His and Hers

A few of days ago a couple of old General Electric exposure meters arrived to add to my burgeoning collection. GE meters are not that well-known in New Zealand, the market in that era having been pretty well cornered by the Japanese brands, Sekonic especially. For the pros, a meter from the trusty Sangamo Weston range was an obligatory choice .

 

 

I'd not come across a pink exposure meter before, and a little research confirmed my suspicions that it was aimed at the feminine market. It would seem that sales of the black Mascot II meter were rather sluggish, and a breakdown of the sales data revealed that over 90% of the purchasers of exposure meters were male. I can just see that 1957 advertising man standing up in the sales conference and saying, "Hey! Why don't we make this little thing more attractive to the girls?" And so, the pink version of the Mascot II was born. The advertising was unashamedly pitched at the ladies:

 

 

It's actually quite a nice little meter, and this copy is lively and accurate. My only criticism would be the size of the readout, with the shutter speed appearing in a tiny window at a size that has me fishing for my reading glasses. Still, perhaps young feminine eyes didn't experience such problems.

 

 

 

The General Electric DW58 is quite a different kettle of fish, as they say, and I can understand how a lady wouldn't want to tote one around in her purse. Heavy metal, with a black crackle finish, it's definitely a Man's Meter, though the ads show it clasped in a feminine hand.

 

 

Once again, the selenium cell in this example is alive and well and the meter checks out against my modern meters. It's quite sophisticated in that it provides three option for reading light, one with the top cover closed for bright light, a second with the cover open for dim light,

 

 

and a third with the top hood and calculator dial removed, for incident light readings.

 

 

The calculator dial has three well-marked areas for the different techniques. Note that the light values are given in true foot candles, a system favoured by many of the great photographers in the 30's and 40's. I can't make any sense of the so-called incident light application as the pointer promptly goes off the scale in almost any light; perhaps some knowledgeable member can shed a little less light on the situation.

 

I don't think either meter will replace the Lunar Pro or Sixon 2 I'm currently using, but I really enjoy collecting these old instruments and I hope some of you share my interest.

Edited February 2, 2020 by rick_drawbridge

 

I have a Metrawatt meter, which I bought at a local auction house. The switch contacts had to be cleaned, for it to work reliably, and it's quite happy with an alkaline cell.

I can't make any sense of the so-called incident light application as the pointer promptly goes off the scale in almost any light; perhaps some knowledgeable member can shed a little less light on the situation.

 

Re: black meter. Rick, do you think there might have been a diffuser attachment to clip in to the bottom half ? You could check for location grooves in the body where a diffuser would clip in.

Re: black meter. Rick, do you think there might have been a diffuser attachment to clip in to the bottom half ? You could check for location grooves in the body where a diffuser would clip in.

 

No, there's nothing that suggests a diffuser could be mounted. I have a copy of the instructions but I suspect they are from a slightly later model, and while there's no mention of a diffuser it's suggested that the range of the incident light readings can be extended by the use of "multiplying masks" available from photographic dealers. Goodness knows what these were, but they don't sound like diffusers. The meter illustrated in the instructions is identical, but for the addition of a couple of symbols on the dial for use when masks are fitted.

One more question Rick. Is the top half absolutely hollow, or is there another "diffuser" plastic or glass just inside of the top opening lid, with perhaps some electronic components in there as well ?

One more question Rick. Is the top half absolutely hollow, or is there another "diffuser" plastic or glass just inside of the top opening lid, with perhaps some electronic components in there as well ?

 

No, the "hood" is just a hollow shell, with the slotted, hinged flap at the top. I agree, it's most unusual for a meter not to have some sort of diffuser when it's switched from reflected to incident readings.

 

No, the "hood" is just a hollow shell, with the slotted, hinged flap at the top. I agree, it's most unusual for a meter not to have some sort of diffuser when it's switched from reflected to incident readings.

