A Pocket-Sized Light Meter for Analog Photography. Are these any good?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 พ.ค. 2024
- 00:00 Intro
03:36 Testing Indoors
06:26 Functions
10:08 Film Testing
16:00 Final Thought
Wow! I never thought I would use one of these pocket sized light meters mainly as I wasn't sure they would be accurate enough but this Astrhori AH-M1 surprised me!
In this video I go through the functions and take it out for a test with the Pentacon Six.
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EQUIPMENT USED IN THIS VIDEO
CAMERA - Pentacon Six
LENS - 80mm
FILM - Ilford Delta 100
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Here's a tip. Unscrew the coldshoe mount on the AsrHori...Slide in a lanyard and tighten it up. Always around your neck.
ha ha I have actually been thinking the same! That or take it apart and drill a tiny hole into the chassis.
Thank you for the mention. I enjoyed making the prints for you. You are most welcome.
I have the KEKS KM02. Bought it directly from the company before it was released to the public. I absolutely LOVE it and it has a LOT of features on it. It meters real good and is very handy when you don't want to lug around a bigger meter.
I have one of the TTArtisan light meter and I think it's a godsend for people with older cameras!!! Does its job well and it's not that too expensive. I'd recommend to get one, as well!
I bought a similar one called a V-201X. I like it so far. If I had to knit pick, the display is a little hard to see in bright sunlight. Otherwise, it works great for me.
I use a Sekonic 208 for my OM-1n as never found a good replacement battery for it. So not to loose the meter, get a cheap lanyard for mobile phone type, loosen the shoe and and jam the cord under and tighten screws and good for hanging around neck but you already thought of that probably! Thanks for sharing.
I like how you changed the print on the wall behind you whenever you cut back to yourself. Very clever! 😊
Thank you! 😊 Well spotted.
Damn, these things are brilliant, had no clue they exited!
Thank you!!! ❤
My wife bought me a Voightlander small meter a few years back, they are expensive but it seems to work well.
Any chance you'll do a follow-up video to show us how/if it works for nighttime metering?
I have a KEKS meter and while it's accurate it all depends what you point it at, as with any meter. And I just find a hand held meter with a big dial and a large display much better for pointing at things. They also usually come with a slide over invercone so if you want to cross check between a reflective reading and an incident reading it's very quick to do.
In fairness to Reveni labs, I think the one you show there is actually their spot meter, which does look like a really cool bit of gear, and very different to anything else I've seen.
You're so real bro I love it
ha ha cheers.
Got a used AstrHori for 30 quid used so can't complain. It's an average and highly portable meter at least. I oddly prefer making a guesstimation then look at a meter to see if I'm near the ballpark figure as it's more fun..best way to learn!
You can also put it in your pocket without a camera to play guessing games. Nice bargain!
I have a TT Artisan meter. While I have tested it against a large Sekonic unit and found it accurate, I find it too easy to accidentally change the ISO setting when adjusting the f stop dial, and in daylight the over/under leds are near impossible to read. I also have a light meter app on my mobile phone that is annoyingly about 2 stops off - it gives me an accurate reading for iso 400 when I set it to 1600. I really liked a little Sekonic L208, but that succumbed to gravity and ceased to function. To be honest, I am quite happy with sunny sixteen down to about f8, but find it hard to judge the light as it gets dimmer.
i have a DOOMO Meter D Cold Shoe Light Meter for my Leica M2. It has a 30 degree sensitivity and better than the TT Artisan version which has a 45 degree sensitivity. It gives EXACTLY the same reading as my Leica MP.I researched many brands and the DOOMO seemed the best. It also has two analogue dials for shutter and aperture rather than digital which is perfect for my old eyes and I don't have to remember how many times to push the same button.
Yup! I have two Doomo's and they are terrific.
