How to use a handheld analog dial light meter

Instructional video about dial-type analog light meters used in photography.
Apologies for the sound of my voice, but I have a birth defect that inhibits the clarity of my speech. I hope this video is informative nevertheless. :)

[@alfonsgustafsson4301]

Just bought me a old meter like this but different brand but same style. And you explained it better then the original instruction book! Thank you!

[@michaelroberts804]

What you described is how to take a reflective light meter reading, where you simply stand at the camera and point the meter at the subject. You did a good job explaining how it works and this method works pretty well. Note, however, there is a little white tab on the right side of the meter. This can be used to push a white diffuser across the front of the light sensor, in order to take an incident reading. To do this you push the diffuser across the sensor and walk to your subject. Then, point the meter back at the camera, and read the speed and f/stop, just like you would for the reflective measure. It gives a more accurate reading of a specific area. For instance, if you were doing an outdoor portrait, you could place it directly in front of the subject's face, pointing back at the camera, and get a more accurate measure of the face exposure than the reflective reading of the overall scene, from the camera would provide. I own this same meter. It used to belong to my dad, who was a photographer in the old large format days. It never requires batteries and is extremely accurate. Later, I thought I was a hotshot when I bought the more expensive luna pro. It used the old mercury PX126 batteries, and you can't get them anymore. So it's either have it modified or let it sit on a shelf like an antique. That's what I do. I keep my dad's old meter in my bag and use it to this day.

[@areallyrealisticguyd4333]

I'm just getting into film photography and just ordered one of these to not break the bank on a light meter. This video was very helpful!

[@jggrady]

This is the only clear explanation for using a light meter I could find on the internet. Thank you so much for this!

[@tchristianphoto]

You're very welcome! I'm glad it's been helpful for you and the other commenters. :)

[@sirpensir]

I picked up a few analog cameras locally from a guy who was moving and wanted to ditch a lot of his old film stuff. I was tired of using my phone to meter (feels sluggish) and the guy, looking through a box, gave me a light meter. I looked on KZbin to find tutorials on how to use them and what do you know, I have the same meter as the one in the video! Thanks!

[@loricope5963]

Thank you! This is the exact light meter I found in my grandad’s camera stuff. Very helpful video!

[@rajendrabareto8065]

I got this one today in flee market for 2 usd. Didn’t know what it was and just bought it as it is trendy to look. Now I know what it is. Let me check if it works

[@crash1989]

thank you very much for the video! straight to the point and very detailed. : )

[@ScoutsIX3]

Very interesting!!

[@MrJitterlad]

finally a video that explains it well . thank you so much :)

[@PhotoArtBrussels]

Good video. Thanks for the clear explanation.

[@Dubdubdubdubdub]

Thanks man ❤

[@Kvarium]

Great explanation, thanks Terry.

[@dqvolskashterka]

Thank you, that was a clear explanation!:)

[@bryansheehy2000]

Thanks for posting this! Big help!

[@TheVinylGuru]

Oh wow, this was fab!

[@tchristianphoto]

Thanks! I'm an O.G. record enthusiast, too, so I'll be watching your videos. Toodle-oo! ;)

[@gencofilmco]

That was perfect. Thank you.

[@SteelyPaw]

I just acquired a Vivitar (vintage) light meter.. It works the same as your meter. What I was able to get from you is what the shutter speed reading is, as my shutter speeds (time) goes from '2 to '8000. The internal meter in my Minolta XG-A only goes from 10 to 1000 shutter speed, it's also a vintage camera. The f stop range on my camera lens goes from 1.7 to 22 while the meter goes from 64 to 1.4 way more than any of the 3 lenses I have for my camera. The light meter reading from my camera out side at 1/60 th is F7 while the meter shows at 1/60 a value of 18, so there is a vast difference between using the internal light meter in my camera and the hand held light meter. Both camera and light meter are set to 400 ASA. Do you know why there is such a big difference between the camera's internal light meter and the vintage hand held light meter? I got my vintage meter in wonderful shape from Bernie's camera shop in Chicago thru Amazon. com for $35.00, just because I wanted to match the light of my camera's internal meter with that if the hand held meter. A side note, on my hand held meter looking at the time dial or the shutter speed, is starts at 15s 8s 4s 2s '2 '4 '8 '15 '30 and on up to '8000. I don't know what the 15s 8s 4s 2s numbers are. I assume the '2 '4 '8 '15 '30 and on up to '8000 is the shutter speeds. Perhaps you can reply to me and shed some light on my questions, as I would greatly appreciate that. Also when I set my meter to read an EV of 12 same as in your example, my dials on my meter match yours perfectly for example at 5.6F is 125 shutter speed at 100 ASA.

