The final word about selenium meters

IloveTLRs · Sep 12, 2007

I've just got an Olympus Trip 35 off auction which has a selenium meter. Half the people I've spoken to have said selenium sucks and dies quickly - it's not a matter of if but when. The other half have told me if you keep selenium properly it'll last you 40 years if not longer.

Who is right?
What's the best way to prolong the life of selenium?

David H. Bebbington · Sep 12, 2007

IloveTLRs said:
I've just got an Olympus Trip 35 off auction which has a selenium meter. Half the people I've spoken to have said selenium sucks and dies quickly - it's not a matter of if but when. The other half have told me if you keep selenium properly it'll last you 40 years if not longer.

Who is right?
What's the best way to prolong the life of selenium?

Selenium meters have a color response very close to that of film, they work without batteries and in the cold, so that's three points in their favor! The cells will deteriorate over time, much more so if exposed to light for long periods. This means that a selenium meter built into a camera is much more likely to have gone down than a separate type (e.g. Weston Master). The cells last a long time, but your chances of finding a 40-year-old built-in example that is right on the money are, in my experience, very small (different for Westons, I'd say 4 chances out of 5 that the cell will work OK). Replacement cells are available, specialist companies make the odder-sized ones, but a repair may not be cost-effective with an Olympus Trip! How to make a selenium cell last longer? Cover it up all the time when you're not using it!

Regards,

David

David A. Goldfarb · Sep 12, 2007

I generally find that the meter in my head is as accurate as a selenium meter anyway, so I don't really worry about them.

richard ide · Sep 13, 2007

"I generally find that the meter in my head is as accurate as a selenium meter anyway, so I don't really worry about them."

And it has a spot meter function included!

Ulrich Drolshagen · Sep 13, 2007

Hi,

I've just aquired an about 40 years old Flex 3,5F with build in meter which works ok. And I own a Weston IV which unfortunately passed away some weeks ago cause I did let it drop. The selenium cell was ok though. I had an old Gossen Bisix 2 which I gave to a friend some time ago, still working.
So no problems with selenium cells so far. But they are not built anymore to avoid using the poisonous heavy metal. So if repairsmen run out of stock there is no way to get them repaired.

Ulrich

Jim Jones · Sep 13, 2007

I regularly use Weston Master II, GE, and Norwood meters that are over 40 years old. My later meters have all expired. My first GE cost about two weeks pay as a very junior U. S. Navy enlisted man in 1952. That may explain their quality. Some of my Westons from the 1930s are still working well. Replacing a Master II is cheaper than having a meter repaired.

David H. Bebbington · Sep 13, 2007

I've been looking into this matter more, I always thought that it was constant exposure to light that made selenium cells go down, quite a number of people are saying that exposure to humidity is even worse for the cells, which could explain a lot - for example, that Weston meters and the Gossen meteres fitted to Rolleis have a good seal against moisture, whereas other don't.

Regards,

David

IloveTLRs · Sep 17, 2007

Thanks for the responses. I can avoid light by covering the lens, but humidity is a big problem here in Nagoya (regularly 80%+ in summer ...)

Flotsam · Sep 17, 2007

David A. Goldfarb said:
I generally find that the meter in my head is as accurate as a selenium meter anyway, so I don't really worry about them.

How long does a cranium cell last?

pentaxuser · Sep 18, 2007

Flotsam said:
How long does a cranium cell last?

Not that long but it keeps reproducing itself and has been doing so for hundred of thousands of years. The best of them can beat IBM's combined computing power at chess and the worse of them will beat any machine at poker for ever.

They are free but priceless which is why so many are squandered cheaply.

pentaxuser

Flotsam · Sep 18, 2007

Apparently long-term exposure to light or humidity reduces the useful life of selenium cells.
Long-term exposure to alcohol seems to have the identical effect on cranium cells. I think that I had better rely on my TTL and Handheld meters.

The final word about selenium meters

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