Watkins Bee Meter

**Two23** · 16-Jul-2011, 09:24

As I dive ever deeper in photography history, I come across more and more stuff I've never heard of. Yeterday I received a 1909 guide to photography published by Burke & James (The ABC of Photograpy.) It's fascinating! One of the advertised products is a Watkins Bee Meter. I'm somewhat familiar with the "extinction meters", but this is something a little different. They look pretty cool! Do they actually still work? If I bought one, would it be able to give me an exposure reading I could use with my ISO 25 Efke film? It looks like they were the best meter between 1903 and 1932, when the Weston meter came out. Or, were they mostly just a gimmick?

Kent in SD

**Andy Eads** · 16-Jul-2011, 10:14

Check this link for a good description of how it operated.
http://www.jollinger.com/photo/meter...tkins_bee.html

**Pete Watkins** · 16-Jul-2011, 12:18

Alfred Watkins was an interesting bloke who lived in the town of Cheltenham Spa. There's a lot on him on Google. He owned a brewery, kept bees (hence the name of the meter) and was generlally loaded. One of the weird things was that he invented/discovered Ley Lines (he might have been on his ale that day).
Pete.

**Two23** · 16-Jul-2011, 18:54

Read the website, and it looks like the meters won't be usuable since it needs those paper refills. Apparently they worked to some extent, though.

Kent in SD

**Tony Lakin** · 17-Jul-2011, 00:10

Originally Posted by Pete Watkins

Alfred Watkins was an interesting bloke who lived in the town of Cheltenham Spa. There's a lot on him on Google. He owned a brewery, kept bees (hence the name of the meter) and was generlally loaded. One of the weird things was that he invented/discovered Ley Lines (he might have been on his ale that day).
Pete.

Related Pete

?

**Keith Cocker** · 17-Jul-2011, 04:37

I think you will find he lived in Hereford! I have a bee-meter with the original box and instructions, and no, they don't work now but they are nicely made things

**rknewcomb** · 18-Jul-2011, 10:57

I have a Bee meter, looks like a fine old pocket watch with a bob on the end of a small chain. Got it with several unopened packs of the paper that one used in them for exposure readings. The papers are probably fogged to
"sunny 16" by now. Neat fine old meter.