Exposure Meter Sticker Shock - Do Analog Meters Do The Job?

When I lost the calculator dial from a Weston Master III, it was no great inconvenience. A moment of basic math lets one convert from the meter reading to any aperture and shutter combination. This must be somewhat so for meters that have a light value read-out. With the dial, the zone system should be easy. Digital meters might be better for those with a pasion for precise figures. Film isn't that particular.

polaski said:

Gossen Luna Pro is a workhorse and will take attachments for narrower angles, enlarger work, etc. I have the "S" model that sort of lends itself to Zone calculations. I bought a used one and Gossen calibrated it and cleaned it up for me for a very reasonable price.

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I would second the Luna Pro. I picked up a nice one on ebay for about half of what a comparable new analog one would cost me. I will say that it is huge in size and I have to use zinc batteries as it was designed for mercury. It still reads accurate to my new fancy film camera that I never use, now that I have acquired NAS. (You know if you have it.)
And I will have to second the dial having all the respective shutter speed/ aperture settings at a glance is nice.

Ricardo41 said:

The last time I bought an exposure meter was in high school, shooting with my trusty Minolta SRT 101B.

Last week I strolled into a downtown camera store, hoping to drop $50-60 on an exposure meter, only to be told that the models they had available were $600 and $900, respectively.

Huh? Since when do exposure meters cost more than camera bodies?

I then saw loads of analog exposure meters on ebay. Are these still good enough?

ricardo

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Ricardo,

OMG - you own, or seek to own, an analog light meter!

Analog meters, together with all analog equipment of any kind whatsoever, were banned several years ago. Possession of such items is consider to be dangerously atavistic and luddite. Heavy fines, imprisonment and subsequent community service teaching Photoshop to senior citizens in continuing education programs is likely if you are caught

If you obtain and use such items you would be wise to keep it to yourself.

This is but another example when: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is the only advisable course of action given the kind of proclivities you exhibit.

Most of the currently available high-end light meters have features that were not present on meters several years ago, such as flash-metering, either tethered, or untethered, and the ability to take several readings and integrate them together. Also, the lower volume of units sold, makes the per-unit price of manufacture higher. For many people who shoot digital, it is often easier to just shoot a test shot and look at the histogram, and this has caused a dwindling of sales of pro-level meters.

I bought a Luna Pro on paybay for a little and got the attachment for spot as a second backup to my Soligor. It's a little big but it does take a 9 Volt battery.