Possible Light Meter Calibration Service?

[Kino]

Never thought to check this company, but they do offer calibration for these brand meters:


"Optical Meters We Calibrate in Our Lab
In addition to offering accredited calibration for our own meters, we also calibrate meters from other manufacturers including the following light meter manufacturers:

Avantes, Cooke, Daavlin, Delta OHM , Dymax, EIT, Excelitas, Exfos, Extech, Fluke, G&R Labs, Gigahertz-Optik, Greenlee, Gossen, Hamamatsu, Henkel LOCTITE®, Honle, Jelight, Konica Minolta, Lesco, Linshang, National Biological, OAI, Ocean Optics, Omega Engineering, Omnicure, Opsytec Dr. Grobel, Optimum, Sky Instruments, Solarmeter, Spectral Products, Sekonic, Spectroline, Spectronics, Sper Scientific, UDT, UV Power, UV Process Supply, Testo, UVX, Yokogawa, and more."

(emphasis added by me)

Disclaimer: not a customer, no experience with said company, not sure this relates to exposure meters, etc...)

Light Meter Calibration Services | ILT

At International Light, we offer ISO17025 Accredited Calibration Services for a wide array of light measurement devices.

www.internationallight.com

 

[Steve Goldstein]

Hmm, I wonder if by calibration they mean they measure and document the meter response (no adjustments) or if they’ll actually adjust it to spec? They make no mention of repairs, either.

I’ve often wondered what became of all the parts and information George Milton must have had when he closed QLM a few years ago. I really hope his knowledge wasn’t lost.

 

[Kino]

I would assume they would have to adjust it to be actually calibrating a meter, but then I assume.

I also assume the service probably only is available for relatively new models of meters, but then again, that is just an assumption.

Parts? Ditto above...

Might be worth an email; I have no pressing need for the service now myself, just passing on some possible service information for those who might need it.

 

[Pieter12]

The site has lots of information about calibration, but I don’t see anything about service or repairs.

 

[250swb]

I think it's all a scam. Given all the variables in photography the baseline is still accuracy, but not to the point of worrying about half a stop between meters. You can have the most accurate meter in the world, and it still won't compensate for what you point it at regarding your exposure and developing technique. Test them all against the same wall in the same light and note if any come up different against the meter most likely to be accurate, if they are a bit out it won't matter, if they are a stop out note on a label and stick it on the meter. Remember, the whole point of the Zone System was not to test + or - against other equipment, other meters, other types of film etc, but to test against the equipment you have and are using.

 

[Kino]

Whatever. The choice is yours; explore and use the service because it's needed for your work or don't.

 

[runswithsizzers]

Hmm, I wonder if by calibration they mean they measure and document the meter response (no adjustments) or if they’ll actually adjust it to spec?

Few people choose their words so carefully, but in the lab where I worked, we used the word, "verification" to check and confirm if an instrument was measuring accurately. The word, "calibration" was used for the process that resulted in actually adjusting the output curve.

 

[runswithsizzers]

I found this statement on one of the ILT webpages:
"(Note: Non-ILT meter calibration does not include internal manipulation of the meter's stored calibration. A scaling factor (multiplier) is provided for non-ILT meter calibrations, along with a certificate of calibration. For devices that allow programming, a new calibration factor, ILT supplies the data required for the end user to adjust the readings/internally stored calibration factors.)"

Light Meter Calibration for Non-ILT Meters, Sensors, Filters, Optics and Integrating Spheres

ILT offers ISO17025 accredited light meter calibration services for a broad range of meter manufacturers.

www.internationallight.com

 

[DREW WILEY]

Half a stop off between meters would be career suicide in Hollywood, and a nightmare for anyone shooting chrome films. Every meter I've had matched every other meter I had over the whole range, because they were all calibrated to the same industry standard. If one drifted even a third of a stop, I had it recalibrated. That happened only twice over 40 years. And the Zone System never realistically had color photography in mind. When it was concocted, it was hard enough to get different batches of the same b&w film to perform at the same alleged box speed.

I don't have any experience with the cited company. All my repairs and recalibrations were done by Quality Light Metric near Hollywood, which is now out of business (George retired.),

 

[Pieter12]

I don’t think still photographers are the intended customers of this service. Cinematographers, possibly. Others who need accurate readings for industrial or scientific purposes, probably.

