For Sale Weston Master III - stainless steel beauty - AS IS

[holmburgers]

I rode my motorbike 30 minutes into the country one evening this summer to pick up this "working" meter from a seller on craigslist. But as he handed it to me I raised it to the setting sun and the needle didn't so much as budge. The seller felt so bad he just gave it to me and we ended up talking for a good hour about Stanley Bedrock planes, Nikon SPs, vintage Hondas and everything else under the moon. All told, a successful transaction!

Anyways, I'm stuck with a gorgeous Weston Master III meter with what is presumably a dead cell. A great body worthy of a repair; calibrated in ASA speeds. On the back plate: "Model 737", serial number 2195250

$12 shipped in the continental US; includes a genuine leather case that could use a few fresh threads.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

What a beauty!

Quality Light Metric Co.
7095 Hollywood Blvd, Suite 550
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 467-2265

 

[Marc B.]

A great story, but sadly(?), you now have a nice display item. Unless you can DIY, meter is not worth shipping/repair costs.

 

[brucemuir]

Does it read reasonable well in moderate light?

 

[benjiboy]

Sorry to be pedantic but just for the record the Western Master 111 case is Chrome plated Aluminium,(Aluminum in the U.S) not Stainless Steel, this interestingly was the last Western meter model to be made in the USA, thereafter they were made in the U.K.

 

[Matthew Rusbarsky]

Mmmm. Stanley Bedrocks. I wonder what the camera equivalent of a Bedrock would be. A Kodak Medalist?

 

[benjiboy]

Mmmm. Stanley Bedrocks. I wonder what the camera equivalent of a Bedrock would be. A Kodak Medalist?

Do you mean the wood plane ?

 

[holmburgers]

hey guys. Yes, the wood plane.. I would guess that the medalist is a good match!

Thanks for the note on aluminum over stainless steel, and also for mentinoing Quailty Light Metric.

My thought on fixing old meters like this is that you are a) utilizing the skill and materials of repairmen who are perhaps in the twilight of their lives and we should take advantage of their services while we can, and b) that you are resurrecting a classic meter that will provide you with, what, another 50+ years of reliable service?

Let me know if anyone's interested. Always interested in trade as well.

 

[BrianL]

I 2nd sending it to Quality Light Metric and having him go through it. These meters when working are as good as it gets except in very low lighting. I have a pair of IIs that I used for years until they finally went out of reliable reading. I had a couple of other meters during the same period and found when I went out, the IIs were what went with me. I'd have either 1 or both gone through but I got a Weston Ranger, afaik the last US made Weston meter and a Metrastar and the Ranger became my best friend though it is bulkier than the II. The Metrastar is smaller and reads the same as the Ranger but, I like the Ranger better.

 

[Rick A]

I bet if I dig around, I have one of those in a Cine version, the scales are all for motion pictures. Last I knew it worked just fine.

 

[BrianShaw]

I don't want to turn your FS thread into a discussion thread, but have you guys seen an estimate to overhaul a Weston? One really has to be dedicated to supporting the ideals (which are good ideals!) in post #8.

p.s. I'm a dedicated Weston III user. Great meter!

 

[holmburgers]

I don't mind the discussion at all actually. More bumps! Plus, I'm curious myself what an overhaul would cost. I might be persuaded to keep it.

 

[dhosten]

My brother sent me an old one from England a couple years ago, and I did not know they could still be fixed. It is dead as a doornail now, so I too would be interested in finding out what a fixup might cost.

 

[btaylor]

George at Quality Light Metric can still fix them to the best of my knowledge. I sent him a couple of my old Westons a few years ago, one wildly inaccurate, the other dead and I got them back working good as new in a few days. I think he charges in the $60 to $70 range for most repairs and overhaul/recalibration. Great guy, and if you have an old broken or inaccurate meter you like to use he can breath new life into it.

