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Minolta IV F in the darkroom

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eli griggs

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Although I have a color analyzer, I want to know if, the IV F can be used like the Minolta III meter as a darkroom meter, with a special iris disk replacing the dome?

Anyone using the IV F in the darkroom, please speak up as to your thoughts on this meter!
 
The biggest difference between the Minolta Autometer III F and IV F is the body design. It uses a AA battery (vs 544), and is not quite as sensitive in low light. The darkroom disk works on either -- as well as the Autometer II, Flashmeter II, etc. -- as well as the spot attachments, etc.
 
The biggest difference between the Minolta Autometer III F and IV F is the body design. It uses a AA battery (vs 544), and is not quite as sensitive in low light. The darkroom disk works on either -- as well as the Autometer II, Flashmeter II, etc. -- as well as the spot attachments, etc.

The IIIF uses a 10 degree spot attachment. The IVF a 5-degree. They aren;t interchangeable.
 
Although I have a color analyzer, I want to know if, the IV F can be used like the Minolta III meter as a darkroom meter, with a special iris disk replacing the dome?

Anyone using the IV F in the darkroom, please speak up as to your thoughts on this meter!

I tried this, but after a lot of experimenting, I went back to a proper darkroom meter.
 
Ilford EM10 Darkroom exposure meters are plentiful and cheap, so i'd suggest picking one of those up.

Mike
 
If you already have a Minolta meter I'd try that first, but an enlarger disk might be hard to find. And if you find one, it might be more expensive than a simple darkroom exposure meter, such as the one mentioned above.

I find the Minolta meter to be very useful under the enlarger -- after you determine the ISO of the paper you are using (with a simple step table test). The Minolta disc is white so you know what you are reading, and the hole in the middle is small, so you can meter exactly what you want (ex. mid-tone, clear film, etc.).

Of course which meter you use makes a difference. I use an Auto Meter II which shows the complete range of shutter speed and f-stops. So I select the f-stop first, and dial in the speed in the timer. If your meter is "shutter-preferred", where you select the shutter first, and it gives you the f-stop, I would find that less convenient.
 
I had the Minolta III and use it on occasion in darkrooms, also the Gossen LBC and Pro F, and all worked great, but having now the IVF, Id like to have the option of using it at times, but despite my current buying bing, I don’t want to spend a lot on something so trivial to my needs.

Hopefully, when I do find one, it to will rival the PM2 analyzer.
 
The Minolta IVF and other general purpose light meters would seem a bit out of their league for the lower light levels of typical enlarging work.

The two devices I have use include the Gossen Labosix, specifically made for enlarging with a portable maybe 4mm spot receptor tethered to the meter itself with a long cable; the readout is needle style which you can adjust the response of match the sensitivity of your paper.

My other device is the ZBE easel densitometer, which is remarkably precise even at very low light levels, but was quite expensive. It reads in logarithmic cc density units easily translated into time via a simple math calculator.
 
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