 

[DREW WILEY]

When I looked at their site awhile back, it seems their interest is more in scientific and industrial photometrics, not what we here call light meters. But no harm calling them, if you can afford their services.

 

[Kino]

When I looked at their site awhile back, it seems their interest is more in scientific and industrial photometrics, not what we here call light meters. But no harm calling them, if you can afford their services.

Exactly. Depends on how demanding and/or desperate you might be! I expect 99 out of 100 won't even bother trying; I certainly wont!

 

[koraks]

This company is referred to from time to time here on Photrio. I've yet to come across the first person who actually sent a light meter (of the kind we'd use) to them for calibration.

My conclusion is that "Send The Light Meter out for Calibration" is mostly a kind of mantra that's uttered in the context of discussions of light meters to acknowledge the scientific dimension to the craft of photography, without necessarily intending this should be pursued actively. A photographic "Hail Mary" or "Inshallah of sorts. We interject it for good fortune, and as a matter of course, while having very little bearing on how we really do things.

 

[Peter1111]

Great idea to calibrate your light meter. I've never thought of this. I just trusted the readings and never seem to have had any issues, but it's always nice to know your exposures are as close to accurate as possible.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Tech industry and Physics R&D has a much different concept of a "light meter" than we do. I have friends who have worked with "light meters" costing billions of dollars, just for sake a tracing the trajectory of a single elusive "photon".
Just like their "thermometers", which have to read in millionths of a degree within absolute zero, which to my understanding, a $10 Patterson darkroom thermometer will not do. The calibration service under question in this thread seems highly involved with the laser industry, where their idea of investment "pocket change" is probably more than the entire extant film industry in our conception of it.

I hope to soon meet up with a friend specializing in new ideas on that front, before he gets exported to the UK in a new career position; it's a hot R&D field. He wanted to see my darkroom before he leaves, mainly in relation to certain fabrication techniques (technically, he has a "Materials Science" degree).

I have one almost completely unused Pentax 1 deg digital spotmeter still in reserve. So I might not ever need a recalibration service again myself. But I certainly hope some service tech would fill the void.

 

[ic-racer]

Many modern light meters are 'calibrated' in a sub menu. Nothing needing a screwdriver or any other tinkering.

 

[ic-racer]

He wanted to see my darkroom before he leaves,

Did he get to see it? One of the lucky few on this earth?

 

[DREW WILEY]

His mother had a darkroom. If he gets the UK position, he'll be able to afford a house with a darkroom. Here in the Bay Area, rentals are extremely expensive, and being on a work visa, one never really knows anymore how secure they are remaining in the US. Let's just say the tech "brain drain" in this country is no secret, with many leaving for elsewhere. He has some interesting patents in the works, laser-related, but which require complete independence from the University to develop, or they'll want the lion's share of any profits.

Actual calibration requires a reference standard superior to the meter itself, not just the ability to punch a CAL button.
And what if the meter has drifted asymmetrically? And some of us don't like any kind of "menu" operation, but something way more intuitive and reliable like the simple manual ring lineup on the Pentax.

 

[ic-racer]

Actually the way it works for Sekonic meters is one enters a 'number' into the calibration menu on the meter so the meter responds in accordance with the light value produced by a calibrated light source.

 

[BrianShaw]

Did he get to see it? One of the lucky few on this earth?

Doesnt seem so.

 

[eli griggs]

It seems to me any Hollywood “meter” calibration company would be a member of professional associations/organizations, like sound outfits, special effects, best boys, etc.

I don’t know any of these but someone here should know where to start.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Lots of people knew where to start - but then the man who did all that meter servicing retired. There was a brief period of overlap when George gave up his shop lease and temporarily serviced light meters in his home. If he did try to sell the business, there were no takers. Today, with greater overhead costs and little or no source for new replacement parts, it might just too risky a business model for anyone to indulge in. Richard Ritter can still calibrate and repair Pentax meters, but he's not getting any younger either. The smartest thing is to buy spares while they still turn up.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Every professional digital camera is a light meter.

You don't need to store or obtain an old one unless 'looking the part' is part of your creative process.

 

[ic-racer]

Every professional digital camera is a light meter.

Really? What units do they read in? Nits?

 

[gbroadbridge]

Really? What units do they read in? Nits?

Do you set the exposure on your camera in nits?