Reveni Meter

[grat]

well, the few videos of his I've seen have really turned me off to him. The seemed more like advertisements than informative. I know a lot of people like his videos, and thats great, but I like to hear from people that don't have an income dependant on their youtube videos.

OOkay. I know he's tried out the occasional product (including the Reveni Spot), but most of the videos I've seen have been promoting Large Format, and trying to get others interested.

Yes, he generates revenue from his videos, but he'd be stupid not to. I believe he also works for Midwest Photo both in sales and teaching their classes.

If you want any decent reviews of the Reveni Spot, you're going to have to look at Youtube or other video sites-- The people who aren't on youtube are still using Pentax Spotmeters, possibly with Zone VI labels plastered on them.

 

[Sirius Glass]

The people who aren't on youtube are still using Pentax Spotmeters, possibly with Zone VI labels plastered on them.

I am one of therm.

 

[grat]

I am one of therm.

And nothing wrong with that. As long as it's not dark, I actually like my Cambron knock-off of a Soligor copy of a Pentax.

There is a faction on this site, however, that believes that if you do youtube, you're a money-grubbing imbecile, as a fairly recent disastrous thread proved to the detriment of the community (in my opinion).

But the people who are going to haul around a glassless, 3d printed spot-meter, and use it enough to be able to make a reasonable comment about it, are probably also on YT, Reddit, etc..

 

[Sirius Glass]

And nothing wrong with that. As long as it's not dark, I actually like my Cambron knock-off of a Soligor copy of a Pentax.

There is a faction on this site, however, that believes that if you do youtube, you're a money-grubbing imbecile, as a fairly recent disastrous thread proved to the detriment of the community (in my opinion).

But the people who are going to haul around a glassless, 3d printed spot-meter, and use it enough to be able to make a reasonable comment about it, are probably also on YT, Reddit, etc..

If it is too dark I use the Jiffy Exposure Guide which has never failed since 1963.

The original

http://www.cppdh.org/download/jiffy-calculator-for-night-light-exposures.pdf Improved

 

[madNbad]

I started this thread with a simple premise: look at the size of the Reveni Labs reflective meter next to the palm size Sekonic L-398. I like both of them for different reasons. I though the Reveni would be my only meter but missed the ability for incident metering, so I bought yet another Studio Deluxe to fill that need. Somehow, the thread has wandered off onto what is an acceptable spot meter. I’m not sure how it got there but it did. No piece of equipment is right for everyone and new stuff is always circumspect until proven. Will the Reveni Spot be different in a year? Most definitely, because as more people use it, they will provide feedback to the developers. Over all, they really aren’t that expensive compared to a Sekonic and maybe just the right user will write a review.

 

[StrangestStranger]

I started this thread with a simple premise: look at the size of the Reveni Labs reflective meter next to the palm size Sekonic L-398. I like both of them for different reasons. I though the Reveni would be my only meter but missed the ability for incident metering, so I bought yet another Studio Deluxe to fill that need. Somehow, the thread has wandered off onto what is an acceptable spot meter. I’m not sure how it got there but it did. No piece of equipment is right for everyone and new stuff is always circumspect until proven. Will the Reveni Spot be different in a year? Most definitely, because as more people use it, they will provide feedback to the developers. Over all, they really aren’t that expensive compared to a Sekonic and maybe just the right user will write a review.

"Spot"-on!

 

[mitch brown]

I just r3cieved my reveni spot a few days ago and have had several problems the batterys that came with it lasted less than a hour and the readings i was getting where all over the place. as an example i took a reading of the interior of my garage from about thirty yards of the dark interior and got a reading of a ev of 12.8 from the same place using my pentax spot meter i get 8.2 . i then moved to about 12 feet but still outside and the meter gave me a EV of 8.4 i have contacted them for help as all the readings are at least 3-4 ev's higher than the other meter most .of the time.
Mitch

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Once I shake this cold, for my next video, I'm planning to compare it with my Minolta digital spot. I'll also be trying it with the double-A battery adapter.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

...make that a triple A battery adapter

 

[madNbad]

If the spot meter is anything like the reflective meter, you can adjust the readings to match a known meter using a combination of exposure compensation and calibration. The meters are shipped with the calibration set but it’s user adjustable. Now back to the reflective meter..

