Deleted member 88956
Ranger 9 can still be serviced in a lab in LA, don't remember their name, but apparently they are THE light meter lab out there.
View attachment 256313
Just bought a Weston Ranger 9. A bit older than what everyone else is suggesting, but I figure even if it needs calibration, it should be a useful reflected/incident meter. Ansel Adams thought so!
Quality Light Metric. That's where it is headed...Ranger 9 can still be serviced in a lab in LA, don't remember their name, but apparently they are THE light meter lab out there.
Could be -- at the time I bought one, at least a half dozen years ago I recall the price was more like $14 or so. Maybe competition from items like that monitor mount has pushed the price down. I'm sure light meters and anything to do with them are probably a low production item these days, but I feel if it were a more popular item it would fall in the $5 range. And yes, realistically, given the cost of film and processing, $150-200 for a meter and mount adapter that might last a decade or more isn't a big deal, but the OP was looking for something sub-50 dollars used.Adorama lists the Gossen Digisix accessory shoe thingy for $8.89 ???
Except Sekonic Studio Deluxe is still THE choice in selenium. Even ones from decades ago are often as good. Of course with old selenium meters part of equation is actual amount of time cell was exposed to light, and that is near impossible to tell juts by looking at the meter.With not too much diligence, a clean Gossen LunaSix or Luna Pro can be had for $25 on Ebay.
Used light meters are quite cheap, but if I were just starting out, I'd avoid the selenium cell meters for obvious reasons.
If you want new and cheap, I have no suggestions.
That is NOT a going price. For fifty must have gone pretty quick.Not too long ago I bought an unused, in the box with all accessories latest model 398A, the one with the amorphous sensor, for fifty usd. I just sold it recently because between the 308 and the Reveni, it was just sitting.
Or, buy one Wein battery and when it expires, pop the battery out of the fitted washer and use the washer with the 675 hearing aid batteries from Costco. Easy, cheap solution.I have had good results with the older versions of the Luna Pro meters and the physical adapters that permit use of hearing aid batteries. They have given readings that coincide with my Lunasix F and my Digiflash meters.
I've also used the voltage modification adapters and silver oxide batteries in an older Luna Pro.
If you use the hearing aid battery adapters, make sure you have extra batteries and a toothpick - the little 675 batteries are small and sometimes a challenge to pop out of the adapter.
I 'updated' that L206 to a L558 one-degree and I kind of miss the larger field of the six-degree L206. Since I don't do "abstracts" most of my subjects are unlikely to have a continuous tone that falls within the one-degree spot. So it is really just a more limiting average meter.Have you found any advantages to using a spot meter? I know henri cartier-bresson used one ;p some people seemed obsessed with them. I'm wondering if they'd be good for isolating the exposure on a subject or getting good contrast for skin tones.
Sorry, Brain, avoid this if the "calibration" was for a meter that once used a mercury battery. The voltage output from the mercury was about 1.35 volts and was amazingly stable until the cell had just about failed. A mercury battery was often used as a voltage standard in 1960s electronics. Almost all newer silver, alkaline, whatever cells exhibit varying voltage as they age. Therefore, there is no one calibration that makes the meter correct over time as the battery ages. If you use a Wein cell, hearing aide battery, or the Gossen adapter device, that is a different matter.However I have come across some on ebay that have been calibrated for "one stop under" which I suppose means it would be better for 1.5 volt batteries.
My adapter was priced similar to the Wein batteryOr, buy one Wein battery and when it expires, pop the battery out of the fitted washer and use the washer with the 675 hearing aid batteries from Costco. Easy, cheap solution.
With one essentially unobtainable exception though, they are relatively big.
There are, indeed, meters with a relatively large acceptance angle and a "spot" viewing system. They have their advantages, but aren't as much "spot" as the one degree spot meters that most people think of when they hear the term.The Weston Ranger 9 has a 18 degree spot function and does incident and reflected; provided you don't lose that tiny Invercone adapter for incident.
Not perfect but better than not having a spot meter...
I am looking forward to trying it out and hope it lives up to its reputation.
This is the one I've got--discontinued, but available used. It will fit in a shirt pocket, and it's pretty thin, and very light weight.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/93222-REG/Shepherd_Polaris_SPD100_Polaris_Digital_Meter.html
To measure incident light, you position the dome so it points toward the camera from the subject's position. I don't think it matters if top of the dome is facing directly up or to the camera, unless there is a strong backlight--but the subject usually blocks that in most situations.My go-to meter as well. I particularly like that the dome is on the front face of the meter, so that when I hand-hold it in front of the subject to meter, the readout is facing me. I have a different small-ish meter by Gossen that has the dome on the narrow top of the meter, so to incident meter I have to turn around from the subject to point the mater at the light source, or point it back over my shoulder, and then shift holding it to see the read-out. Also, the Polaris made available a reflected-light attachment for the meter, so if needed it could convert.
good: Gossen LunaPro SBC
better: Gossen LunaPro digital or digisix
I don't get it. The Luna Pro SBC and the Luna Pro F (these are the USA model names) have the same casing. Why is only the F not neck friendly? The Luna Pro Digital models are thinner and lighter and more friendly on the neck.Luna Pro SBC, (the Luna Pro F is no neck friendly)
Luna Pro SBC, (the Luna Pro F is no neck friendly)
I don't get it. The Luna Pro SBC and the Luna Pro F (these are the USA model names) have the same casing. Why is only the F not neck friendly? The Luna Pro Digital models are thinner and lighter and more friendly on the neck.
Kodachromeguy is exactly correct. The Luna Pro SBC and Luna Pro F are identical in size and weight. The only real difference is the colors on the dial and the addition of a jack to connect the Luna Pro F to a strobe
The Luna Pro SBC and Luna Pro F are two completely different meters, thanks to the Gossen Team that named them different in The U.S. and Europa.
The American SBC uses a button battery, and is easily hacked with a diode for use with SR 44 batteries.
It is without flash function, and fits easily in a dress shirt pocket.
The American Luna Pro F uses a 9 volt battery, can read flash, (F for Flash) but mine does no have a sync port.
It's large, at least 2.5 x the mass of the SBC, has a separate button for a battery check and comes in a heavy leather case....
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?