Canon's early Booster meters

[gregory_nicholson]

Hello, I want a Booster meter to use with the Auto Bellows. I have an

F-1n with a non-working meter and a FTbn. Here are a few questions.

 

1) Can the Booster T finder be used regardless of a non-working

camera meter or do you need the camera's meter to be in working order?

 

2) The Booster meter for the FTbn, is it TTL or reflective light?

 

Which Booster meter would be the better choice for the Bellows?

 

 

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[richard_oleson]

I don't have the booster meter, but i THINK it's basically an amplifier that goes downstream from your regular meter's cells. I assume you'd need a working in camera meter for it, but it might depend on exactly what the meter problems is.....

[lance_dennis]

The booster for the FTb is an amplifier of the camera's lightmeter. It uses the 12% TTL cell in the camera. I found it ungainly, fragile, and difficult to switch back to normal operation. I eventually sold my FTb booster

 

The boosterT for the F1/F1n is a TTL meter/prism that complements the meter and replaces the prism of the F1. It measures the full screen without averaging. It allows exposures from 3-60 seconds measuring down to -4 EV (-3.5?). For speeds of 1/60 - 1 it uses the camera's meter with the 12% rectangle. Speeds faster than 1/60 are not available when the booster T is mounted. I like this meter/prism and have used it several times where it was too dark to focus! Alas, your meter is broken. However you can still TTL measure in the 3-60 second range.

 

-Lance Dennis

[gregory_nicholson]

Thank you Lance, that's what I was looking for. I've often wondered about the Booster for the FTbn but being not very popular I figured there was something not user-friendly. I bought a Booster T about six months ago but it arrived broken. I will now find one that works. Thanks again.