I need a needled meter.

[Rolleiflexible]

I prefer small light meters with
analog readouts -- with needles. I
loved the Sekonic Twinmate L-208
for its size and performance. I bought
two. Both broke within a year. A
call from Sekonic was less than
satisfying.

So now I am looking for replacements.
I meter reflected light -- no need for
anything fancy. Simple, accurate.
With needle, please.

Suggestions?

 

[Arvee]

Hard to beat the Luna Pros (you need an adapter for silver cells) or the Luna Pro Sbc (9V battery). If you're a studio guy, the Luna Pro F (Sbc with flash capability). I like the +/- relative stop display; it is a null meter.

I also have and use quite often (more than the others combined) a Sekonic L398M Studio Deluxe II with selenium cell (no battery) and I am on my second one in 35 years. The first one didn't die, I just sold it to purchase the Deluxe II. I use it in incident mode.

While I have digitals, I much prefer the analog devices and the older analog devices are usually calibrated for 18% readings as opposed to the 9-12% or whatever calibration algorithms of the current digital crop. My results are always better with the analogs unless I make the necessary ISO adjustments to the digitals (I use stickers on each meter) to suit my system. And I just feel more comfortable with galvanometers.

I have to admit that I use a Digisix fairly often for its compactness and convenience and its 18% calibration.

My favorite: a Weston Ranger 9. Ansel mentioned this one favorably prior to his acquiring a Pentax digital.


-Fred

 

[NormanV]

I have had a Weston Euromaster for 20 or more years and I still find it fiddly to use. I used to have a Gossen Sixtino, they are light, compact, accurate and most of all simple to use and read. I am looking for one right now.
Norman

 

[vdonovan]

Weston Master V. I've had mine for twenty years. Repaired twice. Great for zone system.

 

[Lee L]

Luna-Pro F or Luna-Pro SBC for me. Both would be used at this point. Standard rectangular snap contact 9V battery that lasts a very long time and is easy to find. Been using my F for 26 years with no repairs. That includes a week-long stay outside in the snow and rain without the case (called away from testing by a trip to the ER) about 4 years ago. I'm usually not that hard on equipment. Still reads accurately, easy to do offsets for Zones. No repairs or adjustment needed yet. There was an SBC here on APUG a few days ago. (there was a url link here which no longer exists) you can send me the commission later.

I like the Digisix/Digiflash as well, but no needles there, and if the fluorescent lights you use for your portraits have too slow a ballast they can give false readings.

Lee

 

[MattKing]

Sanders:

I would recommend the Luna-Pro F or SBC as well, as long as they meet your definition of "small".

Keep in mind that a Luna-Pro SBC is referred to as a Profisix in most of the (non-USA) world. Gossen has a manual on it's English site under Photography - Collectors.

I've had my Profisix for about 30 years. One CLA, and one repair to the leather case during that time.

It is a system meter, and many of the Lunasix accessories work with it too. I have the flash meter attachment which works well, although the two together are somewhat bulky.

One caution - when I had the CLA (about 3 years ago IIRC) the technician mentioned that they were starting to have more trouble obtaining parts than they had in the past.

Recently I added a Digiflash to my meter menagerie. The small size is great. Then again, my medium format cameras are bigger than yours, so you can get away with a bigger meter .

Matt

 

[bdial]

You said small, so my recommendation is a Gossen Pilot. It does reflective and incident readings, and has an EV scale. And there's an accessory mount that let's it go onto a flash shoe. They're selenium, so no batteries, but it might require searching to get a good one or extra money to get it reconditioned. Mine exactly matches my Luna Pro SBC, and came from a sale table at a local camera shop.

If you're willing to go bigger, the Luna Pro SBC is hard to beat. The pointer will show 3 stops +- the null point, and it makes comparative readings really easy.

 

[Mick Fagan]

Another push for the Profi-Six. I've had mine over 20 years, bought it new in Germany, never let me down.

A really good feature of this meter is the ability to lock the unit into a continuous metering mode, without you having to hold the button in. This is quite handy when first setting up lights with one hand and holding the meter in the other.

Normally you hold the button in and move the meter around, once you let go, the current needle setting is held for about 30 seconds, then the meter shuts off and the needle drops off to the side. This is usually enough time for you to work the dials to some possible subtle variations.

The scale works in 1/3 stop markings and you have an instant reference +- of all possible values/combinations minutes or hours of taking a reading. The scale just sits there awaiting your interpretation.

Having a needle means you can extrapolate the fine leaning of the meter towards a set value of shutter speeds and/or aperture combinations. In other words is the meter leaning towards 5.6 and 2/3rds or 5.6 and 1/3rd of a stop. With this information in front of your eyes, you can figure out whether you will be better off with f5.6 / f5.6½ / f8. This type of meter, is possibly the closest needle meter, to other meters that show LCD readings to 1/10 of a stop.

This meter also has a couple of reflected attachments which are quite cheap(ish) these days. There is the 7.5°/15° attachment, which is small, light and works a treat.

Then there is the 1°/5°/10° Profi-spot which has an adjustable dioptre correction feature. You can really use this to advantage with models, by standing back and checking either cheekbone without intruding.

The 5° setting is perfect for a whole of face reading. The clickable settings of this attachment are available whilst you look through the excellent viewfinder, with the rings giving you the correct areas being metered. I prefer the meter by itself mostly, but sometimes I'll use the spot attachment.

