LIGHT METER

[jay_frazier]

Not sure if this is the right thread I was given a Capital TK-79 LIGHT METER and I'm trying to find a manual for this

gizmo any help please Thank You

[sw12dz]

I don't know where you can find a manual for it. It looks pretty straight forward to me. It's a match needle meter. The needle moves according to the available light present, then you turn the dial to match up the v-notch with the needle and read your shutter speed and f-stop. It also gives the EV (Exposure Value) in case you happen to have a camera with that type of scale.

[sw12dz]

In addition, the first thing to do is to set the ASA speed of the film being used.<div></div>

[james_ollinger]

This isn't exactly yours, but it's close. http://www.butkus.org/chinon/flashes_meters/capital_exposure_meter/captial_exposure_meter.htm

[henrik_lauridsen]

I have the same light meter, and have another question. If I set my EOS 400D and the light meter on the same ASA/ISO setting, shouldn't they come up with (almost) identical readouts in terms of shutterspeed and aperture when pointed at the same subject? My TK-79 are almost 4 f-stops or shutterspeeds of compared to my 400D (wanting shutterspeeds to be 4 times faster). Is it safe to assume that my TK-79 is in need of calibration?

[charles_stobbs3]

Henrik, on some meters there is a zero adjusting screw for total darkness. Have you tried it?

[john carter]

I would check both with a gray card, I read that DSLRs are so prone to blowing out highlights that they read a high EV under certain conditions. I may be wrong, but still my DSLR is the last meter I check against.

[bcostin]

What metering mode are you using on your 400D? If it's set to use center-weighted or spot metering then the results will be a bit different than a typical handheld meter. Still, four stops is more discrepancy than I would expect. Maybe a battery problem?

[patrick j dempsey]

I don't know anything about this meter in particular, but it is common for meters of this type to have two different "ranges" which require flipping a switch for bright daylight or indoors, changing the sensitivity of the meter. It's also common for these kinds of meters to have a white cover over the photocell which is used for incident light readings. Incident light metering is done by pointing the meter towards the light source itself instead of the subject, and so if the incident attachment is covering the photocell, then it would read several stops below for an reflective reading. These kinds of meters are not very practical indoors and are better for outdoors use, so attempting to meter with one indoors may also give weak readings.