Light meters - Which of these?: Reveni Labs, Reflxlab, Keks-KM02

igmolinav · Jul 25, 2023

Hi,

Have you used any of these light meters:
Reveni Labs, Reflxlab, or Keks-KM02?

Would you recommend any of these?
Would you recommend another one?

The Voigtländer one is much expensive.

Do you think one could use any of them
with 35mm., medium, and large format,
to get decent readings?

Is there another light meter you may
want to recommend?

Thank you in advance, kind regards,

Ig : )!!!

P.D. Product links:

1. https://www.reveni-labs.com/shop/p/lightmeter

2. https://reflxlab.com/products/reflx-lab-light-meter

3. https://www.kekscameras.com/kekskm02.html#/

Rolleiflexible · Jul 25, 2023

Those meters are all somewhat imprecise — good metering involves knowing where to meter. A meter mounted on a hot shoe is rarely going to give you an optimal reading.

FWIW my old standby is the Sekonic Studio Deluxe, an incident light meter. It came In a variety of models over the decades. I prefer the older L-28C2 but any of them will serve you well.

runswithsizzers · Jul 25, 2023

As a 35mm film shooter, all my cameras already have built-in meters for reflected light -- and the built-in meters do an OK job (after understanding their limitations).

In difficult light conditions, I prefer to take an incident reading with a handheld meter such as my Sekonic L-308s. That is also the meter I preferred while using a meterless medium format TLR. The L-308s version has been replaced with newer (and more expensive) versions, but I got mine second-hand.

igmolinav · Jul 25, 2023

Rolleiflexible said:
Those meters are all somewhat imprecise — good metering involves knowing where to meter. A meter mounted on a hot shoe is rarely going to give you an optimal reading.

FWIW my old standby is the Sekonic Studio Deluxe, an ambient light meter. It came In a variety of models over the decades. I prefer the older L-28C2 but any of them will serve you well.

Hi,

Thank you for your message : )!!!

The meter in my 35mm. camera died. I am looking for an alternative
to this situation. I get sometimes on loan a hand-held lightmeter, but
it is not always easy to do street photography with it.

Thank you again, kind regards,

Ig : )!!!

igmolinav · Jul 25, 2023

runswithsizzers said:
As a 35mm film shooter, all my cameras already have built-in meters for reflected light -- and the built-in meters do an OK job (after understanding their limitations).

In difficult light conditions, I prefer to take an incident reading with a handheld meter such as my Sekonic L-308s. That is also the meter I preferred while using a meterless medium format TLR. The L-308s version has been replaced with newer (and more expensive) versions, but I got mine second-hand.

Hi,

Thank you for your message : )!!!

The meter in my 35mm. camera died. I am looking for an alternative
to this situation. I get sometimes on loan a hand-held lightmeter, but
it is not always easy to do street photography with it.

Thank you again, kind regards,

Ig : )!!!

Rolleiflexible · Jul 26, 2023

igmolinav said:
The meter in my 35mm. camera died. I am looking for an alternative
to this situation. I get sometimes on loan a hand-held lightmeter, but
it is not always easy to do street photography with it.

Consider this your opportunity to learn better ways of measuring light.

Handheld meters are fine for street work. I prefer incident meters -- just make sure your meter dome is catching more or less the same light as your subject. But if you prefer reflective meters, just point it at your open palm and then open up a stop. (A reflective meter presumes it is reading light reflecting from an "18-percent gray" object, and your palm is a stop brighter than that.) Either approach can be done where you stand, without approaching your subject, so long as you and your subject are in roughly the same light.

There's not much of a learning curve to this. Get a good meter and learn how to use it.

Oren Grad · Jul 26, 2023

I have the Reveni meter you linked. It's tiny and featherweight - pretty astonishing when you have it in hand for the first time. It's not necessary to use it shoe-mounted - you can put a strap or lanyard on it, which makes it easier to point toward a particular target you want to meter without having to wave the whole camera around. The main drawback IMO is that the buttons are very small and fiddly, making the meter a bit fussy in use. But it works and is no burden at all to carry.

