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Thread: Spot Meter Buyer's Guide and/or Iphone Ap

  1. #1

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    Spot Meter Buyer's Guide and/or Iphone Ap

    Hi there,

    I've been looking for a spot meter forever. The Pentax Digitals are just out my price range. There is quite a bit of other stuff out there, Minoltas, older Pentaxs, Soligors, etc. Just wondering what is 2nd and 3rd best? Is a Pentax Spotmeter V useable? Any particular battery issues to avoid?

    And on a different note, has anyone tried the Pocket Light Meter ap for the iphone/ipod touch? I was thinking about buying an ipod touch, and if this worked well, it would save me buying the spot meter. So...any thoughts?

    Thanks!
    Paul

  2. #2
    Big Negs Rock!
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    Re: Spot Meter Buyer's Guide and/or Iphone Ap

    If you can find a Minolta Spot Meter F it is my meter of choice for at least 25 years.
    Mark Woods

    Large Format B&W
    Cinematography Mentor at the American Film Institute
    Past President of the Pasadena Society of Artists
    Director of Photography
    Pasadena, CA
    www.markwoods.com

  3. #3

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    Re: Spot Meter Buyer's Guide and/or Iphone Ap

    I've been using a ZoneVI converted analog Pentax V for LONG time. It still works and no problem getting batteries for it.
    Ron McElroy
    Memphis

  4. #4
    William Whitaker's Avatar
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    Re: Spot Meter Buyer's Guide and/or Iphone Ap

    Thanks for the heads-up. I just downloaded the Pocket Light Meter app to my iPhone. I look forward to trying it.

  5. #5

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    Re: Spot Meter Buyer's Guide and/or Iphone Ap

    pocket light meter is the best one i've tried but it certainly isn't a replacement for a meter. I've used it quite a bit (just to see how close it was to my spot readings) and it's often off by as much as a stop. Other times it's dead on. Depends on the subject matter. I've had minolta F, pentax digital, and the metered light pocket spot. I've used the sekonics and even the latest meter out of the box doesn't match any other meter I tried it against and they give a 0 ev reading in low light when my other meters read properly. The pentax digital is the easiest to use for LF zone system work, followed by the Pocket Spot.

  6. #6
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    Re: Spot Meter Buyer's Guide and/or Iphone Ap

    The Pentax Spotmeter V is still a great meter. And it reads in EV, providing an EV scale that makes zone-system placement dead easy.

    I also own a Minolta Spotmeter F, which is also a superb meter. But it is a bit more fiddly--I have to make zone conversions in my head. There may be an easier way with it but I haven't really dug that much into it.

    I use the Minolta for color work with medium format. No zone system there, so I can choose the subject elements at the boundaries of where I want detail and determine my exposure from that. So, the Spot F stays in my Pentax 6x7 bag, and the Pentax stays in my Sinar bag.

    Rick "glad to have both so that one can be a backup for the other" Denney

  7. #7

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    Re: Spot Meter Buyer's Guide and/or Iphone Ap

    I own both the Pentax digital spot meter and the older analog Spotmeter V. There are no problems getting batteries for either. Both spot meters are very accurate and agree with each other. I actually prefer using the older meter but the digital takes up less room in the camera bag. I'm old fashioned and like the sweep hand of the analog over the digital display.

  8. #8
    Drew Bedo's Avatar
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    Re: Spot Meter Buyer's Guide and/or Iphone Ap

    [I] am using a Minolta spot meter and it works great. Reciently I got a sinar Booster -1 off *-Bay that plugs into my Minolta flash meter. This is a focal plane probe.
    Drew Bedo
    www.quietlightphoto.com
    http://www.artsyhome.com/author/drew-bedo




    There are only three types of mounting flanges; too big, too small and wrong thread!

  9. #9
    Preston Birdwell
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    Re: Spot Meter Buyer's Guide and/or Iphone Ap

    The Minolta Spotmeter-F is a great meter. I just bumped an ad for one in the For Sale forum, in case you're interested, Paul.

    I agree with Rick that it's bit more fiddly than the Pentax, but nothing that can't be overcome.

    --P
    Preston-Columbia CA

    "If you want nice fresh oats, you have to pay a fair price. If you can be satisfied with oats that have already been through the horse; that comes a little cheaper."

  10. #10

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    Re: Spot Meter Buyer's Guide and/or Iphone Ap

    Thanks!

    So for the record...I get that the Spotmeter V zone modified is good. How about unmodified? And I was sure that there were some battery issues with some spot meters? Am I wrong?

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