Yup! Have the Doomo meter D in Chrome and cold shoe it to the side of my Hasselblad, top of my Nikon F that has a busted photomic and permanently top of my NIcca 3-F rangefinder ( Leica iii F clone). Looks great as well and always 100% accurate to my Sekonic 308. Speeds up shooting and deepens understanding of light, shutter speed and apertures even at my old age. Took a few rolls on the ranegfinder to get used the concept that the meter was not the camera setting!
I have a DOOMO for my Leica M4-P and it also reads the same as my Sekonic. Excellent little meter!
I looked at all these little meters and went with the Reflx Labs one.. It was the cheapest and the tiniest. Also the silver one looks perfect on top of my M2 and almost looks like it was made for my Leica iiif... Matches the Barnacks perfectly.. My take on these meters is mainly to use them as a starting point. Once you have an idea of the calibration of the meter its pretty easy to make adjustments in your head. The ambition is to work sans meter as much as possible.
I used one similar to this and it's not bad.
I have two from Doomo Made. The meter d and meter s in brass they are awesome little things and the metering is close enough that I've never had an issue. They spend their time on my Leica M3 & Kodak Retinas, sometime even in my pocket just to check light when walking around with a minolta 16 or minox. And the black painted brass looks nice as it ages.
I was just looking at their site, and they have a right angle cold shoe mount that would be perfect for my Mamiya RB67. The cold shoe is on the side, which would make using one of these little gadgets pretty awkward. Price is pretty reasonable, too
That looks great. I’ve just got my first TLR and checked my settings by taking a quick photo on my X-T30. Carrying two cameras isn’t always practical but it does mean you have a digital backup for comparison. Once I get a bit more confident I’ll probably leave the Fuji at home so this might be handy.
I used to take my DSLR out with me for metering years ago, also I had the benefit of seeing how it looked before exposing the film. As you say though. Carrying two cameras.
.... very impressive .... thankyou
Many thanks!
Another Keks KM02 user here, on a couple of my cameras, and a trusty Sekonic L308s for most use.
"I keep bloody losing it" ..yep, I have exactly the same experience with my ol' VC-meter II. :D
I like the double dial ones like the VC-2 and the Doomo with the 3 LEDs, not really a fan of these small meters with the LCD displays.
I've got the Voigtlander one for my Hassy, as I got tired of carrying the spot meter around whenever I shoot on the street or something similar. Fits right on the side on the shoe mount and works like a charm. For closeup work I still prefer a spot meter though.
Been using a Voigtländer Cosina VC meter II for well over a decade. Still love it.
All the reviews indicate that the little meters work very well. Currently I use an light meter app (myLightMeter) on my iPhone with my Mamiya TLR and my Olympus OM-1
Great info!...This is counter-intuitive to my wanting to be free from charging, buying batteries, etc. 😄 I bought an old Petri 7s thinking I would finally be free (selenium meter! no batteries needed to operate the camera!). Well, the dang meter only works sporadically and when it does work it's jumpy or just wrong. Shot down. So I started using a phone app meter. Which also defeats my wanting to just carry a mechanical camera around. I suppose I'll just estimate. A light meter would cost more than what I paid for the camera ($25)... I love all your videos by the way, thanks for all the information.
These little meters are fantastic! I use a keks on my GW680 so that the readout faces toward the back. I use an AstrHori on my TLR with a 90 degree shoe adapter so that the readout screen face upward. I then carry a Reveni labs spot meter when I think I might need to cross check. Happy Holidays!
Yep. I have the Keks on my GW690 and you’re right about having the screen facing the back. Works a treat.
I am not sure if I mentioned that in the video or if I cut it out but I liked the idea of the display facing you like the Keks
Handy little gadget to chuck in my camera bag. Got mine on AliExpress for £35.
I have the TTArtisan one, I use it with my smaller cameras where I don't want to carry the Pentax Spotmeter V. Works fine, plenty accurate for B&W .
Classic spot meter that Pentax V.