That said, if I'm out shooting 35mm Tri-X with a meterless camera, as often as not I'll just wing it - set the exposure from experience. If I feel I need a meter I'll typically take a Sekonic L-308 and use it in incident mode. The Sekonic is itself compact and very lightweight as meters go, though of course not so crazy-small as the Reveni.

BMbikerider · Jul 26, 2023

In the past 20 or so years I have had and still do two of the old favourites A Weston Master V with invercone. No batteries just a socking large selenium cell that still works and is accurate. Two levels of measurement controlled by a fold down baffle. The down side is a the cells don't last for ever and mine was used and there are no replacements. When I bought it it had been used by a wedding photographer paired up with his Mamiya c330. I have no idea how long it will last but by it's current performance it will see me out.

My other one is a Minolta Autometer 3, complete with incident light cone and a 10 degree semi spot adapter as well as a normal reflective meter. The semi spot adapter is used via an eye level finder which I probably use most of all. I have replaced the battery once in 15 years of use and they are still readily available. It is more sensitive than the Weston, but not so easy to use and is more obvious what you are doing. The Minolta meter also has a a facility to take 3 readings, store them and then average them out which I do find very useful.

As for the 'new kids on the light-meter block', forget them, there are better meters out there for less money

mtnbkr · Jul 26, 2023

I use the Reveni on my Canon VT. It's not precise in that you don't know where exactly it's metering like you would with a TTL spot meter, but it does well enough for print film. The main problem I have with mine is that it eats batteries. Also, mine was way off when I got it, but easy enough to adjust (not sure if others in this category can be adjusted). I also like that it's made in North America.

I've been looking at the newly released ReflxLabs meter, but there's only one review out so far. At $45 (on sale) shipped, it's about the cheapest option out there.

Chris

Chan Tran · Jul 26, 2023

Ah those meters are for those who need meter but don't want to bring a meter.

mtnbkr · Jul 26, 2023

Chan Tran said:
Ah those meters are for those who need meter but don't want to bring a meter.

Yes and?
I don't want to deal with multiple devices to take a picture. Otherwise, I'd just use a metering app on my phone which worked quite well until I got the Reveni. At least with the phone, I already have it with me.

Chris

Paul Howell · Jul 26, 2023

Why not sunny 16?

Alan9940 · Jul 26, 2023

I have both the tiny "suger cube" Reveni meter and the Reveni Spot Meter. They both do what their designed to do...measure light. But, just like using any light meter one needs to learn how to use it effectively. I like the tiny meter because I can slip it into the cold shoe of my MF folders. I, also, occasionally use it on a wrist strap. I generally use the spot meter when shooting MF or LF. It's not a spot meter in the sense that my Pentax Digital is, but, again, once you nail down its idiosyncrasies it will provide perfectly accurate exposures.

Alan Edward Klein · Jul 26, 2023

Your posts are confusing. You said the meter in your 35mm street photography camera died and you need a replacement. Then you said you want a meter for medium and large formats as well. What is it you want to do? If it's just street photography, it may be cheaper to just get a replacement 35mm camera with an operable meter. But until you explain what you want to do and what you shoot, we're just guessing.

chuckroast · Jul 26, 2023

Alan9940 said:
I have both the tiny "suger cube" Reveni meter and the Reveni Spot Meter. They both do what their designed to do...measure light. But, just like using any light meter one needs to learn how to use it effectively. I like the tiny meter because I can slip it into the cold shoe of my MF folders. I, also, occasionally use it on a wrist strap. I generally use the spot meter when shooting MF or LF. It's not a spot meter in the sense that my Pentax Digital is, but, again, once you nail down its idiosyncrasies it will provide perfectly accurate exposures.

