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FFWB combi meter


djb222

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RE posted from Accessories Forum:

 

I recently purchased an old camera and attached to the case strap was a small leather case containing a small FFWB combi meter and instructions.

A little research revealed that it is a combined Range Finder and exposure meter made in Germany in the 1950's.

It fully works rangefinder wise, not sure about the exposure meter, although something appears to be happening, it's an extinction meter , in other words you point the front of the meter towards the scene you are wanting to photograph and peer through the back , larger opening and read off the dimmest lit number. You then line up the number on the top dial to coincide with the speed (in this case DIN number) of the film. Then you can read off on the opposite side of the dial an aperture and speed setting with which to take the image.

Be interesting to test the accuracy.....

 

It appears they were made in black and this rarer Grey colour.

 

If anyone is interested in a full review of this little piece of history let me know..

 

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I recall my father explained to me how the extinction meter worked. I also read that a US made 35mm camera was outfitted with one. IIRC it was either the Detrola or the Perfex....maybe it was an early Argus model. IThe concept is usually within 2 stops and with negative film's latitude, should be ok to use.

I've hankered for a flash mounted RF for a while ..most suitable to my collection would be the Voigtlaender version, but most want a 30+ and I could probably find a whole camera I like for the amount. We dig our own graves here now don't we!!

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I also had a "Nebro visual light meter" included with a camera I bought about 12 months ago. I thought it had a Selenium sensor at the front and couldn't figure it out at the time and just stuck it in a drawer, but now i know it's another extinction meter. It was made in England in the 50's "Neville Brown & Company Ltd, or Nebro were a British company based in London who made photo accessories such as extinction light meters, exposure calculators, developing tanks and lens hoods. They also sold cameras and accessories from other makes such as Braun and Aldis. The company was active in the 1950s until at least 1963."

 

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That's interesting. I wonder if they put the beading at the front to make it look like a higher end Selenium meter, to boost the status of the user. There are number of cameras with a beaded window looking like a metering window, whereas it was in fact just for show. I think one of the Italian Koroll or Comet cameras had this.
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cool!

Along with an 1937 Rolleiflex, I got a Blendlux meter. It appears to be intended for cinematography so I don't know why it came with the Rolleiflex: It still works and has a thick magnifying glass in front. The leather case and accessories were quite elaborate so I imaging it was a very expensive instrument at the time.

BTW: it works, as in it shows a reading when you press the red button - - although I have no idea how to understand it.

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Niels
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Since it says Lux.. perhaps the reading are in "LUX" which IIRC is a stadard for measuring light. It is equal to one lumen per square metre. Obviously this model is related to Gossens andtheir later models had a cinema field (red) and film field black . Whether that is supposed to be the idea ?? What I don't get so clearly either is the reference 16 "bildwechsel" implies something like frames in 1/32 . Perhaps a movie/film cameras rotating shutter can acheive this? Also it says use the red scale when pressing the red button. Doe the meter respond to light without presssing the red button?
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In my opinion the best way to use these old meters , rather than trying to understand old film speeds, scales etc, is to calibrate them using a modern meter of known accuracy, by comparing the readings at different light levels, as here:

 

The Avo Exposure Meter Gets a New Lease of Life

 

Then make a scale, which can be slipped between the meter and case, giving the exposure value for different ISO speeds:

 

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John Seaman said:

Then make a scale, which can be slipped between the meter and case, giving the exposure value for different ISO speeds:

 

This idea was used by the makers of the rather beautiful but very complicated Realt meter. Who else but the French... It came with a set of interchangeable metal slides which slipped in to form the face of the meter, different ones for various film speeds.

 

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John Seaman said:

 

This idea was used by the makers of the rather beautiful but very complicated Realt meter. Who else but the French... It came with a set of interchangeable metal slides which slipped in to form the face of the meter, different ones for various film speeds.

 

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Mon Dieu, Zut Alors and Sacre Bleu! That writing looks even tinier than that on the Westons !?

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