Pentax Digital Spotmeter issue

[vinny]

First off, I've used many different spot meters and never have I seen this issue before I purchased the pentax. I bought one last year off a member here and immediately returned it after the readings I was getting weren't matching my other meters which had been recently calibrated. The attached pic shows the viewfinder and where the reading is actually taken from. I exaggerated a bit but you get the idea. The replacement meter I also bought off a friend who barely used it also does the same thing. Anyone see this before? Anyone got their pentax digi spotmeter handy that'll run a test for me? Can this be fixed?

vinny

[RichardRitter]

Yes seen it and Yes it can be repaired. Cause, it depends on which one of the few parts is off or a combination of parts are off.

Has the meter been dropped?

[vinny]

Richard, I was going to send you an email on this as well but you've seen it here first. Dropped? Not that I'm aware of. The guy I bought it from would have mentioned that, I'm sure.

[Michael Kadillak]

Best solution is to acquire a Pocket Spot Meter. Why?

It is hard wired and never requires a calibration and is as sturdy as a brick. It is made out of a solid piece of aluminum and is small enough to fit in your shirt pocket.

I have three Pentax meters and I was required to calibrate them at $70 a meter every year to 16 months. Ouch!

After acquiring a Pocket Spot the Pentax Meters are idle and I will sell them all soon.

Better late than never......

[vinny]

Michael, that sounds great but where the hell can I get one? They don't make them anymore, do they?

[Michael Kadillak]

Yes they do. Eric has a blog that you need to gain access to and get on the list and be patient. He has a day job and manufacturers these marvelous instruments part time.

Do a search in the LF forum and you will find what you need.

Cheers!

[Bruce Barlow]

"I have three Pentax meters and I was required to calibrate them at $70 a meter every year to 16 months."

Ouch, indeed! I have one that after 20 years was a half stop off at the low end. when I asked Richard to check it. I have heard of others whose meters require recalibration often. I wonder why experiences are so different?

I have a bigger problem with batteries failing just when I need to use the meter, and knowing that I put the replacement battery in a very safe place...somewhere...

[Michael Kadillak]

"I have three Pentax meters and I was required to calibrate them at $70 a meter every year to 16 months."

Ouch, indeed! I have one that after 20 years was a half stop off at the low end. when I asked Richard to check it. I have heard of others whose meters require recalibration often. I wonder why experiences are so different?

I have a bigger problem with batteries failing just when I need to use the meter, and knowing that I put the replacement battery in a very safe place...somewhere...

It depends upon how these meters are used. Micro vibrations and/or motion in general that can be experienced on airplanes and in some vehicles can have an adverse effect on their circuitry. Theoretically if one stayed away from such events there is no reason that accuracy drift on either end of the scale could be minimized. Spectra recommends an annual calibration for professionals on their meters that are the choice of cinematographers as well as photographers across the globe.

I got tired of seeing my Pentax field meters slowly deviate from the one I kept at home as a reference. When I learned that the Pocket Spot is hard wired when it is manufactured in spec and never needs a calibration that was all I needed to acquire one. The size was icing on the cake. I guess if I was shooting small or medium format and had access to variable contact filters it would not be that big of an issue. Unfortunately shooting 8x10 and ULF and contact printing with Lodima grade 2 and 3 the band width is a bit shorter.

[Eric Biggerstaff]

Is this the blog:

http://meteredlight.blogspot.com/

I have always wanted one of these little beauties!

[Drew Wiley]

I need to calibrate my Pentax digital meters only once a decade or so. I keep a brand
new meter in the lab which is never used except to check the other meters. I do a lot
of backpacking and even some 4WD rough driving and don't have problems. These
meters have gone through hell and seem to remain reliable. But that little Metered Light
device sure looks interesting. Wonder if they're still around?

[Michael Kadillak]

I need to calibrate my Pentax digital meters only once a decade or so. I keep a brand
new meter in the lab which is never used except to check the other meters. I do a lot
of backpacking and even some 4WD rough driving and don't have problems. These
meters have gone through hell and seem to remain reliable. But that little Metered Light
device sure looks interesting. Wonder if they're still around?

Who has not dropped their meter at one point or another and wondered if it had an adverse effect on the results the meter produced.

Next time you are in a group of photographers ask them each to put their spot meters on a evenly illuminated surface and give you their Zone 5 exposure at the full manufacturers rated ASA. The results from the group will likely produce a 2-3 stop variance and each of them will swear that their meters are spot on.