@Alan9940 Can you say a bit more about how the Revini spot meter works differently than, say, a Pentax or Sekonic spot meter?

madNbad · Jul 26, 2023

chuckroast said:
@Alan9940 Can you say a bit more about how the Revini spot meter works differently than, say, a Pentax or Sekonic spot meter?

The Reveni Spot meter works with your binocular vision. You hold the meter in front of your dominant eye and view the scene with the other. The Reveni is not a true one degree spot meter but somewhere between two and five degrees. Your dominant eye reads the meter with the information superimposed over the scene your other eye is viewing. It’s an ingenious solution to the problem of of large, aging spot meters that may be difficult to repair. It offers a variety of modes and it’s worth the time to check it out on the Reveni site. That being said, the meter does take some time to figure out the best way to use it and it will never be as accurate as a Pentax or Minolta.
I have one but only using 35 it’s easier to use the Sekonic 308. If you’re using medium or large format, it may be worth a look.

Alan9940 · Jul 26, 2023

To be fair, my Pentax Digital Spot meter is not a true 1 degree meter, either. Bright areas just outside the "spot" will affect the EV value measured. The most accurate spot meter I've ever seen is the SEI, but it's nearly impossible to find one nowadays that will calibrate correctly. And, it takes figuring trig functions in your head to use it!

chuckroast · Jul 26, 2023

madNbad said:
The Reveni Spot meter works with your binocular vision. You hold the meter in front of your dominant eye and view the scene with the other. The Reveni is not a true one degree spot meter but somewhere between two and five degrees. Your dominant eye reads the meter with the information superimposed over the scene your other eye is viewing. It’s an ingenious solution to the problem of of large, aging spot meters that may be difficult to repair. It offers a variety of modes and it’s worth the time to check it out on the Reveni site. That being said, the meter does take some time to figure out the best way to use it and it will never be as accurate as a Pentax or Minolta.
I have one but only using 35 it’s easier to use the Sekonic 308. If you’re using medium or large format, it may be worth a look.

Interesting. I have the Revini cube, but normally use a Sekonic of Pentax spotmeter. Thanks for clarifying.

Sirius Glass · Jul 26, 2023

I use the light meters on my cameras. Additionally I use the Sekonic L-308S, which has incident and reflectence readings as will as flash reading, And the Pentax Digital Spot Meter.

madNbad · Jul 26, 2023

I had a couple Reveni cubes and am a big fan of what Matt and his crew are trying to accomplish. Between the fairly wide angle of acceptance and the poor battery life, they were donated and I went back to a Sekonic 308. I did buy a spot meter just to try it out.

chuckroast · Jul 26, 2023

madNbad said:
I had a couple Reveni cubes and am a big fan of what Matt and his crew are trying to accomplish. Between the fairly wide angle of acceptance and the poor battery life, they were donated and I went back to a Sekonic 308. I did buy a spot meter just to try it out.

They're definitely no replacement for precision metering, but I get a kick out of sticking one on an old Leica IIIf and wondering around for a day.

awty · Jul 26, 2023

This is what I use, metal construction, two positions for shoe connection, battery lasted two years, very quick and easy to operate, can set your camera from above as I prefer, works in strong sunlight (some LCD screens are hard to see in sunlight), comes in sexy black and brilliant silver, costs less than $100.

AnselMortensen · Jul 26, 2023

awty said:
This is what I use, metal construction, two positions for shoe connection, battery lasted two years, very quick and easy to operate, can set your camera from above as I prefer, works in strong sunlight (some LCD screens are hard to see in sunlight), comes in sexy black and brilliant silver, costs less than $100.
View attachment 344971

Who makes that?
The logo is indecipherable.
Thanks.

awty · Jul 26, 2023

AnselMortensen said:
Who makes that?
The logo is indecipherable.
Thanks.

Its a Doomo, similar to the Voigtlander VC. I think there are several different brands that look the same.

AnselMortensen · Jul 26, 2023

Thanks!

Light meters - Which of these?: Reveni Labs, Reflxlab, Keks-KM02

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