Advice on keeping, or ditching a TLR

[dsplvak]

I just posted a question about looking for a medium format camera, and ironically, my friend told my

today that they had a TLR in decent condition that I could have for $50. The only thing is that the light

meter does not work. The camera is a Ricoh Diacord.

 

Can the light meter be fixed by a camera shop, and if so, how much does that run for? Or should I just

keep looking for a TLR with a working built in light meter?

 

Thanks again

[ivan_dzo]

Many old cameras are going to have unreliable light meters. I use tlr's a lot and wouldn't bother with using their light meter. Get a small hand held incident meter and liberate yourself to use whatever camera you wish. so life will be much better and cheaper.

[stephen_w.]

I got an old ('57?) Weston Master III included in a camera sale, although one could get one for about $20 on eBay. It still works and is accurate when compared to my in-camera, Weston V, and Minolta Flashmeter III meters, in both reflected and incident mode. However, I find I can estimate within a fraction of a stop in many lighting conditions, as I started doing so with a Leica M3 almost 20-years ago.

[dsplvak]

Well I understand that getting a hand held light meter is more ... perhaps useful, but not as

much practical in my situation. I need a camera with a built in LM.

 

And I would try to find out the correct exposure based on testing the light meter and seeing

if I need to overexpose a stop from what it tells me, but it does not work at all.

[ben_ballard]

Many (probably most) TLR's do not even come with a meter. It's probably not worth fixing. If you want to shoot with a meter, your money would be better spent on a hand-held meter.

 

In the mean time, take a look at Fred Parker's "Ultimate Exposure Computer" for some useful advice on how to shoot without a meter:

http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm

 

Shooting without a meter isn't for everyone, but it's very helpful to read about it, and to understand how the meter can be fooled in many situations.

[bueh]

Ben, even decades-old CdS reflected light meters in consumer TLRs are not always that well suited for detemining correct exposure. And that Diacord has an even older selenium meter! In daylight they are sometimes off by certain factor, which you can compensate for by changing the ISO speed, but in in many situations these old meters are simply unreliable. For instance, in low light these meters often give totally wrong exposures.

 

Shoot a test film (slides) if you can and see if the results make you happy. No-one here is going to know how well an individual meter works.

[robert_marvin]

If the Ricoh has an accessory shoe (i.e. hot shoe or cold shoe) you could attach a clip on meter which would be as useful as the original built in one, which required you to transfer the reading to the camera.

[john_calafut]

Definately don't ditch an otherwise good TLR just because the light meter doesn't work! Handheld meters are a lot easier to use than you might think at first, and I now prefer them. What Ivan said is exactly true.

[jrjacobs]

Get it if the meter is the only thing wrong with it. Diacords were some of the best TLR's made - their lenses are on par with the Minolta Autocords and Tessar Rolleis, and are superior to Yashica Mats. They also have built in baffling like the Rolleis, which the Minolta Autocords are lacking, and they also have a unique side lever focus which doesn't break like the Autocords do. Good cameras. Don't worry much about the light meter - the built in meters on TLR's are not TTL like an SLR, so they only give a very general exposure indication anyway. You will really want to be using a handheld meter. The meters on my TLR's all work, but I don't really use them much - handheld meter is the way to go.

[al_kaplan1]

Quality Lightmetric could probably get that meter going again, but in addition to the cost of repairs you'd have the expense of shipping and insurance both ways. A TLR will cost a lot more to ship than a light meter.

[paul ron]

$50 is a good price for that TLR. Clean it up and enjoy the heck out of it, you'll have a blast.

 

BTW you do know most MF camera don't have meters in them? A metered prism can also cost a few pence as well. You'd be doing yourself justice by investing in a good meter. Keep an eye on the classifieds here, I've seen some nice Gossen Luna Pro SBC going for $60, a very reliable meter for the money. The old Cadmium sulphide cells tend to weaken/die over the years and do have some severe memory when they are working.

[karl_borowski]

Why do you need a light meter? I've shot countless weddings now with a meterless Mamiya C220 TLR and equally meterless (but twice as bulky ;-) ) Mamiya RB67. Outdoors it's the sunny 16 rule (meter readings if the light is sporadic, or Polaroids with the RB if I want to be really fussy). Indoors it's the good ole' auto thyristor trick, or the "gloomy 16" rule. Light meters are overrated. You'd be surprised how much you can do without one, professionally too.

[david_m]

If you insist on a 'built-in' meter, just buy an external meter and velcro it to the camera - same thing.