[@tchristianphoto]

I'll try to explain and answer you as best I can, Pete. Thanks for writing. With ASA/ISO being the same, your camera's meter gives you aperture and shutter speed, while a handheld meter gives you an EV number that you can translate to any combination of aperture and shutter speeds. The EV number is NOT the aperture. Also, f/7 is sort of a strange value for the aperture; are you sure you're reading it correctly? According to the Sunny 16 rule, if you go outside on a bright sunny day, your meter should read an aperture of f/16 and the shutter speed should be the reciprocal of the film speed. So with the meter set to ISO 400, you should get roughly 1/500 at f/16... or any equivalent thereof, like f/11 and 1/1000, f/8 and 1/2000, etc. If either one of your meters is close to this, then chances are it is malfunctioning. "I assume the '2 '4 '8 '15 '30 and on up to '8000 is the shutter speeds."/"I don't know what the 15s 8s 4s 2s numbers are." You are correct. Those are shutter speeds of fractions of a second. The numbers with an "s" on the end are multiples of a second: 2 seconds, 4 seconds, 8 seconds, 15 seconds, etc. Those manual-focus Minoltas are great cameras. Feel free to write again if you have any further questions. Happy shooting!

[@SteelyPaw]

Terry. thanks so very much for your reply to my inquiry. I'm slowly working it out. I need to do some shooting with the external light meter reading and with the camera's suggesting setting and see how my photos are coming out. I have had good success with using the camera's internal light meter but I want the hand held light meter as a back up. I hope at some point to purchase another vintage camera that has separate shutter speed settings. I cut and pasted your answer to me in my camera notes, and I will study it in so much as your time to reply to me will not be wasted. I appreciate the offer to write to you again, that is very super of you. Respectfully, Pete.....

[@57thStIncident]

Helpful but would have been better to see it action.

[@MrsKulani]

thank you!

[@thephantomofthetube]

So, where the yellow arrow lines up with the little wand, the correct shutter and appeture values are the ones above the yellow arrow? Is that correct?

[@billfowler5856]

Hi, Terry. Thanks for the video. I just bought a Gossen Pilot that looks great but doesn't respond to light. I'm guessing it's a problem with the selenium cell? I'd like to open it up to see if I can clean it or find what's wrong. But the only screw I see on the case is the Zero Setting adjustment. Do you know how to open it?

[@tchristianphoto]

Bill Fowler I don’t know anything about repairing light meters, but finding old meters with the cells still intact is a gamble. If it’s really worth a repair to you, Google search and contact Quality Light Metric in Hollywood, California. A couple of years ago they repaired an old Leicameter I had. Good luck!

[@carolinebernard21]

Hi I got almost the same light meter than you except that mine doesn't have the EV thing. It is a Gossen Sixtino 2. I was wondering if this kind of light meter can be used indoor? because the needle indoor is always pointing zero, like in your video. thank you

[@tchristianphoto]

Caroline Bernard Hi Caroline! I’m not familiar with that particular meter, but most of these are made to be used outdoors, or at least work better outdoors. If it’s consistently pointing to zero, it probably isn’t getting the needed threshold of light to function - try upping the ISO to 400 or 800 first, which is what you’d normally use indoors. Use a digital camera or a smartphone light meter app to make sure it’s functioning correctly; the cells can die after a few decades, but happily they can be replaced.

[@carolinebernard21]

Thank you for your quick reply. I was wondering where to buy the cell and how to replace it ? do you know?