Metering with M6 and very wide lenses

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How do you use the built-in meter with the M6 and very wide lenses (15,

21) effectively?

 

My understanding is that the area metered (the spot) is about equivalent

to 2/3 the height of the frame of the lens used. That is all fine and easy as

long as you use a lens for which the M6 provides a frame (28-135)

 

Now with my VC 15 and 21, and their (bright) finders it all becomes a bit

clumsy. I guess the area measured is still 2/3 of the height of the frame in

the external viewfinder - but obviously I can't see the meter result in

there....

 

I am missing something, or is this just another quirk of using the M6 system?

[john_collier2]

As the meter area is so wide, make sure you point the camera down (assuming the sky is not your subject). It is not that hard to view the meter area in the external finder and then set it through the camera's finder.

[godfrey]

I have found it to be much more accurate to use a hand-held incident meter when using the Voigtländer 15mm lens, but I used the camera meter as well by simply considering that with the 15mm lens fitted, ALL of the available standard viewfinder was in the meter's sensitive zone.

 

Godfrey

[jay_.]

The only reason that ridiculous 2/3-the-height-of-the-frame estimation exists is because at distances much over 1m the framelines are significantly smaller than the actual film...and in fact at those close distances using 2/3 the frame height will give you an overly-large estimate of the metered area. Look at the white spot on the curtain in relation to the overall shutter rectangle (24x36mm); memorize the relationship and apply that mentally to the accessory finder.

 

Also, with the very wide lenses it sometimes is necessary to attach a longer lens, take a reading, then reattach the ultrawide and use that exposure. A sort of ersatz spotmeter.

[al_kaplan1]

I mostly meter with a seperate incident meter. When I bought my 15mm Voigtlander lens a couple years ago I bought it with a Voigtlander dedicated through the lens exposure meter that gives me pretty damned accurate readings. I see them now advertised for as little as $75.00 each. It's called a Bessa L, and in addition to it's light metering functions it cotains a shutter and film transport mechanism. A real bargain!

[cameron_sawyer]

The Bessa-L is a sweet unit! The meter is excellent, and for $75 I just consider it part of the lens, like a Hassy SWC!