I have the one from TTArtisan which is a "copy" of the Voigtländer VC meter. This small thing is pretty neat. I got the first version which is black paint on a brass housing that's sure to look awesome once it gets a bit worn out sitting on top of a rangefinder. The new ones are aircraft aluminum. Precision wise, it's pretty good and I'm happy with it so far. The wheels don't turn by accident and you don't have a power hungry screen to deal with.
I have the TT artisan and I am very happy with it. I use it with any cameras I have that don't have a built in light meter. (Obviously). These include russian zenits and Kievs, a zeiss contaflex and an ercona 6x9. No problems whatsoever, though at some point I might also purchase a spot meter (they are expensive, however....)
Yes spots are expensive. Minolta Spot Meter M are relatively well priced used.
I have a little bigger meter, the sekonic L-208. If I didn’t have it, this might be an interesting alternative. Thanks again for your inspiring video :-)
Good choice!
I also tested one of these and prefer to stick with my old Zeiss Ikon Ikophot from the 1950s. If I measure the exposure once with the Zeiss, it will permanently show me all the settings I can use on the camera. Sometimes from 1/1000 up to 1s, everything at a glance without having to convert in your head or make other settings. I'm sticking with my old Zeiss and had brought the little digital toy back to the shop.
I too have a couple of Zeiss Ikon Ikophot, which I use alot. I have a modern Sekonic of which I haven't used yet!. Oe thing with the Ikophot is it doesn't need batteries!
I have one too
Wow, I had to google that! I have one similar called a Sixteen, which is not accurate unfortunately. The cells must have aged bad
Bought this cheap light meter from Alexipress - 0.96 Inch 0led M08 Light Meter Camera Photometer Photography Light Set-top Reflection Meter Z9c1. It is very ugly but it works! I like the look of yours better. Great video!
Excellent video and beautiful gadget. It is not the first tiny light meter. Vivitar had one very accurate in the years 80s.
LONG LIVE FILM PHOTOGRAPHY.
Well said!
Afaik, all of these new tiny light meters use the same photo diode that is cheap and available easily. The only differences are build quality and maybe calibrating. I dont have one cause I love my gossen lunasix. Nothing beats a dial interface lightmeter :)
I built my own using an ESP32 and the cheap microprocessor light sensor unit. I put a larger screen on it 1.3" so I can see it better. Main problem with all homebrew projects is getting nice box to put it in.
I've made myself a necklace for my mini lightmeter haha ! Those things are so tiny they indeed should come with a sort of necklace or strap. It's surprisingly accurate, does the work really well.
There are some watch straps with flash mounts on them on Amazon , I use one but have to pack out the shoe with a bit of paper to stop it falling off
I'm going to stick with my little analogue Sekonic L-208. Because I can see the shutter speeds for all the different apertures at the same time.
The two wheel variety of these (like the tt-artisan's, keks and voigtlander), do let you see alternative exposure settings. you line up the wheels, and then there are lines that connect opposite values and let you quickly read off other settings.
Great video Rog. I’ve just bought a vintage light meter recently to use with my film cameras.
Weston Master iii - not tried it out yet but keeping my fingers crossed it’ll do the job 👌🏻
I think thats the one Legend Peter Elgar uses! He swears by it. Hope it works well for you.
I got one of these, and it lasted for about a roll and a half of film before the single control button broke, making it compleely inoperable. I opened it up, and found that the button is press fit, and had come loose. It's really fiddly to try to get it back together.
It’d be great if there was another spot meter. The Raveni Labs one does exist, but it’s kinda strange, and you don’t look through a lens.
I have similar small lightmeters from Sekoic and Gossen and thes do their job well.
And speaking of the AstrHori: why is the silver one 10€ cheaper than the black one?
can you do IR Metering with this one day? I would love not to rely on light meter free when shooting Rollei Infrared or Ilford SFX
Good job, BUT - - can you read that display in bright sunlight? Also, how low of light levels will it read *accurately*? Cheers, mate!
I could see the display easily on that day. Waiting for the sun here, one day it will show! Notice in the shady areas my Sekonic was reading a stop away from the Astrori.
