Correctly Reading Gossen Luna Pro

Having restarted B&W 35mm photography, I've bought a Nikon Ftn Photomic and a Gossen Luna Pro, both originally using mercury batteries. There are numerous threads and suggested 'fixes' and adaptations for using these with modern batteries. Some have enjoyed successes with these, but I've decided to leave the Nikon meter in peace and use a hand held light meter until I'm more confident about reading light and in special circumstances where 'sunny 16' won't work.

 

I'm looking now at a Luna Pro F as a replacement. It looks fairly simple, takes a 9v battery and has many good reviews. At the low price they're currently available, are there any other meters I should look at that the more experienced think better of?

 

Thanks!

Various Gossen meters work somewhat differently. I have the Gossen Luna Pro SBC and it's the best meter I've ever had.

 

I think others work nearly as well, but in any case when or before you get your particular model look for Butkus's list of manuals in this neighborhood for your model: (Gossen Luna-Pro instruction manual, user manual, free PDF manual, camera manual).

Thanks for this, yes I saw his site and plan to use it. I did look at the SBC's that are available, but they seem at first look to be more in your category of expert, that in mine where I fight to get the D-76 at the right temp.

In another recent meter thread I mentioned the Luna Lux. SBC, 9V battery and seems to work great.

Thanks Conrad, I just found an SBC on the bid site, at a reasonable price also. Obviously if you guys share this opinion it must be good. I'm going to go to the Butkus site to learn more about it, hoping that operating it may not be as daunting as I thought, though since it's popular here I could certainly ask for help. Thanks again.

I fight to get the D-76 at the right temp.

 

Actually, I just use it at whatever temperature it's at o_O

 

Full use of all the features of a Luna-Pro is fairly complicated, but just getting a reflected or incident reading is simple enough.

Actually, I just use it at whatever temperature it's at o_O

 

Full use of all the features of a Luna-Pro is fairly complicated, but just getting a reflected or incident reading is simple enough.

 

Thanks, and no doubt I overthink all this stuff. I clicked on a Luna Pro SBC this morning! Looks pristine, hoping it'll get here quickly, and gifted Butkus $5 for the manual. Really enjoying these early stages and learning new methods. My last darkroom efforts were even somewhat less humiliating.

The Luna Pro SBC arrived today and it does appear brand new, even came in the original box. What a magnificent beast, beautifully laid out in design and so simple to operate.

Thanks for the recommendations!

I now have a Lunasix, which is supposed to have mercury cells.

 

I put alkaline cells in, and it seems to be just fine on the battery test.

 

More recently, I got a Sekonic L-428, which many will recognize with the

lumisphere for incident light metering. This one uses four batteries, which

the manual calls mercury, then says that they are 1.5V, and gives numbers

that are silver-oxide cells. With 6V, and a transistorized amplifier, it should

be able to work over a wide voltage range. (And it has a battery check

button.)

 

The SBC does look like fun, but some of the fun features require

optional accessories. Those might be hard to find, or expensive.

The fiber-optic probe looks like fun!

A Minolta Autometer IIIF is likely to be less expensive than the Gossen Luna Pro F.