Comparing the Reveni Spot Meter to My Minolta F

[Andrew O'Neill]

Not a "how to" video. Just me playing with the Reveni, alongside my Minolta F. I stick in some pics shot with both meters, and give thumbs up or down at the end.

 

[logan2z]

Great video, thanks for posting it. For some reason, I have a hankering for a donut now...

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Great video, thanks for posting it. For some reason, I have a hankering for a donut now...

Well, if you meet me at Tim Horton's on the Barnett in Coquitlam, I'll buy you one! I'll be there at 1600 hours.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Thank you. I liked the summary at the end.

 

[madNbad]

Thanks for the video and having owned a couple of the Reveni reflective meters here are my tips if you decide to try it again:

1. Adjust the shut off time. In the menu you can adjust how long the meter is active and I'm sure the spot meter is the same.

2. Take some readings with your known meter and using the exposure compensation setting on the Reveni, dial it up or down until the two meters are close. The calibration is set for each meter when they are shipped but can be used for fine tuning.

3. Just like any other new piece of equipment, experimentation and practice are key to success. I spent a hour or so with the Reveni reflective meter, a Sekonic 308u and a gray card under various lighting conditions until I was satisfied the Reveni was matching the Sekonic in most situations.

I applaud you for heading out with a new piece of gear, figuring it out on the fly and presenting the results. Make a few changes and let us know the results.

P.S. If you're ever in Portland, skip Voodoo, their donuts are clever but there are better ones to be had.

 

[logan2z]

Well, if you meet me at Tim Horton's on the Barnett in Coquitlam, I'll buy you one! I'll be there at 1600 hours.

I do miss Timmy's. Haven't been there since I moved away from TO twenty years ago.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Thanks for the video and having owned a couple of the Reveni reflective meters here are my tips if you decide to try it again:

1. Adjust the shut off time. In the menu you can adjust how long the meter is active and I'm sure the spot meter is the same.

2. Take some readings with your known meter and using the exposure compensation setting on the Reveni, dial it up or down until the two meters are close. The calibration is set for each meter when they are shipped but can be used for fine tuning.

3. Just like any other new piece of equipment, experimentation and practice are key to success. I spent a hour or so with the Reveni reflective meter, a Sekonic 308u and a gray card under various lighting conditions until I was satisfied the Reveni was matching the Sekonic in most situations.

I applaud you for heading out with a new piece of gear, figuring it out on the fly and presenting the results. Make a few changes and let us know the results.

P.S. If you're ever in Portland, skip Voodoo, their donuts are clever but there are better ones to be had.

Thank you for all the excellent tips, madNbad... especially the doughnut tip LOL! Cheers!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I do miss Timmy's. Haven't been there since I moved away from TO twenty years ago.

I don't know if you heard, but Timmy's kinda went downhill. It all started in 2005, when they stopped inhouse baking, and centralised it. My favourite doughnut chain over in Japan did the same, and lost a lot of punters because of it... oh well... old habits and all that. Cheers!

 

[logan2z]

I don't know if you heard, but Timmy's kinda went downhill. It all started in 2005, when they stopped inhouse baking, and centralised it. My favourite doughnut chain over in Japan did the same, and lost a lot of punters because of it... oh well... old habits and all that. Cheers!

I hadn't heard, that's a bummer.

I have fond memories of my grandfather bringing over Tim Horton's chocolate glazed donuts when I was a kid. Not the healthiest snack but they were soooo good!

 

[bags27]

Thanks! A great video!

I missed the optional AAA battery attachment! I really need to get it. It burns through button batteries with astonishing speed--I mean you must take at least an extra set or two with you at all times.

It is amazingly small and light, and I don't even know I have it with me. For walking around, it can't be beat. If I'm tripoding, however, I might as well go big with other equipment.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Thanks! A great video!

I missed the optional AAA battery attachment! I really need to get it. It burns through button batteries with astonishing speed--I mean you must take at least an extra set or two with you at all times.

It is amazingly small and light, and I don't even know I have it with me. For walking around, it can't be beat. If I'm tripoding, however, I might as well go big with other equipment.

Yup if I purchased this meter, I would definitely buy the AAA battery attachment. I had fresh 1.5 cells in it and after maybe 30 minutes of playing with it at the kitchen table, it died. I honestly thought I had broken the meter! I never realised that it could be the batteries...

 

[madNbad]

Battery life is the Achilles heel of Reveni meters. I’ve emailed Matt Bechberger, the developer of the product, about the short lived L44 used in the reflective meter. Apparently, they have heard from others but no major improvements yet. I was really surprised such a small meter could drain a battery so quickly. I attributed to the Kickstarter version and was expecting better results from the update. Good improvements on the actual metering, not so much for battery. I carry extras and remove the tray if it’s going to be stored for more than a few days. Buy one, Andrew! Support a Canadian business!

 

[pentaxuser]

Good video, Andrew. It was worrying that the two meters had the degree of disparity they appeared to have and based on the negs I felt it was clear to me that it was the Reveni that got it wrong.

Someone said in the video comments section that he always had to ensure that the outer doughnut was not near a brighter area to get an accurate reading which kind of suggests that certainly the outer part reads more than one degree and if this is the case then there seems no way of stopping the outer section from interfering with the inner section

I'd need to re-read previous thread(s) on the Reveni to be sure but I just felt that the inventor of it stated that it was a genuine 1 degree spot and this now looks to be very debatable

Another commentator said that there was a means of calibrating it to match a known accurate spot meter but doesn't that imply that it isn't or at least may not be as accurate as it should and also implies that you need some other meter to calibrate it which begs the question: If you need another meter to calibrate it against then why bother buying the Reveni?

My "take" is that you seem to have to sacrifice quite a lot for the sake of small size and price

pentaxuser

 

[madNbad]

The Reveni is accurate enough out of the box for most needs but if you have a meter you know and have gotten good results with, then it’s worth the effort. I’ve had meters from Sekonic and Gossen that give different readings for the same scene at the same time so it’s not just Reveni.

 

[bags27]

Battery life is the Achilles heel of Reveni meters. I’ve emailed Matt Bechberger, the developer of the product, about the short lived L44 used in the reflective meter. Apparently, they have heard from others but no major improvements yet. I was really surprised such a small meter could drain a battery so quickly. I attributed to the Kickstarter version and was expecting better results from the update. Good improvements on the actual metering, not so much for battery. I carry extras and remove the tray if it’s going to be stored for more than a few days. Buy one, Andrew! Support a Canadian business!

I would think that v. 2 will just incorporate the AAA battery compartment structurally. I'm buying the attachment. It's enough of a pain to change film in the field; I don't want to keep changing batteries.