Sekonic Marine Meter II - Waterproof Exposure Meter

In this video we'll take a look at a Sekonic Marine Meter II, model No. L-164C (or at least I think that's the correct model number). The Marine Meter is a waterproof exposure meter, or light meter if you prefer, designed specifically for underwater photography, although it will work perfectly well above the water too. My version of the meter was probably made in the 80s or 90s, but finding out exact information about these meters is a bit difficult - there's no references to them in any of my old camera magazines.
When I first uploaded this video, a regular viewer pointed out that the zinc air cells can produce quite a bit of gas (Hydrogen), which could potentially cause a problem if they were sealed inside the casing of the meter (I've since added a section to the video and re-uploaded it) - I suspect once the pressure had built up, the big seal round the front glass (plastic) would move slightly and let the pressure escape (that seal being designed to withstand inward water pressure not a build up of gas from inside the unit), but it would probably be wise to remove the battery from this meter after use, or, if you're not using it for diving, leave the "O" ring out when you fit the battery hatch. I'll put a link to one of Big Clive's videos below, where he does some experiments with zinc air batteries and the gas they produce.
Big Clive's video • Standard zinc-air cell...
Start 00:00
General Overview 00:55
Controls 01:56
Batteries 02:45
Using the Marine Meter 04:26
Weston Master III 04:56
Sekonic L-308S 05:33
Extras 06:02
Outro 06:25
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Outro Music
"As Yet Untitled"
by GrumpyTim (available to download from GrumpyTim's Bandcamp page)
grumpytim.bandcamp.com/
www.grumpytim.com

[@ohjajohh]

Now that's an interesting exposure meter! I never knew a waterproof marine meter like that existed!

[@GrumpyTim]

Me neither ohjajohh - thinking about it, it makes sense that there would be waterproof exposure meters, but having never done any diving, let alone underwater photography, I'd never given the subject any thought before.

[@Gannett2011]

I have very little photographic equipment these days, but I still really enjoy your videos, Tim. Keep them coming.

[@GrumpyTim]

Cheers John, always appreciated. I've got plenty more to film, it's just finding the time to shoot and edit the videos.......

[@radiogagag9352]

Cool device, thanks for sharing it with us!

[@GrumpyTim]

I've looked through my old camera mags and not found any mention of these meters, so they must have been fairly specialised, and therefore expensive at the time. Cheers for watching.

[@romarklin]

I've got one of these from a guy who was selling a Nikonos IVa to me and he showed me a bag full of item that he wanted to throw away so i looked and i've seen this light meter that he gave me for free, mine is older than yours, it's still in ASA and i have an additional window on the right with DIN, still works very well even with 1.5V alkaline batteries i have a good exposure.
Very interresting item.

[@GrumpyTim]

Hi Romarklin, they're an interesting little light meter - I believe they were selling for a decent price on the used market a number of years ago, but I suspect that it's such a niche market now (with most cameras having very accurate internal meters) that they're pretty hard to shift. Still a cool gadget to have in the collection.

[@romarklin]

@@GrumpyTim yes, exactly !

[@BensWorkshop]

Interesting exposure meter. I know what you mean about the call of the second hand item...

[@GrumpyTim]

Yeah it's a cool little meter Ben, and very easy to use too. The call of the second hand item can be very strong at times.......