 

[albada]

Once I shake this cold, for my next video, I'm planning to compare it with my Minolta digital spot. I'll also be trying it with the double-A battery adapter.

Great video reviewing the Ravioli Spot Meter (huh? It's REVENI? ) I wish I had your sense of humor.
Here's the direct link to Andrew's video.

I'm not convinced that the two-eyes technique is accurate enough. If your eye isn't perfectly centered on the large eyepiece-lens, then your aim of the meter will be off a few degrees.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Great video reviewing the Ravioli Spot Meter (huh? It's REVENI? ) I wish I had your sense of humor.
Here's the direct link to Andrew's video.

I'm not convinced that the two-eyes technique is accurate enough. If your eye isn't perfectly centered on the large eyepiece-lens, then your aim of the meter will be off a few degrees.

I don't think the Reveni would be Columbo's first choice...

 

[pentaxuser]

Matt Marrash may have a YouTube channel, but he's not what I would consider an influencer.

Sometimes it isn't always easy to identify an influencer from someone who has done a video on an item where it receives few criticisms because the presenter genuinely feels it doesn't warrant it.

I have always wondered about what signs to look for that distinguishes the influencer whom I assume is someone with a vested interest in the items promotion from the genuine presenter who is simply impressed by what the item is/does?

Thanks

pentaxuser

 

[BHuij]

I've been nothing but happy with my Reveni Labs spot meter. I use it when I shoot large format, or when shooting slide film in medium format or larger.

I used a Minolta Spotmeter F for years before getting the Reveni, and got it after seeing Matt Marrash use it. The tiny size and weight were very appealing to me since I tend to schlep my 4x5 setup over long distances from time to time. Readings from the Reveni were always within 0.1EV of my Minolta. *shrug* YMMV I guess.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I would buy one if they got rid of the binocular vision thing. A through the lens Reveni would be much more appealing... even to those with one eye!

 

[BHuij]

Yeah, that's the compromise they made to achieve such a small and light form factor I guess (and cost). I thought it would be a problem but it hasn't been so far. Even as someone who shoots a lot of small/intimate landscapes with my 4x5, where the parallax error should be at its greatest, I haven't had trouble getting accurate readings from the right part of the scene. Sometimes I have to take a second to make sure both eyes are properly focused on the area to meter, and then hold them there while I bring the meter up in front of one eye. But it always works for me, and I'm thrilled to have such a tiny spot meter. I also love the zone system metering mode where you can place a shadow and then scan around to see which zones other parts of the scene will fall on relative to that anchor point you set. Just taking that small bit of mental math out of the process helps me stay in more of a "right brained" mode while shooting. Something I struggle with when trying to make art haha.

I realize I sound like a shill, but honestly I'm just really pleased with mine and surprised to see so many people having a bad experience (or no experience and a bafflingly negative opinion).

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

That's great that it's working for you! I had fun playing with it for the short time it was in my possession... but what bothered me was I wasn't always certain that the spot was on the area that I was reading. I found the setting to see brightness differences between tones, more useful than the zone system setting... but that's probably because I got used to that way with the Minolta Spot F... which is a 1 degree, whereas the Reveni is not...

Now, that new metre they recently announced is something that I could actually use with a couple of old 35mm cameras with no built in metre, as well as some of my TLR's.

 

[Sharktooth]

Revini had a table at the Canadian Historical Society camera show in October this year. This was the first time I'd seen the meters in person. The small reflective meter was actually smaller than I was expecting, and the spot meter a little bigger. I bought the tiny reflective meter since it can go anywhere at any time. I have no trouble reading the display without reverting to my glasses, so that's another real bonus.

I've got lots of light meters, so don't really need another spot meter, or incident meter, but the truly tiny form factor of the original meter is something unique and useful that my other meters don't have.

 

[madNbad]

Revini had a table at the Canadian Historical Society camera show in October this year. This was the first time I'd seen the meters in person. The small reflective meter was actually smaller than I was expecting, and the spot meter a little bigger. I bought the tiny reflective meter since it can go anywhere at any time. I have no trouble reading the display without reverting to my glasses, so that's another real bonus.

I've got lots of light meters, so don't really need another spot meter, or incident meter, but the truly tiny form factor of the original meter is something unique and useful that my other meters don't have.

