Spot Meter Buyer's Guide and/or Iphone Ap

[sully75]

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

[Mark Woods]

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

[Ron McElroy]

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

[William Whitaker]

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

[vinny]

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.

[rdenney]

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

[Alan Gales]

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.

[Drew Bedo]

[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.

[Preston]

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

[sully75]

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?

[Alan Gales]

The Pentax Spotmeter V Zone modified is modified for b&w photography and commands more money than an unmodified Spotmeter V. If you shoot color you just need the unmodified version. I know that you could still buy batteries for the Pentax Spotmeter lV a year ago. I put batteries in one to check it out before I sold it on Ebay. I also know that you can't buy batteries for the ancient original Pentax Spotmeter.

[Alan Gales]

If you are looking for a quality spot meter on a budget the Pentax Spotmeter V is the way to go. You can pick up a Spotmeter lV a little cheaper but I would seriously worry about future battery availability. Once in a great while you can find a Soligor spot meter on Ebay for a little bit cheaper than the Pentax. I have heard that they were quality meters but in the day the Pentax Spotmeter V was rated the best spot meter that you could buy!

[speedfreak]

If you don't fore see needing to take flash readings, the minolta spotmeter m, I believe would be a good way to go. I have this one and it's been great. It takes almost no time to figure it out (if you've got what it takes, mentally, to shoot LF it's no problem). It's cheaper than the "f" and I got mine as a BGN grade at KEH.com for just over $100.

[sully75]

Ok so I only shoot B+W right now. If I can't find a zone modified Pentax V, is the unmodified useable? What did they do that made it better for B+W?

[aluncrockford]

I have been using the pocket light meter app and for the majority of the time it is fine, certainly better than guessing and with B&W will give you a usable neg

[Alan Gales]

The Zone Vl modifications include replacing the light sensor, adding a filter pack to adjust the spectral sensitivity of the meter to match that of film, and adding baffling to reduce the sensitivity of the meter to flare. (I got this off the internet)

From what I have read the difference in the way the two meters read is only about 1/3 to 1/2 a stop. There is a lot of argument of whether the extra cost of the modifications are worth it.

[Hector.Navarro]

during my first two years doing LF I metered with my 35mm Canon Rebel XS and had pretty good results using the zoom to meter smaller areas (probably getting about 10 degrees in the center at 80mm).

Last year I bought a used Sekonic 408 meter (5 degree spot, incident + flash) and I've been very happy with it, I paid about $120 for it. I use it with my LF and for flash.

[Skip Abadie]

Are the Gossen Spot Meter II and the Sekonic L-758 the only spot meters that are still manufactured and available new? I use an L-508 that is still in fine condition. But I'm thinking about getting another meter with the ability to measure down to 1 EV. I'm just wondering if my choices in new spot meters are now limited to these two. I haven't been able to find any others outside of the used market.

I may end up going with a used Pentax Digital Spot Meter if my choices in new meters are limited to the two above.

[rdenney]

Well, there's the Gossen Starlite 2, but it only goes down to EV2 in 1-degree spot mode (EV1 in 5-degree mode). Ain't cheap...$640 or so. You can put a pricey 1-degree spot attachment on an L-358.

A used spot meter is a much better deal, in my opinion.

And to answer another question, an unmodified Pentax Spot V will work fine with black and white. Mine is unmodified and I've used it for many years. Color sensitivity is an issue for those who are chasing minute variations and have the densitometers and so on to measure them. Even so, more people have used them as they came from Pentax than have used those modified by Zone VI, and their reputation as the standard of the industry emerged before the modifications were being made.

Rick "who bought all his meters used except for a Sekonic L-718, which does not have a 1-degree attachment" Denney

[Michael Gordon]

The Pentax Digitals are just out my price range.

Maybe they're not. You can regularly find them on ebay in good condition for under $375 or so. Just be patient, and hang out for the best deals. You don't need the Zone VI mod; just get the standard.

[Scott Davis]

Another happy Minolta Spotmeter F user here. The good thing about it is it takes an AA battery. If you can't find an AA battery where you are, you're truly off the map. The great thing about it is it also does flash metering in addition to natural light.

[Drew Bedo]

Most posts on this thread endorse either Pentax or Minolta spot meters. Units from both brands are orphins now . . .am I right?

Is noone using any of the Sekonic meters?

[SW Rick]

I have a Sekonic L-558- the only downside is that it suffers from the "DSLR menu madness" syndrome. I like that it also has incident reading.

[rdenney]

Most posts on this thread endorse either Pentax or Minolta spot meters. Units from both brands are orphins now . . .am I right?

Is noone using any of the Sekonic meters?

I have an L-718 that I bought because I needed an incident flash meter for use with studio lights. It works quite well. But the spot attachment for it (which I have) only goes down to 5 degrees--not really enough for zone-system measurements. It's excellent for just about everything else, though, except that the attachments are hard to keep with it and not get lost.

The best current deal is probably an L-358 with the 1-degree spot attachment, though at retail it's not cheap.