When I have a $10 sheet of ULF film in a holder and am getting ready to pull the slide on a photograph my pocket book tells me that I need to have confidence in my support instruments for making the exposure. If I were fortunate enough to make photographs day in and day out I would not need a meter as I could use this vast amount of experience to know how to expose for the particular image. Now that would be the best case scenario. But in my real world I am strongly induced to generate a consistent cash flow from a day job hence the need to use the best instrument possible with my part time photography obscession. Pocket Spot.

[Drew Wiley]

Michael - I do color tranny work as well as negs. I expect all my meters to match
perfectly over their entire range, and I do check them. Other than my personal stupidity managing to drop a meter in ice water, and repairing this kind of issue, my
Pentax digital meters have been superbly reliable and predictable. With the pocket
meter I wonder how easily I could aim at my target, since I might need to put on
reading glasses, but then wouldn't be able to focus at infinity. A lot like shooting a gun
with iron sights at my age, which was once so easy to do! But the tiny size of the thing is what intrigues me. Looks ideal for backpacking.

[Michael Kadillak]

Michael - I do color tranny work as well as negs. I expect all my meters to match
perfectly over their entire range, and I do check them. Other than my personal stupidity managing to drop a meter in ice water, and repairing this kind of issue, my
Pentax digital meters have been superbly reliable and predictable. With the pocket
meter I wonder how easily I could aim at my target, since I might need to put on
reading glasses, but then wouldn't be able to focus at infinity. A lot like shooting a gun
with iron sights at my age, which was once so easy to do! But the tiny size of the thing is what intrigues me. Looks ideal for backpacking.

In life there are compromises and the Pocket Spot is no different. To take a meter reading you look through a short tube built into the side of the meter about 12" away from your eye (use the string attached as a distance guide) and push a red button on top of the meter. You get a digital readout to use with the built in zone scale. There is no optical magnification - just point and "shoot". That far away from your eye you don't need reading glasses. Being able to put this meter in your front pocket is a real plus.

[Steve Hamley]

O.K., I guess I will stir the pot. I like the Luna Pros and use them for color transparency and B&W under average conditions, which is what they were designed for. I use spot meters for metering "white" water, fog, snow, the sky in sunrises and sunsets. In other words, conditions in which an average reading would not yield an appropriate exposure.

But don't take my word for it, see post #34.

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=43064&page=4&highlight=zone+modification

Cheers, Steve

[Bruce Watson]

...about 12" away from your eye ... That far away from your eye you don't need reading glasses.

ROFLMAO! Just you wait!

Seriously, I hope you never have to find out what tri-focals are, or how to use them (or pay for them). I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Guess I'll be sticking with my Pentax digital 1 degree spot then. Hey, it works great and I already own it. And I'll need the money for another pair of glasses soon anyway. Sigh...

[Michael Kadillak]

O.K., I guess I will stir the pot. I like the Luna Pros and use them for color transparency and B&W under average conditions, which is what they were designed for. I use spot meters for metering "white" water, fog, snow, the sky in sunrises and sunsets. In other words, conditions in which an average reading would not yield an appropriate exposure.

But don't take my word for it, see post #34.

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=43064&page=4&highlight=zone+modification

Cheers, Steve

I would not consider this stirring the pot at all.

I understand your strategy because it works. I do the same thing with my Spectra meter and pull out the pocket spot when necessary. It is all about using the correct tool for the task at hand.

[CarstenW]

Old thread, but it reminded me of something I have wanted to do. I own two Pentax meters, one analog and one digital. The analog one I had the bad fortune to drop on concrete and since then it has not worked. I always meant to have it examined to see if there was any chance of revival. There is no externally visible damage. The digital meter works well, but unfortunately there is some small piece of something rattling around inside which I would like to have removed, and the meter examined to verify that everything is okay with it.

So, my question is where might I have them looked at in Europe, hopefully in Germany, ideally Berlin?

[Brian Ellis]

Best solution is to acquire a Pocket Spot Meter. Why?

It is hard wired and never requires a calibration and is as sturdy as a brick. It is made out of a solid piece of aluminum and is small enough to fit in your shirt pocket.

I have three Pentax meters and I was required to calibrate them at $70 a meter every year to 16 months. Ouch!

After acquiring a Pocket Spot the Pentax Meters are idle and I will sell them all soon.

Better late than never......

Three meters and every one had to be recalibrated every year or year and four months? Strange. I used a Pentax digital spot meter for about 15 years. It almost became a routine to drop it (in its carrying case) onto concrete floors in parking lots when I'd unloosen my belt before getting into the car and forget that the meter and case were looped onto the belt. I never had to recalibrate it. I used to check it with friend's meters and with other meters at workshops and we were usually spot on, never more than a third of a spot off.