All the light meters you showed do the same job, more or less, there is one exception though and that is Reveni Labs. They have a spot meter not much larger than the light meter in your hands, but the price is rather steep. I think they are about £230.00 here in the UK, or CA$245.00 from Reveni itself. BTW, I think your meter was reading accurately. It is just a simple average reading that this meter does, which means it is giving you an exposure reading to produce the scene as a mid gray. Since you are pointing it at primarily a light wall, it is over reading, so opening up a stop or so would give you the right exposure. I am sure the Leica is using an ' evaluative ' metering algorithm so it compensates for the extra luminance of the wall to produce the tones more correctly.
Right, but the only big problem with the reveni spot meter is that it isn't a scope, younhave to use both eyes which is troublesome. Also for that price you could buy a used Minolta spot meter or even two. Reveni should try and make another spot meter, one with a see through design and then even 300$ would be a good price
@@pauuuuul87 I asked Martin Henson about the reveni. I've got pretty bad eyes, so have always worried that I'd have problems aiming it. He reckons that he hasn't had any problems, and that having both eyes open can actually be a bit more comfortable/relaxing that the two. (I do agree with you though, I was a little too wary and ended up finding a second hand Pentax Spot V which does the job nicely for me).
Yes thats why I took two reading of the door hinge and went in between Lensman. I just looked at the Revani Labs spot meter. Yeah thats pricey! I always see a steep price and wonder why because they wouldn't want to price themselves out so must be a parts price thing.
I can speak with some authority that Nick doesn't sound anything like that, but that is how his mouth moves.
I looked on Amazon, and they're saying they only have 16 left. Must be the Roger Lowe effect!
LOL, I can say it's not my fault Scott.
Fiddly to operate. Handy in continuous mode on top of a GW690 but I still prefer to use incident metering.
Am I the only one bothered by the fact that the date on the screen is tilted compared to the window for the screen on the device? lol. OCD acting up. Was thinking of picking one of these up. Will refresh my research. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Yes I mentioned that at the end of the video. It is slightly wonky. And there is no protective window over the display.
Are there any of these digital light meters that have a spot function, or at least a wide/standard/tele function?
I believe the Revani Labs www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/reveni-labs-spot-meter/p13119
@@ShootFilmLikeaBoss Thank you.
I have to admit that the only phone app meter I have used was awful. Might have to get something like that 👍📸
I use the AP Light Meter on my Android. It seems to give good readings on my phone. OPPO
My KEKS KM02 has 4 flippin’ buttons. Can I remember what they’re all for or what order to press them in? Not a chance.
LOL! Like me and a digital watch!
I bought the TTartisans meter… but I never actually use it! Aside from the couple of hours I took it out to test it, it’s just been sitting in the box. Waste of money for me sadly, I’d sell it if I could.
Put it on the film communities. I'm sure someone would buy it from you Mr Rom.
@@ShootFilmLikeaBoss I’ve tried a couple of times but nobody’s ever bitten, which I can’t really blame them when it seems like the prices are dropping for these things constantly! Still a very cool time to live in as a film shooter that we have all this new stuff available to us
hedeco lime two
dude was shooting with a great wall camera.
Ha Ha yes he was. Interesting camera. Good photos out of it too!
Your exposure problems with OM camera could be due to the banned battery. I have OM-1n and it used mercury battery with different voltage than batteries produce today, therefore an adapter or conversion is needed. And pair it with stable-voltage battery - silver oxide. Don't use alkaline, they cause metering problems you are describing. I have the adapter and meter is good enough for slides, every time.
I see that OM-20 uses modern batteries, though, but replacing alkalines (if used) to silver could help. Sure did for me.
Here's info on the adapter: www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_mr9_adapter.htm
I think that possibly could be the issue. I use normal button cell batteries in it. Thanks for the tip.
@@ShootFilmLikeaBoss let's hope it improves things for you too!