 

[ATTACH=full]1328073[/ATTACH]

 

 

Rick, this meter is an incident light meter to start with, and the diffuser is built-in to the bottom half as seen in your pic. It's not just a protective cover, it should have that "whitish" opaque look about it, just like any other meter's diffuser. The diffuser is permanently set in and that's what makes it an incident light meter

 

The hollow top is calibrated by it's design so that light readings register for reflective metering. The top is a certain length, a certain width, all calculated to block a certain amount of light which then correspond with reflective readings.

 

Watching a video, I saw the needle go of the scale as yours did when the top was off, but it come back in lower light as the meter was moved around.

 

The instructions don't say much but they do implicitly imply that the "3 Way" metering is three ways of reflective metering. The third way is with the top off and in very low light, such as a reading of 1-2 foot candles when the top is attached. So then you remove the top, set the dial to "Cover Off", then take a reading.

 

Incident metering in bright sunlight might have required those masks you mentioned, they may have been calibrated for bright light, because the needle may go off the scale without a mask, such will be the sensitivity of the meter with the top removed.

 

I can think of better meters to use Rick, this one seems to have too many design compromises.

Interesting post Rick thank you. The advertisment with the child by the Christmas tree suggests that removing the top part is for measuring light in very dim conditions.

 

I've got a nice old German Rex meter from the 1930's. The sensor is on a hinged lid which swings out at the bottom when you press the button at the side, which also serve to switch between the two ranges. The body of the meter then shields direct light from the sky - a sort of early matrix meter? It works but I haven't checked the readings yet.

 

...and a third with the top hood and calculator dial removed, for incident light readings.

It looks as if a diffusing dome was meant to replace the calculator cap.

 

The fact that the needle is end-stopped in the picture shows that the bare selenium cell would be far too sensitive to be used alone for incident readings.

Edited February 2, 2020 by rodeo_joe|1

Nice. I love these kinds of posts.

 

This one might be "hers". It is a (non-dialectical) contradiction:

a really nice, deluxe meter from Communist East Germany

Nice. I love these kinds of posts.

 

This one might be "hers". It is a (non-dialectical) contradiction:

a really nice, deluxe meter from Communist East Germany

[ATTACH=full]1328118[/ATTACH]

I'm sure it would make a fitting accessory for any Eastern bloc lady shot-putter.

On the subject of the DW-58, I have a very similar DW-62, and it's my most used meter. I have others, but the meter is still accurate and I like the way it feels in the hand.

 

The "Cover Closed" and "Cover Open" settings are used for reflective light readings outdoors. "Hood Off (Incident Light)" is used to make incident light readings indoors under artificial light. There is no additional diffuser, but the DW-62 came with (and this is how the DW-62 differs from the DW-58) a set of metal masks with various sized apertures that fit over the selenium cell to reduce its sensitivity and thus allow incident light readings to be made outdoors. There are also more symbols on the dial (star, club, etc.) to calibrate the dial based on the mask being used. The top of the selenium cell is a protective cover glass only and should not be opaque.

Thanks, hunter_compton, that would seem to explain the situation. I wonder how many owners bought the masks to enable the meter's use in bright light... It's a fiddly and inconvenient way of doing things. Still, as a reflected light meter it's sensitive and accurate. As Kmac implied, perhaps the designers were a little overly ambitious, sacrificing simplicity and convenience in the search for versatility.

The top of the selenium cell is a protective cover glass only and should not be opaque.

 

On the DW 58 the glass is opaque as it seems to be in the link below. I would have posted the pic except I'm not sure about copyright. The link shows a 58 with the top off and the glass is plain to see in the pic. This glass on the 58 is meant to do the same job, I'm assuming, as a loose diffuser common with other meters when they are used for incident metering. I'm sure it's more than just a protective cover.

 

Link .... I hope it works ok and shows the DW58 as I've intended it to show

ge exposure meter - Bing images

 

Edit: I've tested the link and it does show the pic correctly

Edit: I should have said the model of my light meter is DW-68, not DW-62. That's what I get for relying on memory.

I remember the metal masks when I was young, and my father had one of these.

 

I don't remember it being used much, though. They have holes of various sizes and shapes.

 

Sheet metal shaped to snap on after the hood is removed.

