Pentax 1°/21° Spot Meter

[WGibsonPhotography]

I'm considering bidding on a used Pentax 1°/21° spot meter on Ebay. Does anyone know how reliable and accurate those spot meters are?

 

[Ian Grant]

Very accurate & reliable, I've had mine for 25 years.

Ian

 

[Pinholemaster]

Pentax made the best in my opinion. But what do I know? Grin.

 

[WGibsonPhotography]

Thanks guys. I did a google search for pentax spot meters and found that they're pretty good, but I wanted some opinions from APUG before I made my decision

 

[xtolsniffer]

They're great and easy to use. Learning how to interpret the readings properly, that's the difficult bit!

 

[dpurdy]

you just need to decide if you want the digital or the analog. And if you want the analog I think you want the second version which doesn't need the cap left on to save the battery. I first got a new analog and used it for 10 years and it never failed but it got lifted out of my car, so I bought a used digital and have continued to use it for 24 years though I think it might be miss reading a bit now. I prefer the digital for the reason that it fits in my pocket better.

 

[WGibsonPhotography]

They're great and easy to use. Learning how to interpret the readings properly, that's the difficult bit!

Yeah, that's what I thought when I saw the dials on the side. Is there a manual I can download on the internet, or will it be fairly self explanatory when I get it?

 

[John Koehrer]

It's just a calculator dial similar to a luna-pro.
Transfer reading to dial, twiddle with camera, take magnificent photo, wander off.

 

[WGibsonPhotography]

you just need to decide if you want the digital or the analog. And if you want the analog I think you want the second version which doesn't need the cap left on to save the battery. I first got a new analog and used it for 10 years and it never failed but it got lifted out of my car, so I bought a used digital and have continued to use it for 24 years though I think it might be miss reading a bit now. I prefer the digital for the reason that it fits in my pocket better.

My Polaris incident/reflected light meter is digital, and I like the digital output. I'd prefer a digital spotmeter, but I cant find one at a reasonable price
An analog spotmeter might take me a while to learn how to use properly, but that's not a problem if it's just as accurate as a digital one (and I'm assuming they are...).

 

[WGibsonPhotography]

It's just a calculator dial similar to a luna-pro.
Transfer reading to dial, twiddle with camera, take magnificent photo, wander off.

I've never use a luna-pro, so that really doesnt help much. If it's as easy to use as you say, even someone with my intelligence level will be able to use it.

 

[John Koehrer]

I've never use a luna-pro, so that really doesnt help much. If it's as easy to use as you say, even someone with my intelligence level will be able to use it.

Oh! They work (generally) like this......
Set the ISO or EI.
Point the meter at your subject & take a reading. It will give you a reading of a certain value, say it's 11.
Look at the calculator dial & set the dial for 11. The dial gives you a series of EV combinations & you choose the setting combination that give you the best(IYO) combination of speed & aperture.

 

[WGibsonPhotography]

Oh! They work (generally) like this......
Set the ISO or EI.
Point the meter at your subject & take a reading. It will give you a reading of a certain value, say it's 11.
Look at the calculator dial & set the dial for 11. The dial gives you a series of EV combinations & you choose the setting combination that give you the best(IYO) combination of speed & aperture.

I got outbid on it at the last minute Luckily there's lots of used spot meters on ebay right now. Another one is ending this afternoon. I'll give that one a bid here in a few hours.

 

[Shawn Dougherty]

I'm broke most of the time and cheap to boot. That said, I spent $325 on a Pentax digital spot meter and it's now among my favorite possessions. It works great and is super reliable. It's the only meter I use. Some things are worth buying right the first time, a light meter is one of those things.

 

[WGibsonPhotography]

I'm broke most of the time and cheap to boot. That said, I spent $325 on a Pentax digital spot meter and it's now among my favorite possessions. It works great and is super reliable. It's the only meter I use. Some things are worth buying right the first time, a light meter is one of those things.

Are the Pentax digital spot meters more accurate than the analog ones? If they are, I'll try to save up enough money to get one of those. If the digital ones are comparable in reliability and accuracy as the analog ones, I'll just get one of them. Like you, I'm broke most of the time, so I need to get the best equipment as cheaply as possible

 

[mikebarger]

I've got one of each (the anolog is Zone VI modified). They almost always match, if they don't I go with the analog.

I really only use the digital for backup.

Mike

 

[2F/2F]

Great meters! Just as good as the later ones, IMO, and I enjoy the split scale, actually.

The problem is this: It takes TWO batteries. One is for the high scale, and one is for the low scale. ONE of the batteries is no longer made. I think it is the battery for the low scale, but cannot remember exactly.

As such, to use it, you must get around the battery issue. You can do this, using a variety of methods, however, the monetary value of the meters is LOW because of this. Do not pay a lot for one of them.

 

[alan doyle]

the pentax digital is fantastic...the best i have ever had..had mine 15 years..it was 2nd hand then.
never ever let me down,never had it serviced,battery lasts forever..
the digital is a small superb device..
unless you can get a cheap bargain save up for the digital..
in the last couple of years i purchased new meters by sekonic and gossen,battery life is not good..and they did not seem as resilient as pentax and minolta meters of old.

 

[Shawn Dougherty]

I have a friend who has the analog version and he has had some reliability issues... Now, that's only one case so does it really mean anything? Probably not. However, having used his a couple of times I find the digital version a bit simpler to operate and it is more compact. I've yet to change the batteries in mine in 4 years. I can't recommend it enough. Good luck with whatever you end up with. Shawn

Are the Pentax digital spot meters more accurate than the analog ones? If they are, I'll try to save up enough money to get one of those. If the digital ones are comparable in reliability and accuracy as the analog ones, I'll just get one of them. Like you, I'm broke most of the time, so I need to get the best equipment as cheaply as possible

 

[Ian Grant]

Like others I have a Pentax Analog spotmeter and a Capital/Soligor digital meter as back-up. While in theory the digital meter might be more accurate the aperture scales/rings on most lenses only allow half stops, and in practice there's no difference in use, I actually prefer the nanalog scale.

Ian

 

[mikebarger]

If you watch ebay close, you can get the digital just as cheap as the analog V.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=270312083391

Mike

 

[Ponysoldier]

I have both the Analog (Version II) and the Digital and have never been disappointed in the results obtained with them. I really prefer the analog version despite the larger size... maybe the fact that I have been using it for nearly thirty years!

 

[Jayd]

I ve had mine many years but recently it got to be inaccurate and I have not been able to get it fixed so I would recomend the newer digital rather than the old analog. I loved it and the sekonic L408 I'm using now seems a toyby compairson. Any one know someone who can repair these ? My repair guy can get it to be accurate in one range then it's off in the other.
The Zone VI sticker is really a nice addition.
Jay

 

[mikebarger]

light-metric Hollywoood CA and Richard Ritter are both excellent with these meters.

Mike

 

[WGibsonPhotography]

does anyone have any experience with a Minolta Auto-Spot 1 Degree Spot Meter?

 

[WGibsonPhotography]

I bid on and won a Soligor digital spot meter on ebay. It will be here sometime next week