Hand held meter for Yashica mat 124 G

[Mike Kennedy]

I just viewed the results of my first roll of Tri-X shot with the G and I'm impressed. Think it's a keeper.
Although the meter functions it's about 2 stops out of whack so I thought it would be a good idea to purchase a 2nd hand one. Checked out the fourms and found the Sekonic L-558 to be popular. But,ouch,almost 500 clams.
I will post a "Wanted to buy" add for a more economical unit but in the mean time are there any suggestions? It's a bit too bulky to lug around my Nikon FM2 (as a light meter)+ the mat124G.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[DougGrosjean]

Two suggestions. Well, maybe three:

1. Tundra D-3B. Battery powered, but sensitive down to EV2, which is about the same as a dimly lit room. Reflected or incident light reading. Batteries are common SR-44. $75 brand new. Been using mine for a year or more, and am extremely pleased. Been using the money I didn't spend on an expensive meter to buy film, travel, take photos...

2. For conditions beyond what the Tundra can do, Google on Fred Parker's Ultimate Exposure Computer. It's a spreadsheet you can download, FREE, and it goes as far as exposure values for moonlit landscapes, star-lit landscapes, school plays. I've found it to be quite accurate as well.

3. Send some of the hundreds of dollars I've just saved you, to me. PM me for my addy. Or better yet, some to me and some to Apug, to keep the servers running.

Just kidding on No. 3....

 

[MenacingTourist]

I never hear much about the meter I have (Polaris 2) but it was about $75 on the auction site and I've used it for two years now when shooting med format. I shoot a YashicaMat12 (outside) and a Mamiya RB-67 (studio and outside).

When I shoot LF I use a spot meter.

Everyone has opinions so I'm just throwing this out there as something to think about

 

[Paul Howell]

I have not found the 124 G's meter to have ever been very accurate. In the used and inexpensive lot, Gossen Lunapro (older models), Gossen Unisix, Weston Master 6, Ranger 9, Soligar spot, Vivitar, and older Sekonics. Do you want a spot, wide angel reflective, or incident meter?

 

[Nick Zentena]

The 558 is a spot/incident/reflective ambient/flash meter. I think in it's spare time it'll cook dinner. The question becomes do you need all those features? Do you need some of those features? The 358 lacks spot mode but other then that provides the same features of the 558. It's a little cheaper. The 308 is even cheaper but if IIRC it only uses speed perference so if you like aperture priority you'll need to get used to it. Plenty of other smaller and cheaper models to.

But we get back to the question. Which features are you looking for?

 

[Mike Kennedy]

Something simple yet accurate. I would like to measure incident and reflective light.

Mike

 

[DougGrosjean]

Mike,

See my post above about the Tundra: cheap, accurate, seems rugged.

I keep thinking I do need more features (would love to have some $700 Minolta meter), but the exposure of my negs keeps coming out just fine, and so I keep talking myself out of it.

I suspect you'll find the same thing.

Doug Grosjean

 

[Flotsam]

The Gossen digisix or digiflash is tiny, accurate and I believe, has an accessory for attaching the meter to a camera's flash shoe. Basic but convenient and does the job.

 

[mgb74]

Something simple yet accurate. I would like to measure incident and reflective light.

Mike

My 2 cents:
Get a meter that will provide functionality even when you're using your FM2 or other cameras with built in metering. I like my Minolta IVF, but the key point is that it has incident and flash, as well as reflected, capability.

 

[Richard Kelham]

The Sekonic L398 is a neat little (compared to the 558 anyway) meter that is excellent for incident light measurement – and doesn't need a battery. Neither does the Weston come to that. Both are likely to be more accurate than the Yashicamat meter ever was.

 

[Greg_E]

The Digisix looks interesting. Anyone know if it counts seconds as part of the timer? My Minolta IVF is getting wacky, so I need a new meter, and one with a timer would be good for pinhole cameras.

Also of interest:
http://www.f295.org/Pinholeforum/forum/Blah.pl?b-cm/m-1154672610/

If he gets it all working, I'll probably build one of these, and for many of the same reasons.

 

[Ryuji]

I use Sekonic L-208 with TLRs.

Dead Link Removed

(Go down to halfway to near the bottom to get the image you want to see.)

It does both reflective and incident, and it's good enough for most situations, as long as you are shooting negative films. That I don't need a separate hand to hold the meter counts a lot.

When I shoot TLR on a tripod I use L-408 or other meters. Indeed L-408 is my favorite all-round meter.