Edit: I should have said the model of my light meter is DW-68, not DW-62. That's what I get for relying on memory.

 

Not a problem. But I found an interesting bit of science with both the 58 and 68. Only the bottom half registers foot candles (obviously because the scale is in foot candles), but with the top attached, the measurements then become foot lamberts, and by adjusting the dial for "Lid Closed" or "Lid Open" the foot lamberts are converted back to foot candles by the grace of mathematical light measurement and the designers calculating how far the dial needed to be rotated to each of those settings. The "Hood Off" setting is the exception, it's just a setting for true foot candles, because once the top is off, the meter (bottom half) is operating as a true foot candle meter.

 

I hope this is not too technical for Rick lol, but the meter had me intrigued. It seems the "3 way" approach for metering was a selling point but by the same token, the meter had to be very sensitive in order to register low light fairly accurately. This high degree of sensitivity is why the masks were necessary for incident light measuring in bright light, and they would have recorded in foot lamberts, necessitating setting the dial to even more symbols as you described, to convert the foot lamberts back to foot candles.

 

The designers must have figured the advantages outweighed the disadvantages for such a complex array of dial adjusting and fitting and removal of hood and masks (which can get lost). However, if the meters are still in good working order 70 years after manufacture, as many seem to be, the build quality, especially of the innards, must have been top notch.

Edited February 3, 2020 by kmac

(snip)

 

The designers must have figured the advantages outweighed the disadvantages for such a complex array of dial adjusting and fitting and removal of hood and masks (which can get lost). However, if the meters are still in good working order 70 years after manufacture, as many seem to be, the build quality, especially of the innards, must have been top notch.

 

I presume it is selenium, which overall doesn't age so well as one might hope.

 

I think I have one or two around, and they might even work.

I presume it is selenium, which overall doesn't age so well as one might hope.

 

I think I have one or two around, and they might even work.

 

It doesn't require a battery so I assume it has a selenium cell. Selenium cells can last a very long time if they're not abused in any way. As you can see in videos of DW58s and 68s, the needles are still quite frisky even after 70 years. Rick said his needle goes off the scale on his 58. Extreme heat, moisture and prolonged bright light are their worst enemies.

hunter_compton said:

I hope this is not too technical for Rick

 

Not at all! I often fall asleep at night, thinking about foot lamberts...Seriously, though, I'm always delighted when a post elicits such knowledgeable responses. Incidentally, there's a body of opinion out there that maintains selenium cells don't deteriorate with age, but that it's the old soldered connections that give up the ghost...

hunter_compton said:

 

Not at all! I often fall asleep at night, thinking about foot lamberts...Seriously, though, I'm always delighted when a post elicits such knowledgeable responses. Incidentally, there's a body of opinion out there that maintains selenium cells don't deteriorate with age, but that it's the old soldered connections that give up the ghost...

 

As far as I know, they aren't soldered.

 

I believe the backing is iron, and the front is a transparently thin layer of gold.

 

The melting point of Se is 221C, below soldering temperature. It might be that one could solder

before putting the Se on. Then evaporate the thin gold coating, and thicker gold contacts

to that layer. But you can't solder to that, again without melting the Se.

I once got a dead Norwood Director working. The contacts were gold(?) rings pressing against either side of the selenium disc - no solder. I opened it up and cleaned between the rings and disc. Probably the problem with a lot of these old meters.

Hi Rick. I picked up a GE PR-1 meter the other week and am anxious to use it on my next picture taking excursion. Seems like a very well made meter. Sample picture below:

 

I remember reading ( don't remember where) that selenium meters don't totally die but that the cell becomes coated and can be restored by cleaning with a rubber eraser. Never tried it.

I picked up a GE PR-1 meter the other week and am anxious to use it on my next picture taking excursion. Seems like a very well made meter.

 

IIRC, this particular GE has a rep for being nearly indestructible. Nice intact kits in the box like yours aren't too difficult to find on eBay: I'm always tempted, but between my Sekonic L28cII and a dozen pocket models from a dozen companies, I'm a little overexposed in selenium meters. ;)