Ive been using a ttartisans minimeter for years and it has been bullet proof. I've now just bought a sekonic 858, but am wondering if I've wasted $1000. I hope not.
That 858 is a brilliant meter and won't let you down. Far too many functions for me but my friend has one. He loves it.
what is the lens at 0:11
Huge! It's for the Pentacon Six a 180mm lens
@@ShootFilmLikeaBoss I have a very similar one
Does anyone know why the grey/silver one is $10 cheaper than the black one?
"Tradition" mostly I think. During the film era, black cameras seemed to always be a bit more expensive than the same model in chrome. Black cameras seemed to have some "serious" or "professional" cachet to them and the camera companies charged more for that cool factor.
I think the grey one is aluminium, and the black one is brass (at least that is true of the ttArtistan one)
I think the black one has a different blue screen and, although I am not sure, shows brassing on their website. It feels heavy but I am not sure if it is brass or alloy. They both have the same guts I think.
What is the channels community area?
Click on "Shoot Film Like a Boss" title right under the vidéo. It will bring you to the main page and there you'll see a "Community" tab.
You'll find several posts
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i have seen these units on ebay have looked at them but like you just think there not going to work.
Slow shutter speeds aren’t a strength of this camera because of the mirror slap.
Very true. It is a hard slap on that camera. The negs were sharp though. At least to my eye.
I think putting one on a watch strap is going to be my move......
You'll get people constantly asking you if you are from the future. Good idea though if you could.
But is it better than an iPhone app? That’s its main competitor in my eyes.
I didn't test it with my phone app (Android, OPPO) as I only use that when I have forgot my meter or when I am on Sunny 16 and need a bit of help. Although it has served me well mostly when I needed it. I wonder if a new apple phone would be better than an older Android? Saying that, I wouldn't fancy having an expensive phone in my hands reading light on some streets in London. Kids probably wouldn't be looking for OM-20's to steal lol.
It's not really that small. The light meter in any of your random film cameras built in isn't any bigger than that is.
This must have been a complicated video to edit as you have quite a bit going on here.
Thanks. Not too complicated to edit, more so filming it all.
Watching this video will leave you shook! ALL CAPS!!!
😂
WHAT YOU ON ABOUT BILL? lol
@ShootFilmLikeaBoss Only jesting! Great video, love the channel.
I can not understand why anyone would spend $75+ dollars for a light meter. Following the sunny 16 rule has worked perfectly fine for me for 55 years now. I’ll often use a spot meter (Pentax 3/21 degree) for detailed large format work, and a free phone app for indoor situations, but I’ll spend my $75 on film. Best of luck to everyone who would rather buy expensive unnecessary things. It is kind of cute, I’ll give you that.
I love using them. Stays on my hot/cold shoe. So it's always right there. I don't have to fumble in my pockets or have something that dangles around my neck all day. If it's a tricky scene I do pull out my iPhone, and use a spot meter app. As long as you get there, you're good.😊
$70 is nothing. There are meters that cost $400+. Some people will be critical down to the third of a stop, but many films have a very wide range of exposure forgiveness that makes it pointless to stress over.
I got one of the ttArtisan ones when I got my first manual film camera (zorki 1c), and I used it to give me confidence in sunny 16 estimations. I'm more or less happy guessing now, but these things do have value, and are a reasonable price for what you get out of them. (they also remove the distractions that can come from using a phone app)
Personally I don't see the point for this small light meters. I use my smartphone cause it's always with me and got excellent results. 🙂
Exactly what I thought before it landed on my lap, not phone, but the Sekonic. But if you get excellent results with your phone stick with it Andrei. Nothing better than what works already.
I found these cheap light meters fall of the shoe on many cameras because they don’t fit.
Yes, since I have noticed it is a bit loose on some other cameras I've used it on. Good shout
cant see the point of this.... ev value metering is far easier.
It's not accurate. Also it broke after 2 days of use. I wholeheartedly hate this thing
Thats a shame :( I hope you got a refund.