Reveni Meter

mtnbkr · Mar 12, 2022

I just got one of these little guys. I'm hoping to ditch the smartphone light meter. Trying to juggle both and deal with my phone being locked when I need the meter got tiresome.

Pretty neat and doesn't overwhelm the Canon VT I bought it for. I haven't used it in anger yet, but my observations so far:

Pros:
Tiny
Lightweight
Easy to use
Bright display
Fits nicely on my 3d-printed double-shoe adapter next to my Voigtlander 15mm finder.
Made in North America

Cons:
It could use a few more aperture steps (no 1.8? Really?)
The display isn't as legible at short distances as I'd hope (that's a me issue, not a fault of the device).
It was a loose fit in my VT's cold shoe (but fit my FT's shoe snugly, a bit of cardstock under the meter fixed the VT fit)

Chris

radiant · Mar 12, 2022

What has been bothering me all the time is how do you know where the measurement is being taken? The instructions say that "aim to your subject". What if your subject is far away or is for example landscape?

mtnbkr · Mar 12, 2022

radiant said:
What has been bothering me all the time is how do you know where the measurement is being taken? The instructions say that "aim to your subject". What if your subject is far away or is for example landscape?

Dunno, I guess I'm going to find out.

I don't see it as any different than the smartphone meter app I've been using. Which, btw, has resulted in mostly spot-on exposures. I'd stick with it if using it (app+phone) wasn't so tedious.

They do have the spot-meter version, which may address your concern, but I was trying to get away from a handheld device.

Chris

Besk · Mar 12, 2022

My LuMu light meter on my Iphone has a spot metering ability.

mtnbkr · Mar 12, 2022

Bob Eskridge said:
My LuMu light meter on my Iphone has a spot metering ability.

The app I use also has spot capability (Light Meter Free in Google Play store). To be honest, the app was great, it was using a smartphone that ruined the process. It seemed my phone was always locked when I needed it (tappity tappity to unlock it) or the screen was washed out in bright sun, etc. But, the app itself worked great and gave me good results.

Chris

madNbad · Mar 12, 2022

I have both the original Kickstarter model plus a later updated version and they are used for most of my metering. I rarely carry the Sekonic 308 anymore having learned to love the little Reveni. It reads a fifty degree angle of view so it pairs well with my preference for a 35 or wider on the M4. I have spent time with a gray card and the Sekonic, dialing in so they both match but found they read well with the factory settings. The biggest problem is battery life, so I always carry a spare. I find them easy to read, accurate enough for me and will read down to ridiculously low ISO’s. The original version fits well in the accessory shoe of both the M4 and the Retina IIa. The updated version has a bit of duct tape stuck to the bottom of the foot to keep it in place. It my not be the perfect meter for everyone but it’s good enough for me.

ic-racer · Mar 12, 2022

I like my Reveni also. The acceptance angle is about 45 degrees making it easy to use for averaging metering (its intended purpose). For comparison a Luna Pro-S is 30 degrees. Indeed, with acceptance angles smaller than that, "where is it pointed" can be an issue.

madNbad · Mar 12, 2022

If I can step closer to the subject, then take a reading the Reveni works well:

Leica M4, Voigtlander VM Heilar 50mm 2.0 collapsible, 5222, HC-110 Dilution B

gone · Mar 12, 2022

radiant said:
The instructions say that "aim to your subject". What if your subject is far away or is for example landscape?

Then you use the large format photographers trick (although I think they learned it from Edward Weston). Look at the light that's on your main subject and what's important to you in the shot, whatever it may be and however far away. Then look around for a similar value near you. It might be the grass (excellent middle value). a shaded area, the palm or your hand, etc. If you set your meter for that, there you go. Works every time.

radiant · Mar 13, 2022

mtnbkr said:
Dunno, I guess I'm going to find out.
I don't see it as any different than the smartphone meter app I've been using. Which, btw, has resulted in mostly spot-on exposures. I'd stick with it if using it (app+phone) wasn't so tedious.
They do have the spot-meter version, which may address your concern, but I was trying to get away from a handheld device.