 

[bdial]

I have a Weston Ranger that QLM overhauled a couple of years ago. It was around 80 USD.
I also have a Stanley Bedrock, but it's no good at measuring light

 

[BrianL]

The Ranger of course is not a selenium meter so apples and oranges. I understand he has the cells and provides services to the movie studios for all their meters. I figure if they use and rely on him, whatever he does will be good enough for me. Pricing depends on whether the cell is usable and only requires recalibration or a cell replacement and calibration. I spoke with him some years ago and he was offering rebuilt ones when he had bodies available. Come to think about it, maybe I should donate mine to him as I can see at some time the family just trashing them.

 

[erikg]

I had QLM overhaul a Weston IV last year and it cost 80.00 plus shipping. Works great now. Is it cost effective? I don't know, but it's a very rugged little meter that works, that's worth 80 bucks to me.

 

[newcan1]

I'd be happy to give you the 12 bucks for it if you are still selling it - I may have a sensor from another meter that I could fit in it.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

George at Quality Light Metric can still fix them to the best of my knowledge. I sent him a couple of my old Westons a few years ago, one wildly inaccurate, the other dead and I got them back working good as new in a few days. I think he charges in the $60 to $70 range for most repairs and overhaul/recalibration. Great guy, and if you have an old broken or inaccurate meter you like to use he can breath new life into it.

Since this FS post has now death-spiraled into a discussion thread...



I agree. Not everyone applies the eBay-style ROI calculation to everything. Sometimes an item is worth more than what it might fetch on the open market. I just sent Mark Hama one of my inexpensive rangefinders for a full CLA. While his pricing is very fair, the overall total cost to me will be far more than the camera is worth on eBay.

But I really enjoy using this camera. And sometimes value can be recouped in ways other than simply reselling something. The enjoyment I will receive from using a perfectly functioning rangefinder will more than offset the cost in dollars it took to make it perfectly functioning.

This Weston meter may fall into that same category.

Ken

 

[holmburgers]

Sold pending payment!

I agree with Ken on the ROI thing. Sure you can buy enough on eBay and find one that is accurate, selling the broken ones for what you presumably paid for them, but there's something valuable in buying something, fixing it and getting something that is literally as good as new.

Plus, he who buys, repairs and hoards these will be king when no one is left to repair them anymore!

 

[BrianShaw]

Ken's point is an excellent point. If one is a serious user, then one is generally willing to spend the amount of money it takes to make the camera (or whatever) able to be seriously used. I laugh when people council others to just keep buying more and mroe of the same old stuff in the hopes that one will work good enough to get by. My preference for many things is similar to what Ken desribes... and I've found it fairly easy to do by being patient and shopping smartly. Just yesterday I put a $15 solenoid on a $35 lens mounted on a $10 lensboard to mount to a $25 (no kidding) Anniversary Graphic. Even with the $135 cost to rebuild the shutter I'm way ahead of the game in terms of having a reliable camera for a long, long time.

 

[BrianShaw]

p.s. Congrats, holmburgers (Eric?), on selling your meter. Hope we didn't make it any more difficult than it might have been without all of the discussion.

 

[holmburgers]

No Brian, it was a great dicussion that popped up.

Cheers,

(Chris) But people always used to call me Eric for some reason... supposedly I look like an Eric (I am Swedish afterall)

 

[BrianL]

There is a difference between value and price. Price is what one is willing to pay to acquire while value is what something is worth to an owner. Only when the 2 coincide is there an agreement to buy and sell. I own many items that I value more than the going price and bought items that I paid market price for and invested more than what I paid to bring it up to spec as it had that type of value to me. Most of the available light meters around that I'd care to own would cost in the $80 - $100 range so I might as well take a Weston Master II in excellent physical condition and have it rebuilt and end up with for all intensive purposes a new meter. I think last time I looked at the Pilot II, it was in that price range. I could sink that much into a "new" used meter and would still need to have it calibrated.

 

[eli griggs]

I had two Weston V meters done at the same time by Quality Metric and it was worth every cent. I have several other Westons needing new cells, a pair of IV and at least one III and, if my situation will one day allow it, you can be sure they will get the same treatment, even at a hundred plus bucks a pop.

By-the-way, keep your eye open for the Weston "Intercone" attachment for these meters, I am still looking for spares for my bag and advise prospective Weston owners to do the same.