How do you like having a meter window on top of the camera?

trondsi · Aug 11, 2016

For some reason I like the idea of having a camera with a light meter indicator on top of the camera (as in the Nikon F and F2, at least some of them), so I can set the shutter and aperture before moving the camera to my eye. Not sure if people like this feature in practice though. Perhaps it is too unreliable? So, if you have a camera like this; do you use it, or do you prefer to see the light meter reading through the finder?

BrianShaw · Aug 11, 2016

Hate it.

The only camera I have like that is a Kodak Retina. Love the camera, love the optics, love the resulting images. But the meter on top makes me take it away from my face the read the meter... and that just takes too long and the image is often lost because of that time loss. Plus it moves the meter off of the image area.

bdial · Aug 11, 2016

It can be a handy feature, but as I recall, when I was shooting with an F, I only used the external display when the camera was already lined up on the area that I wanted to meter with the camera mounted on a tripod. In that context it is much easier to use the external display than standing bent over and squinting through the viewfinder.

I think that using in the way you describe you'd have a big risk of metering the wrong part of a scene, though much depends on the particular scene and lighting.

Peltigera · Aug 12, 2016

I like it - if there is a meter display in the viewfinder as well, the best of two worlds.

Huss · Aug 12, 2016

I have it on my Nikkormat FT2 and Nikon F2. It's a cool feature that I pretty much never use because I always take the reading through the viewfinder. But I like that it is there!

frank · Aug 12, 2016

Absolutely yes. Also on Rollei 35S and T, Bessa L.

horacekenneth · Aug 12, 2016

Yes I love it on the F2 and the fact that I can adjust my exposure settings without indicating that I'm about to take a photo

Theo Sulphate · Aug 12, 2016

Likewise, I have it on my Nikkormat FT2 and F2's as well, but never use it.

As an engineer, I dislike it: it adds complexity, cost, and is another component that can fail. To paraphrase Learjet's William Lear: "you won't have to repair or replace anything you leave out."

Conceivably a top mounted meter would help in certain viewing situations, but in that case I think a waist level finder would be better as well.

My only camera where I actually look at the top meter display is my Agfa Silette L (this one, bought for just $1 and which works perfectly):

fstop · Aug 12, 2016

Kinda like having a speedometer on the roof of your car.

Ricardo Miranda · Aug 12, 2016

fstop said:
Kinda like having a speedometer on the roof of your car.

Well, some "features" aren't for everybody.

The repeater of the meter on the top plate as it is on the Nikon F and F2 with meter heads as well as on some of the Nikkormats can be useful in more than one situation. Horace mentioned one, another is when camera is on tripod.
It doesn't hurt to have it. My 2 Nikkormats FTN and the FT3 have it, they work well and I like them.
I'll not cry for the lack of it on other cameras, but it is a nice touch from Nikon.

Theo Sulphate · Aug 12, 2016

fstop said:
Kinda like having a speedometer on the roof of your car.

TFF!

trondsi · Aug 12, 2016

horacekenneth said:
Yes I love it on the F2 and the fact that I can adjust my exposure settings without indicating that I'm about to take a photo

This is what I thought. People often dislike having the camera pointed at them for a long time, or it makes them behave differently.

Luckless · Aug 12, 2016

I don't think I would care to use a camera where that was the only view of the meter, but I've found that having both a through-lens view meter and top display to be a very handy tool. I'll often ball park/double check exposures while the camera is still handing around my neck and I'm only considering what to take. That way I know that when I do go to lift the camera to my eye that my settings are already close to where I'll put them in the end.

One of those little features that is handy to have, and something you don't really think too much about, but will miss it when it is gone.

John Koehrer · Aug 13, 2016

Ricardo Miranda said:
Well, some "features" aren't for everybody.

The repeater of the meter on the top plate as it is on the Nikon F and F2 with meter heads as well as on some of the Nikkormats can be useful in more than one situation. Horace mentioned one, another is when camera is on tripod.
It doesn't hurt to have it. My 2 Nikkormats FTN and the FT3 have it, they work well and I like them.
I'll not cry for the lack of it on other cameras, but it is a nice touch from Nikon.

What he said.

