henry_a Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 Does anyone make a light meter that reads a 25-30 degree area of reflected light where the area measured is viewed through an eyepiece? LIke a spot meter but covering a larger area? I think I'd like one that was built like a small spot meter, don't need flash capability, don't need averaging or any other fancy functions, just aim-push button-read numbers. Sorta the equivalent of a Leica M6 built-in meter without the camera. Is there such a thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george_jiri_loun Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 To my knowledge there isn't any such thing. Very probably for a good reason. 30° avarages a lot of the scene illumination - too much for a spot meter to behold its original specificity and too little to average more or less the whole scene. Take it this way - if you need the averaging effect of the 30° view, it's probably enough to take 2-3 readings with a proper spot meter and average the values with a simple averaging button. But if you need just a simple avarage of a whole scene the 30° would not be enough. Another way, of course, would be to measure with a 35mm camera matched with an appropriate lens. Just my curiosity -what purpose would you need the 30° for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_fox Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 The only thing I've seen is a 2x lens you can screw onto the lens of the Sekonic 1-4 degree spot meter to get you 2-8 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcrisp Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 Henry: I don't know of one where you can look through the meter, but 30 degrees is such a big area there isn't anything precise enough about it that pointing the meter in the general area should not work. (Hope that isn't my best sentence of the day...) Many handheld reflective meters are right on the money for the area you want, I have a brochure here from a Weston Model 650 (1936) and it says it is a 30 degree meter. A Weston Master V is a great meter which I believe is a 30 degree meter or close to it and can be pointed with reasonable precision for an area that big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry_a Posted December 19, 2002 Author Share Posted December 19, 2002 The reason I'd like one of these is that it would work like a good 35mm in-camera meter. I think about how well they work and how versatile they are. It'd be a great supplement for my Mamiya 7 meter and I think I'd use it a lot with the 4X5. I have spot and incident meters but I think for lots of work the 25-30 degree model would be handy and fast. Being able to see exactly what you're reading would be valuable. Maybe its too strange an idea - I guess there would be several models available if there was demand. Why are we so flush with complicated multi-button multi-function meters that you almost need a manual to use? I have newer, "better" meters but my favorite is my 25 year old Minolta Autometer II which does nothing but give you a reading on a dial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george_jiri_loun Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 "being able to see exactly what you are reading would be valuable" - but with the 30° view you would just see the average value of what you see, the exact value can only measure the much narrower spot meter. "that it works like a good 35mm in camera meter" - but then, that you already have in the camera! The 4x5 format requires a different measuring philosophy than a 35mm format, and that's the point of spot meters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry_a Posted December 19, 2002 Author Share Posted December 19, 2002 george - "The 4x5 format requires a different measuring philosophy than a 35mm format, and that's the point of spot meters" Metering is metering, I know how to meter, I have spot and incident meters. I want a reflective meter with viewfinder that measures a wider area. I'll go further and ask for this - a handheld meter that is spot and a wider view too! A 4 degree and a 25 degree measuring area in one meter with a slightly wide to normal focal length. But thats the only fancy part, no multiple memories or averaging. A meter that lets you look through a lens with a 40-50 degree view with a small circle of measure and larger one. Switch between the two circles for the angle of measure you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_kasaian1 Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 Henry, FWIW, what is the field on a Weston Ranger 9? I don't remember but maybe someone else does. As I recall they have a fairly wide angle for a spot meter(2 circles to sight through---one narrow the other wider) and awhile back some outfit was converting them to use silver button cells instead of the mercury. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil_poulsen1 Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 The Gossen variable "spot" attachment has a 7 degree and a 15 degree spread. I would think of 15 degrees as fairly wide for a "spot" meter. As I recall, the Lunapro gives a 30 degree spread, but there's no siting attachment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreas_berg Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 The meter you are asking for has been made, but is long out of production and, of course, require PX625 batteries. I am thinking about the Miranda Cadius: http://www.mirandacamera.com/_accessories/_meters/meters.htm Andreas Berg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george_jiri_loun Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 Before the arrival of electronic chips an averaging function on a spot meter was either impossible (before transistors) or impractical (with traditional transistors). Therefore the averaging trick needed to be done optically - by widening the "spot" meters angle of view. That method is not precise though so with the arrival of the "average button" the semi-spot meters became obsolete... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee_seegers Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 I believe that the 30 to 35 degree meter reads an area that's just about equal to it's distance from it's subject. I use a Weston Master V, and a Sekonic 508 and have found that the two of them pretty much cover all my needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffrey_scott Posted December 19, 2002 Share Posted December 19, 2002 If you can find one, try the Sekonic L-228 Zoom Spot Meter. It has a variable acceptance angle from 8.2-28 degrees. This meter was around in the '80's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry_hyman2 Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Henry, I had a Ranger 9 (great meter) and it has a measuring field of 30 degrees. The meter is great to work with, but it is surprisingly large compared to the other Westons. You can still get the original mercury batterys on Ebay or have it converted by a firm out of California who specialize in doing that. The meter in mint condition (doesn't come up very often on Ebay) should run around $90 to $130 dollars. It also comes with and incident dome if it hasn't been lost. Personally I now use a Luna Pro SBC (love the null type meter) for my 30 degree readings, with the vari-angle attachment I can get 7.5 or 15 degree when I want to use it, and a varible 1 to 4 degree Sekonic spot meter (digital) for all around use with my 4X5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george_jiri_loun Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 "I believe that the 30-35° meter reads an area that's just about equal to it's distance from it's subject" (Dee). Originally and normally the meters were constructed with about 50° view angle to correspond to the view angle of a normal focal lenght lens for a format. When more sensitive photodectors were available the view angle was sometimes limited to about 30° to act as an averaging semi-spot meter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry_a Posted December 20, 2002 Author Share Posted December 20, 2002 Thanks for everyone's responses. I might look for some of the older models referred to. I still think a meter meeting the specifications I stated would be a good and useful tool. I disagree that modern photometer cells and very small spot meters have rendered a larger metering area obsolete. Perhaps they have in the marketplace, but I say the spot metering/averaging philosophy is not always a better answer to the question I asked or to many peoples needs. IMO, the ultimate reflective meter would be a switchable small spot and large spot meter with a 25-30 degree angle of view. I do have excellent Minolta and Sekonic meters that do the job. I'm just dreaming of something that might be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_kasaian1 Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 Henry, FWIW, I got my Weston Ranger 9 spot meter at PhotoGraphic Systems, already converted to use silvers. They had a bunch of them a few years back---I don't know what they've got in stock now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_k. Posted December 21, 2002 Share Posted December 21, 2002 Gossen made a 10,20,30 degree variable exposure meter called "Multibeam cds Electronic". Measures both reflected(10,20,30) and incident(30). It uses 2 leds that you balance the intensity for the correct exposure. The meter calibrates easily and its accuracy is very good compared to my Luna Pro F and Sekonics.It also uses 2 AA batteries. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry_miller7 Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 Henry; If I'm not mistaken, I think the Weston Ranger 9 has an 18 degree reading on it's CDS cell coverage. Not quite a spot meter but narrower than most meters. It's a sturdy meter. Not sure what it weighs but it's heavier than the Master series. It's sensitivity as I remember is -5 to 24. Pretty good range. I was able to pick one up on EBAY a few months in new condition for about $90, with case and cone. This thing must've sat on a shelf somewhere for years with no use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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