Anything that gets in the way of creative process should be eliminated

I love TTL measuring, so easy and works also like a charm. I think reveni meter sounds very close to that in terms of process.

momus said:
Then you use the large format photographers trick (although I think they learned it from Edward Weston). Look at the light that's on your main subject and what's important to you in the shot, whatever it may be and however far away. Then look around for a similar value near you. It might be the grass (excellent middle value). a shaded area, the palm or your hand, etc. If you set your meter for that, there you go. Works every time.

I've usually been very sloppy and just measured ground with smart phone app and use that. Usually very close. Modern films take the heavy lifting of the small error I get.

Now I'm using incident metering app (Luxi) and my own app (spot meter on stereoids) when there isn't TTL measuring possibiltiy.

I actually built one light meter by myself which works pretty much like Reveni, it was only handheld and I got good photos with that. I didn't use it that much beacause of the bulkiness so I didn't get much experience how it works. Same goes to my Sekonic multimeter, it is very bulky and annoying to carry around. I use it only to check if my other measurements are working

ic-racer · Mar 13, 2022

Radiant makes some good points, especially if a large portion of sky is in the 40 degree view of the Reveni.
Just to clarify why I like mine, I use it with the little 16mm cameras, Rollei 35, and 6x9cm technical cameras. You might think the technical camera is so big, adding a massive Luna Pro to the kit is nothing, but actually just the opposite. Since the camera is so big, any extra weight is horrible.

abruzzi · Mar 13, 2022

I’m interested to try Reveni’s spot meter. I don’t do averaging reflected much except in 35mm SLR internal meters, I’m happy with my Sekonic 308 for incident, but all the narrow spot meters ar very large and bulky, and the Reveni spot seems like a possible solution.

Donald Qualls · Mar 13, 2022

abruzzi said:
I’m interested to try Reveni’s spot meter.

I haven't tried one, but Matt Marrash (Large Format Friday on YouTube) likes his a lot. I see a potential issue for the (relatively uncommon) user whose eyes don't track together correctly, or has a visual impairment in one eye, in that the Reveni spot meter works by holding the no-optics meter to one eye, keeping the other eye open, and superposes the spot onto the view in the other eye. Works great if your eyes track together, not so much otherwise.

I also see a potential problem for wearers of glasses, in that the eyepiece seems quite small. Marrash is a young fellow and doesn't wear glasses, but many/most of us here seem to. If you have problems with pre-War rangefinder eyepieces, you may find it hard to get the Reveni spotmeter close enough to read the display (again, I haven't used or handled one, this may not be a significant concern in practice).

Alan9940 · Mar 13, 2022

I have used the Reveni Spot Meter since receiving it from the Kickstarter campaign (roughly 6 months now.) Donald makes some very valid points above which should be considered, if they apply to you. That said, I offer my opinions as follows:

Positive: lightweight, inexpensive (for a new spot meter), easy to use (if the above points don't apply to you), wider ISO and aperture ranges than many other light meters

Not so positive: buttons can be fiddly and don't always work on first press, battery life is not great, the measuring angle is not 1 degree as you might assume because it's a spot meter, more advanced metering modes are challenging to learn based on the minimal information in the User Manual, if you like lens caps to keep optics clean that's an extra cost

Overall, though, I enjoy using this meter, but won't be selling my Pentax Digital Spot meter any time soon.

mtnbkr · Mar 13, 2022

So I used the meter in anger today. I was out hiking in the mountains in pursuit of one of my other hobbies and took the Canon VT and Reveni meter along for the trip. Because I was not out there for photography, I only took a couple pictures, but the meter worked great from a workflow perspective. It was easy to read (my vision is fine in natural light) and not at all fiddly like my phone is. I was able to get an exposure calc much faster than with my phone. If the results are accurate, then I'll have to say this was well worth the money in terms of workflow improvements alone.

Chris

Reveni Meter

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