Jesper · Aug 14, 2016

I use Voigtlander VC meters for my Leicas which gives a reading from the top. These can be used with any camera (with an accessory shoe) if you like the feature.

cooltouch · Aug 14, 2016

My F and F2s and Nikkormats have to top meter "window" and it's a feature I've always thought was one of those little extras that Nikon has added to its cameras to make them a bit better for the pro. I've always thought the main reason for it would be for instances where it might be awkward to look through the viewfinder -- like when the camera is mounted to a copy stand, for example. Yeah, you'd have to look through the finder to focus, but after that, any exposure corrections or adjustments can be made without having to look through it again.

Sirius Glass · Aug 14, 2016

I like through the lens metering whenever possible. Even better if it uses the EV values and then I have the full range of shutter speed and aperture.

ic-racer · Aug 14, 2016

Nice thing about the meter window on the top of the Yashica 124G is that not only can you see the meter reading, you can also see the aperture and shutter speed. As a bonus, you can also view, compose and expose your scene while looking down

mklw1954 · Aug 14, 2016

I've used the meter indicator on the top of my Konica Auto S2 for some shots that I wanted to take discreetly. Of course, framing and focusing were my best estimates but they came out nicely. I've also used it for a last metering check while on a tripod.

narsuitus · Aug 15, 2016

trondsi said:
For some reason I like the idea of having a camera with a light meter indicator on top of the camera (as in the Nikon F and F2, at least some of them)

My Nikon F and F2 cameras did not have a light meter indicator on top of the camera because my Nikons did not have a built-in light meter. I preferred using a hand held light meter.

Nikon F2 by Narsuitus, on Flickr

Gerald C Koch · Aug 15, 2016

Having the display on the camera top is rather awkward in practice. Sometimes it is necessary due to the design like the tiny Rollei's.

mynewcolour · Sep 3, 2016

A reading from the top can make sense for a certain way of shooting I think. This is how I am enjoying it ...

I've been shooting with a 1964 Olympus S rangefinder over the last couple of months. It has a thumb-button on the back of the camera activating a needle indicated reading on the top-plate.

My intentions with this camera are to;
a/ try a rangefinder (I've always owned SLR or viewfinder cameras)
b/ to try and busk it with the sunny 16 rule (as an exercise, to educate myself about exposure and hopefully develop some good habits)

I had been enjoying shooting a simple Olympus OM1n SLR – a camera you can shoot with the meter on or off. I found myself running calculations in my mind *before* turning the OM's meter on ... and being close or bang-on with my predictions ... this leaves me feeling like the god of light come to photograph you all !!!

So with the Olympus S I'm paying constant attention to the light and shadow and altering my settings (looking onto the top of my camera). When I want to shoot I just frame and focus with the camera to my eye. I don't change shutter speeds or aperture unless for depth-of-field (in which case I move both speed and fstop rings together, without the eye leaving the viewfinder and leaving the exposure unchanged).

If I'm doubting myself and feel like a reading would be nice I just take one in the general direction of the subject (and compensate for whatever – as it is a reflected-light reading) and that gets me back on track.

So far this works just well with only a couple of thin negatives in each roll, I'm learning fast and enjoying myself.

Chan Tran · Sep 3, 2016

And most modern SLR has the ability to display exposure information on the top deck.

wiltw · Sep 4, 2016

Although I have never used the top deck exposure needle on cameras so equipped, I do have to admit that if the camera is set on a very low level tripod aimed at the scene in a composition already set by you, it is nice to be able to reset things when lighting changes...it avoids having to get on your belly in the dirt to see your exposure needle.

Chan Tran said:
And most modern SLR has the ability to display exposure information on the top deck.

Unfortunately, where they USED TO offer exposure information on top deck pertaining to whether you were below/at/above proper exposure with the camera in Manual mode, one manufacturer (the C name) now OMITS this information when in Manual mode with the more recent models, only telling you the current shutter speed and aperture but NO INDICATION of whether that pairing meets or misses the 'proper exposure' value! Regression of features, back to the film cameras of old which also omitted this feature from the top deck.

Bill Burk · Sep 4, 2016

Leicameter sits on top of a Leica M.

Its dial rotates with the shutter speed.

Its needle suggests an f/stop... and as you hold the camera to look down at the needle, you are viewing the camera from the perspective where you can see the engraved f/stop indicated on the lens. So you can easily see and set the f/stop.

I find that very convenient and well-designed, for a semi-coupled meter.

But a lot of the time I leave that Leicameter off the top deck because I'd often rather have a hand-held meter reading.

How do you like having a meter window on top of the camera?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency