slides out for battery is very fragile.

 

I got my first MR-4 around 35 years ago, I never was aware that the slide is made of plastic, I always thought it is metal. Now I will handle it with appropriate care, thank you for the hint!

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The two batteries arrived, and the model number is the same as shown above, MRB625.  There is what they call a "pull tab" on the battery, and the instructions state:  "WeinCell is not activated until the pull-tab is removed - Remove tab at least 30 minutes prior to use."

I'm posting a photo of my battery - there are two of them, so I guess the meter needs two batteries inserted.  

I've got a simple question - does the battery drop into the meter the way it's shown in this image, or upside down?

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Hello Mike,

A lot of reasonable questions.

The meter only needs 1 battery. The other is a spare for future use.

Do NOT pull the tab on the spare battery.

The battery goes in with the flat side up & the little nubbin pointed down. There is a diagram on the underside of the meter showing this.

This means " + " side up.

Zinc Air batteries work somewhat differently than some other batteries.

They come with a cover over part of them. With the cover LEFT ALONE they will store until their expiration date.

Before putting the battery into the meter you have to pull off the cover. The air flowing into the uncovered holes begin activating the battery & making it work.

The battery life begins when the air activates the inside & so, even if you do NOT use the meter, the battery will run down.

Which is why some people take the battery out of the meter if they are not going to use it for a while & put a piece of masking tape  (Easy to remove residue.) over the holes to slow down the battery's continual discharge.

Best Regards,

Michael

Edited by Michael Geschlecht
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23 minutes ago, Michael Geschlecht said:

The battery goes in with the flat side up & the little nubbin pointed down. There is a diagram on the underside of the meter showing this.

This means " + " side up.

OK, I guess this means I'm going to take a tiny screwdriver or a dental pick and push it under the tab, and pry upwards?  (What does the tab do?) 

Then, I remove the blue tape which I guess is covering the holes, and insert the battery such that the side that had the tape in place points upwards (meaning with the meter and battery upside down, that surface goes in "first").

If the battery was unintentionally inserted wrong-way-up, would it simply not work, or would it damage the meter?

 

I figure the first thing to do is insert the battery, and make sure the meter works.  I'll wait the half-hour as was suggested.  If I get that far, then I'll follow your instructions to get it mounted on the camera properly.  This is beginning to feel like time travel, going back 50 years....   actually, more.

I decided not to return the Sekonic meter.  It works beautifully.  I've moved it to the side, so it does't interfere with the shutter speed knob.

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Edited by MikeMyers
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Hello Mike,

By tab: I mean the little blue part overhanging the edge.

Underneath the blue stuff the battery should have a " + " on the flat side.

It is this flat side that goes up when the battery is in the meter.

The door for the battery compartment rotates sideways to open & pushes back to cover the lip to close.

Please let the battery sit with the air holes up for 1/2 hour or so BEFORE you put the battery into the meter.

Best Regards,

Michael

Edited by Michael Geschlecht
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I bought an MR-4 a while ago and have it sitting on my M4-P.  I have an original brochure for the meter, in English. I am also curious about this sliding the meter on and off will scratch the hot shoe discussion. I haven't noticed any scratch marks on the M4-P. Lift up on the coupler knob and slid the meter off. Same thing for putting it on, just make sure you set the shutter speed to B on both the camera and the meter. 

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Aha!  Now it all makes sense.  The little metal thingy stays on what will then be the bottom of the battery.

Now it all sounds quite simple.  

I guess I can save the blue "tab" thing, and put it back on the battery if it won't be used for a long time.

I just noticed it works in a Gossen Luna Pro.  I have one of those, sitting with ny ancient camera gear collection.

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52 minutes ago, MikeMyers said:

Aha!  Now it all makes sense.  The little metal thingy stays on what will then be the bottom of the battery.

Now it all sounds quite simple.  

I guess I can save the blue "tab" thing, and put it back on the battery if it won't be used for a long time.

I just noticed it works in a Gossen Luna Pro.  I have one of those, sitting with ny ancient camera gear collection.

Hello Mike,

If I remember correctly a Gossen Luna Pro needs 2 of these batteries.

Best Regards,

Michael

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Thanks, Michael.  A lifetime ago, the Luna Pro was one of the best.  I'll check it out.  I'll be gone for a few days to NYC to visit family.  If I don't get the Leicameter going tomorrow, I'll do so next week.  KEH said it was a working meter, so I guess they checked it out.  I won't know for sure until I try it.

I'm not sure if it's on purpose or if my meter is just old, but it's difficult to turn the ring to set the ASA.  If I could, I'd like to clean all those parts, but I suspect I should leave well enough alone.  The "button" that sticks up I assume is for setting the ASA, but what is the purpose of the small button closer to the center?  Is that to used to release the setting, so I can change to a different value?  Is the user manual posted somewhere, so I can read it?

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Edited by MikeMyers
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We can see here that some old dust accumulated under the sliding ASA/DIN ring.

Stiff but movable, so if it can be set to the ASA you want, just leave it as it is.

No release button needed, just slide (if you can) to the ASA/DIN you want.

The small button close to center has no effect.

If I recall when I tried to repair one MR4, this is kind of stop pin under it.

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I have several MR and MR-4 meters and use them on my camera's. The ASA ring often needs some well directed force to get it in the position where you want it. When you slide the meter on or off the camera you can slide a piece of paper or cardboard between camera body and meter to protect the camera top from getting scratched.

My experience with the MR-meters is very positive, I find them rather accurate. For close-up work I often use one of the handheld Gossen meters which still perform very well also.

Lex

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Battery went in, and I get some response, but I was mostly lost.  I found a YouTube video on how to use the Leicameter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmEvsI7QkKE

Going through the video a few times, I understand a lot more now than an hour ago.

The meter "worked", but it acted like it had bad connections at first.  The more I fiddled with it, the better it got.  

Sliding the "calibration" tool on the front now gets the needle to move closer to the tiny "dot" in the window.  I turned the adjusting screw back and forth a little, and now it seems more reliable.  

I've got the "MR" - I would prefer the "MR4" but they're hard to find.  I guess for my purposes, this is all I need.  

Thanks to the advice up above, and the video, the meter slide onto the camera effortlessly once I lifted up the large disc so the pin could fit into the shutter speed dial.  It seems to give me plausible results - I'll be gone for several days, and I can finish up the roll of film early next week.

If this project was supposed to make me feel young again, it's having the opposite effect.  I feel so ignorant about so many things that used to be "obvious" - but that was half a century ago.....

Check out the video I linked to.  For someone like me, it was SO useful.  For you guys, it's probably like going back to the first grade, maybe kindergarten.  But THANK YOU for all the help.

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Great idea, but I think what I most need to do now, is go out wtih the M3 and the meter, and  take photos, then evaluate the results.  I'm tempted to put my Fuji back in my drawer, and take the M3 and both meters with me.......     I wish I remember where my protective brown leather case is.......     Maybe I'll write Don at DAG Cameras if he has a good MR4 for sale, but it would make more sense to try out what I've already got.   🙂

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