The biggest problem is battery life. The developers are well aware of it and have a new meter with many of the same functions as a Sekonic 308 coming in January. The OLED screen is easy to read but is also the source of battery drain. Store it with the battery removed and it will last a long time. The sensor in the cube reflective meter is essentially the same as one in a phone so it has a wide, 45 degree, angle of acceptance. I have gotten good results and enjoy using mine.

 

[Sharktooth]

The biggest problem is battery life. The developers are well aware of it and have a new meter with many of the same functions as a Sekonic 308 coming in January. The OLED screen is easy to read but is also the source of battery drain. Store it with the battery removed and it will last a long time. The sensor in the cube reflective meter is essentially the same as one in a phone so it has a wide, 45 degree, angle of acceptance. I have gotten good results and enjoy using mine.

I guess that's why mine came with 4 batteries in the box. No battery issues for me so far, but it's only been a couple of weeks. To be honest, I'm O.K. with removing the battery, since I do that anyway. It just amazes me how they can pack all this utility into such a small package.

As a follow-up, I also got to try out a prototype sample of the new incident meter that can clip onto your hand. I've been thinking about that a bit, and what I don't like is the fact that the dome is fixed in position relative to the display. This can make it awkward to take measurements when your shadow is over the dome. Since you can't reposition the dome relative to the display, it may not be easy to see the display when you take a reading with the dome in the desired position. In that respect, I think it's actually less useful than a conventional Minolta, Sekonic, or Gossen incident meter. It's smaller than a Minolta/Sekonic/Gossen, but not small enough to make it any more convenient, in my opinion. The real advantage of the Revini is the colour temperature feature, which isn't available in the other incident meters, but not something most people really need. The dilemma here is that you can get a good used Minolta/Sekonic/Gossen incident meter for around $100, so that's pretty tough competition for the Reveni. For me, the prototype didn't offer a clear advantage over what I already have, or what I could buy instead.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

When I was testing the Reveni, I had the optional battery pack attached. Performance was greatly improved with the double-A batteries.
@Sharktooth, thank you for your review of their latest metre prototype.

 

[madNbad]

I guess that's why mine came with 4 batteries in the box. No battery issues for me so far, but it's only been a couple of weeks. To be honest, I'm O.K. with removing the battery, since I do that anyway. It just amazes me how they can pack all this utility into such a small package.

As a follow-up, I also got to try out a prototype sample of the new incident meter that can clip onto your hand. I've been thinking about that a bit, and what I don't like is the fact that the dome is fixed in position relative to the display. This can make it awkward to take measurements when your shadow is over the dome. Since you can't reposition the dome relative to the display, it may not be easy to see the display when you take a reading with the dome in the desired position. In that respect, I think it's actually less useful than a conventional Minolta, Sekonic, or Gossen incident meter. It's smaller than a Minolta/Sekonic/Gossen, but not small enough to make it any more convenient, in my opinion. The real advantage of the Revini is the colour temperature feature, which isn't available in the other incident meters, but not something most people really need. The dilemma here is that you can get a good used Minolta/Sekonic/Gossen incident meter for around $100, so that's pretty tough competition for the Reveni. For me, the prototype didn't offer a clear advantage over what I already have, or what I could buy instead.

Thank you for the review of the new meter. I'll stay with my L-398 for incident metering. Hopefully, there will be an update to the cube meter. I heard from the developer about the idea of using a AAA battery insead of the LR44.

 

[Sharktooth]

Thank you for the review of the new meter. I'll stay with my L-398 for incident metering. Hopefully, there will be an update to the cube meter. I heard from the developer about the idea of using a AAA battery insead of the LR44.

I think that reverting to a AAA battery would be a mistake, since the small cube size is the most important feature, to me. A AAA battery is HUGE compared to the current cube meter size. Maybe a 3V lithium coin battery could be a better alternative. Some of them are small too, but maybe not so readily available.

 

[madNbad]

I think that reverting to a AAA battery would be a mistake, since the small cube size is the most important feature, to me. A AAA battery is HUGE compared to the current cube meter size. Maybe a 3V lithium coin battery could be a better alternative. Some of them are small too, but maybe not so readily available.

There was a long thread about Reveni and batteries that eventually ended up chasing it's own tail. It's a new product and it will evolve over time. Enjoy your little meter!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Oops I meant AAA batteries. That was for the metre that I played around with in my video. Not bulky at all.