Using a Gossen Lunasix Light Meter

Recently, my father gave me his old light meter, a Gossen Lunasix.

Anyways, my problem with it is that it gives me contradictory

readings when I compare it with the readings I get off my Canon Eos

100 Camera. When I take a reading from my Canon, I always use my

grey card. When I use my Lightmeter, I always find that is off from

the Canon reading but I know that the Canon reading is right. When I

take the reading with the lightmeter, I move the white dome aside and

measure it of the grey card. The obvious solution to this is that

the lightmeter is not calibrated properly but I do know how to do

that. And there are new batteries in the meter. I also know to read

the yellow triangle. I do not have the manual to the lightmeter. I

feel somewhat dejected that the lightmeter and the Camera meter do

not agree. My question is whether anyone knows how to get the old

manual to this lightmeter and whether they have any solutions to what

my problem may be. The other question is whether people know that

the Gossen Lunasix is a true spot meter or whether it is a partial

meter when the white dome is removed? Whatever can be advised will

be greatly appreciated.

Check out www.bogenphoto.com and either download the "PDF" manual or order one for a few dollars. Your post indicates a need and Bogen is usually very helpful and their PDF has "how-to" stuff in it.

How far off is it? Remember that an internal camera meter may read a scene differently (especially with today's computerized meters) than an incidence or center weighted one.

 

My Minolta 7xi would be off by a stop or more compared to my old Norwood Director selenium meter just because of the different ways they read the scene. (incidence meters read the actual light, while an internal meter reads what is reflected from the scene)

Continue as you are doing (grey card and meter with your proven correct camera and questionable light meter) under different light levels and compare. If the lightmeter is consistently off then you can work your adjustment out easily. (eg my Metz always gave 1 stop too much light eg f8 rather than 5.6 so I'd always set the film speed dial to one stop faster eg 200 rather than 100 with 100 film). If the readings from meter and camera follow no realtion then it seems to me the Gossen is goosed.

 

Bri

There's only one sensible thing to do: take a few rolls of test shots in a wide range of lighting situations, keep exact notes of what the two meters said and what settings you actually used for every shot, and then sit down and look at the results closely. That'll show precisely what's going on: if one or both is consistently wrong, or giving unpredictable readings, or only wrong in low light, or whatever. I've been through this with two malfunctioning Mamiya 645 metering prisms - just remember it's the pictures that come out that matter and that's the only way to check.

The one important thing to remember when comparing in-camera light meter readings with hand held meters, is to use a lens with a 50 mm focal length. Using a wide angle will give a more overall average, while using a telephoto lens will in effect, turn your camera into a spot meter. Hope this is of some help.

C,<br><br>I have never found two meters that gave the same reading. The thing is to learn not to compare meters, and learn to know and use a particular meter instead.<br>Different types of meter produce different ways of metering, different mannerisms, anyway, and you will never know whether it is you or the meter that is producing the result.<br>So make the meter a part of you. Know the thing, and get in "the flow".