Light Meter Accuracy

<p>Im looking at an old weston, lenningrad, ect. Anything under 20 bucks preferably. My question would be how well is accuracy maintained over years in storage? If im ebaying and they say it seems to work, as shifty as that may sound, what are the chances that it is accurate as well? Do selenium cells become less accurate as they age?<br>

Thanks!</p>

<p>I think they do, but I'm no expert. I've have a 40 year old Sekonic that still works fine. I've never even turned the adjustment screw. But I have some others that just died. Someone here said to be sure the cell is covered when not it use.</p>

<p>I have a 30-plus year old Weston Euro-Master I bought and a 1957 model Weston that was thrown in free with a camera. They both work, and they seem to meter pretty well when comparing them to my digital camera and to the sunny 16 rule. But, I suppose the selenium cells could die at any time. They tend to keep metering fine until they do die.</p>

<p>I've always loved the Westons. Metering is so intuitive with those, and there are no batteries. I first had one in the early 1970's. I've always worked better with scales and dials than with numbers displayed on a screen.</p>

<p>Yes, they do last longer if you keep them in the case to block out the light. There's no kind of switch on those. They are always metering, unless you block out the light somehow... and it's the light that eventually kills the cells.</p>

<p>The Euro-Master II's are the most recent models, and many of those are just fine.</p><div></div>

<p>You could compare a BDE with the measure of the meter and get a good idea on how accurate it reads.<br>

http://www.mccd.edu/faculty/gwartneyj/images/Basic%20Daylight%20Exposure%20Guide.pdf</p>

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