The spot meter attachment comes with a flexible rubber hood and a flexible rubber eyepiece, which in my case, sits on my glasses perfectly.

It is an extremely versatile meter.

Mick.

 

[AgX]

Gossen Profisix too.
(Actually it is the only kind of readout I can cope with...)

Alternative the Lunasix F.
It has the same readout. However it lacks the electrical plugs for some attachments and got a simple flash metering instead.

The Profisix measures down to EV-4, the Lunasix F down to -1 for ambient light.

The later Gossen Multisix and Mastersix show that kind of readout in the catalogues too. (Though as LCD display with both and more frills with the latter.) However you can't place an object luminance deliberately on the scale like you can do with Profisix and Lunasix F!

 

[AgX]

Actually I call this type of readout `zero-adjust-balance´.
Is that a good definition?

 

[Lee L]

Alternative the Lunasix F.
It has the same readout. However it lacks the electrical plugs for some attachments and got a simple flash metering instead.

Good point if you want the attachments that need the electrical contacts. The LunaPro/Lunasix F models do still work with the enlarging attachment, the 7.5/15 degree attachment, copy attachment, and others.

One other feature is that the F versions will meter multiple flash pops, good for studio work (on a dark set with a still subject) if you have low output flash heads or need a lot of DOF.

Not sure if these meters are small enough for you, about the size of a typical 35mm P&S, 4.5 x 2.6 x 1.7 inches without the case. I'm sure you could find one used in NYC stores to check on the size.

Lee

 

[Ole]

I have a Lunasix/Profisix SBC too, but the last time I used an incident meter I used an old Leningrad 3 Selenium meter. That was the best one in a box of old meters, checked against the SBC.

 

[thuggins]

I've got about a dozen light meters, both selenium and CdS. The one that is always with me is the Ikophot. It is very small and light weight, very easy to use (no batteries, always "on"), and extremely accurate across the entire range of "avaliable light" (1/3 stop light difference produces a noticeable needle movement, requires no booster cells). It has two shutter speed scales (... 25, 50, 100 ... and ... 30, 60, 125 ...) so it can read directly for either modern or classic cameras. Besides all that, it's a beautiful instrument to hold and use.

There are always several available on that evil auction site, attesting to the popularity of it when it was new. Just be sure it comes with a guarantee. And don't buy anything from "aestheticfossil".

 

[Ian Grant]

Back in the early 70's I started using Weston meters, and had a V and a Euromaster, they are nice to use and accurate but I had problems with both, they are very prone to knocks I kept them as spares, as by 1986 was only a spotmeter. Subsequently the cell failed on the V and the Euromaster disappeared, I guess it broke again on the friend who borrowed it.

However last year I bought an excellent Luna Pro & spot attachment from this forum to use while getting my spotmeter serviced and it's a superb meter. I'm so pleased with it I just bought Profisix as well of another Forum. The Gossen meters are better shockproofed than the Westons and not prone the the Selenium cell dying on you.

Ian

 

[Markok765]

The Pentax Spotmeter V is great, accurate. It is a bit on the larger side though.

 

[Rolleiflexible]

You guys are great. I hoovered up a
bunch of meters off the auction site
last night -- an Ikophot, a Luna Pro
SBC and a Sekonic L-398 -- figuring
one of them will work. I guess light
meters are another victim of the
digital age; prices for used meters
are so low you could buy them by
the dozen and have enough left over
for a Big Mac and a shake.

Sanders

 

[J Ollinger]

I collect light meters. Yeah, the prices are very good because it's a buyer's market. The problem with analog meters is that you can't trust them off eBay, etc, without testing them. When a digital meter breaks, it typically either goes dead or gives you crazy readings and it's obvious that it's bad. An analog meter can get knocked off 2 stops and you probably wouldn't notice unless you check it against something you trust.

My Luna Pro SBC is probably my best analog, but it's big and (can be) complicated. But it takes 9v batteries, which is very nice. I would have recommended one of the low-end Gossens (I think it's a Pilot 3) that you can still buy brand new. If you have a tolerance for older equipment and you can check them, I'd either get a newer Sekonic (like an L-188) which takes a modern battery, or a selenium meter which doesn't require one at all. Seleniums are great if you don't need dim-light ability.

 

[TheDreadPirateRobins]

I have a Gossen SBC Super Pilot. I know it's sort of lower grade than a lot that have already been mentioned, but I got it for not much money and I like the compact size. I often carry it around, guess an exposure, and then check it against what I see on the light meter, just as sort of a game I play to try and improve my eye for light conditions.

 

[jd callow]

Another vote for Luna Pro's or the Gossen Six meters. I've owned more Luna Pros than I can count and have 3 now (2-F's and an SBC). It isn't the needle that gets me its the accuracy, flexibility, adjustability, simplicity and sensitivity. I guess the needle helps in most of those areas.

 

[Ian Grant]

Don't be over dismissive, it might be a cheaper alternative but it will be well made. Maybe not as big and robust but just as good.

In my teens one of my uncles then a keen photographer used to visit, he'd test me to guess the exposure with no meter, not easy in the UK where weather & light changes very rapidly, but we'd always be well within a stop of the meter readings. I couldn't do it now, you need constant practice, but it is remarkably easy. I've never felt a need to rely on it though

Ian