Small Light Meter For Acessory Shoe

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I need a small light meter for the acessory shoe of my IIIc and Canon-P cameras. I shoot print film only either 400 speed color or XP2 Super. I haven't used a meter and get decent results but there are too many misses. I think the possibilities are: 1. Voigt VC which is small and seems to fit nicely from the photos but the meter doesn't stay on long enough and doesn't give incident readings (not all that important to me)2. Sekonic L208 which has reflected and incident but not sure of it's size,(haven't seen any photos on a camera or with a familiar object to judge it's size) I read on a forum someone mentioned it looks clumbsey on his camera. 3. Gossen Pilot-2 also has reflected and incident but is cell driven so it is not good in low light. Also not sure of it's size on a camera. All of the above are in the $150-175 price range.Anybody with experience with any of these?

-- Gerry Widen (gwiden@alliancepartners.org), April 18, 2002

Answers

I sometimes had a Gossen Pilot on a IIIf or Oly 35RC with busted meter, but it was too big for those cameras. It got in the way of the shutter dial on both. It's now on a Yashica D. Nice meter, but you're right, not great for low light.

-- John (johnfleetwood@hotmail.com), April 18, 2002.

Gerry:

I have experience w/the Cosina Voigtlander VC & the Gossen Pilot. Of those 2 I would go w/the VC. I think the LEDs stay on reasonably long enough to take reading & it isn't difficult to just push the button again if you need another reading (battery life has been pretty good). The VC does fit nicely into the Canon P's accessory shoe (as it does on the Leica M's), has been very durable in my experience (having survived many a sidewalk impact), & it is indeed more accurate in low light than the Pilot.

-- Chris Chen (furcafe@NOSPAMcris.com), April 18, 2002.


Click here and save your money. I used this site (and a crib sheet in my wallet) for years with my IIf. I now use it with my M4 with good results. P.S. I hope I did the link right.

-- Chad Hahn (thehahns@cornhusker.net), April 18, 2002.

I use the VC meter and am very happy with it - I get good results shooting 'chromes.

-- Craig Zeni (sal3060@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.

Thanks everyone for the help, I was leaning towards the VC and will get one.

-- Gerry Widen (gwiden@alliancepartners.org), April 18, 2002.


The L208 meter is great on a meterless M because if you use the 90mm framelines you can meter at eyelevel. The VC meter does not have a locking feature for the reading so you have to read at chest level just as you would with any handheld meter. On an LTM (other than a IIIg)you could probably still do better with the 208 by estimating the coverage in the viewfinder. The 208's foot is positionable in 3 orientations so that the meter doesn't interfere with any dials on the camera. The only thing the VC has going for it is it looks classier (the 208 is a plastic thing)...unless you consider LED's antithetical to an LTM.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 18, 2002.

I've found the VC meter to be very sensitive and accurate. It stays on for 15--20 seconds which, in practice, is PLENTY of time to take a reading. I seldom use my incident meter anymore, except when I have my camera set up on a tripod.

-- Robert Marvin (marvbej@earthlink.net), April 18, 2002.

and there is the gossen sixtino. you can buy a hotshoe attachment for it and it is the smallest lightmeter around. maybe it is called pilot in the US. check out their webpage!

-- stefan randlkofer (geesbert@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.

Robert: the VC may stay on for 15-20 seconds but the reading does not lock. You still have to adjust the dials to balance the LED's and that means taking the camera away from your eye. With the VC's narrow angle of acceptance it is difficult to know exactly what it's reading. With the 208, you use the frame selector to call up the 90mm framelines, frame the area you want to meter, and push the meter button. The needle stays locked for about 15 seconds, time enough to lower the camera and turn the dial to align the index with the needle.

Stefan: The sixtino is the Pilot-2 in the US. It is much larger than the L208 Sekonic, and has a selenium cell. The low-light sensitivity is not very good and the wide acceptance angle makes it difficult to isolate a medium tone. I have a Pilot2 and I can get just as good (or bad) outdoor exposures by guessing.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 18, 2002.


Chad, thanks for the link you provided. :o)

-- Tim Franklin (tim_franklin@mac.com), April 18, 2002.


Jay:

FWIW, I've found that you *can* sort of use the VC meter like a Leica-meter MR or shoe-mounted L208. It's not nearly as convenient as a reading lock, of course, but if you back your eye away from the VF a little immediately after pushing the meter button & then look up, you can just barely see the LEDs.

-- Chris Chen (furcafe@NOSPAMcris.com), April 18, 2002.


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