Reveni Labs Light Meter

[Andrew O'Neill]

I edited down the video I made last year. Someone commented saying that I could have done it in two minutes! Sorry... the best I could do was 4

[domaz]

The Reveni Labs meter is a really neat idea. Unfortunately I find it to finicky use and I end up just using my phone spot meter app because it's easy. Laziness wins the day in the end.

[Tin Can]

Good to know

NOT FOR ME

Thanks

[paulbarden]

The Reveni Labs meter is a really neat idea. Unfortunately I find it to finicky use and I end up just using my phone spot meter app because it's easy. Laziness wins the day in the end.

Me too. However, I bought the accessory shoe meter, not the spot meter. The tiny accessory meter is fine, but the minute the battery gets cold (IE; below 45F), it quits working. That was a fatal flaw with this design, but I see Mat updated it.

[Andrew O'Neill]

The Reveni Labs meter is a really neat idea. Unfortunately I find it to finicky use and I end up just using my phone spot meter app because it's easy. Laziness wins the day in the end.

Which spot metre app are you using?

[domaz]

Which spot metre app are you using?

Cine Meter II on iOS. It costs a bit of money unlike the free ones, but it seems fairly accurate.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Cine Meter II on iOS. It costs a bit of money unlike the free ones, but it seems fairly accurate.

Thanks!

[Alan9940]

My only real issue with the Reveni Spot Meter is that it's really not a spot meter. I think of it more as a heavily weighted center area meter. Yes, I realize the outer circle around the "spot" reveals an area of influence, but I've found that bright areas even outside the second circle can affect the reading. Works great when you have something like clear blue sky to meter on, but don't try to pick out small details. Personally, I much prefer my Pentax Digital Spot.

[Andrew O'Neill]

My only real issue with the Reveni Spot Meter is that it's really not a spot meter. I think of it more as a heavily weighted center area meter. Yes, I realize the outer circle around the "spot" reveals an area of influence, but I've found that bright areas even outside the second circle can affect the reading. Works great when you have something like clear blue sky to meter on, but don't try to pick out small details. Personally, I much prefer my Pentax Digital Spot.

It's closer to a 5 degree. I had issues trying to get get an accurate reading of that back lit tree branch. I was never sure if the "spot" was actually on the target.

[Michael Roberts]

I just got one of these last week and have been comparing it to my Honeywell-Pentax analog 1 degree spot meter. I've made about a dozen comparisons with three to five different metered areas each time.

I have not made a firm decision on keeping it yet or not. The size and weight are appealing. The degree of accuracy and battery consumption are not. I plan to email the company (Matt?) and ask for info, checking out the FAQs now.

For example, when I put fresh batteries into my Mk. II, the battery reads 70%. After a few usages, I'm down to 30%. This is terrible compared to my Pentax where I can go years without a battery change.

Also, as mentioned above, it is more of a 3-5 degree spot and even then seems to be affected by areas of light/dark outside the doughnut (I get you Andy!).

OTOH, when I calculate a bottom-line of what exposure would I make with each meter, I have only had two different results in a dozen dry runs and these two were only off by one-half stop. So it might work for me (with my metering method, YMMV) when all is said and done. Still testing....

BTW, I shoot mainly color slide film, so I only have five stops to work with. Being off by one stop can mean the difference in blowing out the highlights or not. Same with shadowed areas going all black or not. If, instead, I shot only black and white film, then keeping the Reveni would be a definite yes.

For myself, which meter to use would depend very much on what I am shooting both in terms of subject matter and gear. For example, if I am doing table top still life shots in my house or working with a 12x20 camera just outside my vehicle, then the Pentax is the way to go. But if I'm hiking four- or fourteen-miles roundtrip with 3,000' elevation gain and going up to 13,000' and shooting big landscapes, then I think the Reveni could possibly work just fine and save me some weight and bulk. The biggest question mark I have is doing something like slot canyons with color slide film. Right now, I would not trust the Reveni to give me the accuracy I would need despite having to hike two hours just to get to the subject location.


Oh, and Andy, if I'm correct after watching your long-form video, it seemed to me that your results were consistently off by two stops and in the same direction. If that's the case, there is a menu option on the Reveni meter that allows you to recalibrate it to give you the same readings as your trusted, 30 year old meter.