I paid under $200 for my Minolta Spot F, in excellent condition, at a camera show. Not so long ago, but long enough that camera shows were still interesting.

I paid less than that for my Pentax Spot V, but that was back when the dollars I was using were worth a lot more.

Rick "who would have designed the diffusers and attachments to clip into the body of the L-718 when not in use" Denney

[falth j]

Can't figure it out...

time, price of gas, tripod, head, camera, lenses, hoods, dark room stuff, film, filters, chemicals, printers, papers, inks, densitometers, and all the variables these things produce and are all inter-related, and yet the eternal desire to skimp on a light meter...

I have more junk light meters sold on eBay that were mint, or works great than you can shake a stick at...

the cheapest in the end was brand new, even if I had to cut the wife's spending for a few month's... it was still cheaper to buy new, but then I made sure I was on the road for those two month's when her budget was cut. :(

sure glad my surgeon and hospital doesn't opt for second hand or second best... :eek:

[rdenney]

sure glad my surgeon and hospital doesn't opt for second hand or second best... :eek:

Difference between a hobby and a profession. You don't want to know what I have paid for engineering software.

But a Pentax Spot V, for example, is not second best, and it can be repaired to perfection and still cost less than an L-358 with a 1-degree spot attachment. And the Minolta Spot F is a completely modern electronic meter that if it works at all will probably continue to do so as long as you keep batteries in it.

Rick "most of whose large-format equipment was bought second-hand" Denney

[Drew Bedo]

Most large format gear is designed and manufactured to a pretty high standard to begin with. Most components don’t wear out or may be adjusted or repaired (shutters and bellows). So buying used equipment is not a bad idea.


In the case of some of my cameras, I don't look on it as ownership so much as stewardship. Kodak isn’t making “2-Ds” any more for example. While this is not one of the most versatile view cameras ever made, and while it does not have the cachet of a Master View, it IS a finely made mahogany wood cabinet-quality example of workmanship not usual today in a mass-produced item. The example I have was made some time in the first half of the previous century (circa 1935-ish) . I would like to think I am keeping it for someone else to use later on in this century.

I feel much the same way about the Zone VI that I have. I am using it untill it goes to someone else.

With meters it is a little different. At some point they will develop a technology that is somehow better, and wrap it in a package that is more convenient than what we have now (Pentax, Minolta, Sekonic, Broncolor . . .whatever). Photographers then will use that technology. I see that there are "apps" for smart phones that turn it into a light meter. I don't think they are useful right now, but who knows what next year will bring?

[sully75]

If I bought the best in everything I probably would never have started taking pictures.

I think there might be an indirect relationship between gear worship and good pictures.

[falth j]

"You don't want to know what I have paid for engineering software."

Not to hi-jack the op's intent, but, there was a very good discussion on PBS radio about the 'new' 'age of knowledge', and its availability to the general public.

The point being that nearly all really useful 'knowledge' today is locked behind a veil or firewall of 'pay for use, or pay to view' philosophy..

In that vein, the copyrighting of certain aspects of genome research, as well as having to purchase a software program, a computer, and a monitor to 'write' something, whereas in comparison to merely buying paper, pencil, or a typewriter a few years ago, to cite just a few examples from that PBS discussion a few weeks ago.

[Jan Normandale]

Paul, Pentax, Gossen, Soligor, Weston, all these are good. What you should do is a search and read the features of these meters looking for features that best suit your style of shooting. Everything is a compromise but this should help set your priorities into some kind of hierarchy. Then start looking for the price point that you want from a shortlist of possible meters that meet your shooting needs. Some people eventually end up with two or more meters but you should be able to find a good general purpose meter after some reading.

Here's a couple of links to get you started:
http://www.westonmeter.org.uk/
http://www.gossen-photo.de/english/fotografie.php

[Ben Calwell]

My Pentax Spotmeter V is chugging right along. I bought it new in 1984, and it's never let me down

[jwaddison]

I used my F80 spotmeter for my LF for a year or more - worked fine.

[sully75]

I ended up with a non-modified Spot Meter V. Looks great, I'm not sure what I'm missing but I like it a lot. Haven't actually used it to take a picture yet but I'll be getting to that shortly.

[toolbox]

I've been using an ancient Pentax 3/21 spot meter for a while, and it works fine despite it's age. I had to clean a bunch of fungus out of the lens, but that wasn't a big deal. It uses 2 batteries--one looks sort of like a 9 volt, but actually runs 21V IIRC (amazingly they're still available). The other was a 1.3V mercury battery, which I replaced with a 1.5V battery. Despite the voltage difference, the readings look pretty good to me. I'm not sure, but this may have been the first spot meter Pentax made...
Anyway, I got it really cheap and it's been perfectly usable. Oh, and it's got a 3 degree reading area, not 1 degree like later meters (that's where the "3" in 3/21 comes from).

[sully75]

Loving this meter. Thanks for all the help. Seems dead on with my just CLA'd Leica M6, that's the best thing I have to compare it to. So much fun to use.