Two little meters - one Achilles' heel

Want to add an exposure meter to a meterless classic camera, or make a quick fix to one with a dead meter? These third-party clip-on meters offer solid basic specs at two-digit prices. But are they any good?
PS - Apologies for the visual quality of this video. Adobe has been tinkering with the color profile settings in Premiere Pro again, leaving me with only the choices of a gray, flat-looking video or a blown-out, posterized one. [sigh] May be time to go back to iMovie...

[@adriancozma6102]

Got myself the AstrHori AH M1 some months back, and I can't complain. The battery life is pretty good, the visibility is excellent, the material feels premium, and the usability is as good as you'd expect it to be. Only small downside I found is that it can't be used for long exposures, since the longest it can display is 32s, which I found out the hard way. Another thing I'd like to see on these little devices is exposure compensation, which is useful when using filters. But for $50, it does the job perfectly.

[@oinosme4931]

Great review. No fillers and all good information

[@ftlbaby]

Thank you! I just mounted a new Reflx meter to my M3 and there was no manual in the box.

[@Johnny-Aloha]

I use the black TT Artisan meter on my black Nikkormat FT2. It looks like it was made for it and I find it works great. Great video, thank you.

[@saurabhbhardwaj6753]

fantastic review

[@vipEmpire_]

This is a good, in-depth video regarding these two light meters. The surprising thing for me is how popular other shoe-mounted light meters are in comparison to the Reflx Lab one. I think the biggest difference comes down to marketing. I didn't know the Reflx Lab one existed until I was browsing their site after looking at their flash. It seems to be the right one for me, I don't want an extra 2 dials nor the (- o +) style metering of the TTartisan. The smaller size is a bonus too. I'll be using one on my Nikon F. Anyhow, thanks for this video, these are basically the only two shoe-mounted meters I was considering based on the combined factors of price, size, and convenience.

[@wcrofford]

I've just bought the reflx lab meter and it's working great. I have a Konica s2 (meter not working) and a Konica autoflex T3 (also meter not working) and with the reflx lab in my pocket, I can use both cameras as one will have b&w and the other colour.

[@WyattDR]

Great video! I could not find any reviews of the reflx lab meter before I bought mine about a month ago. I really enjoy the display with f stops and shutter speed vs the +/- of other meters. It seems like you start with a rough sunny 16 guess and go from there with the +/- type meters? Seems less intuitive than the reflx style. I'm using my reflx meter on a Canon VL rangefinder, it is very small and convenient but I don't think anything can beat the convenience of a working built in meter if your camera has one.

[@jlwilliams]

Well, you do have to start with a rough guess of what shutter speed or aperture you want to use for the lighting condition you're in. I tend to think that way anyway because that's how I use my camera: I pick a shutter speed I think I'm going to need and then fine-tune the aperture based on light conditions, or vice-versa. I agree that having the meter coupled to the shutter-speed controls saves a step (the add-on Canon meter for my VI-T works this way) but that locks you into a meter designed for (or built into) a specific camera...

[@caw25sha]

4:52 I don't know about the Reflx but the TTArtisan actually takes a CR1632.

[@caw25sha]

Update! I've just watched a bit more of the video and mine is a METER II which takes a CR1632 whereas the one here takes a CR2023. They seem to be otherwise identical but there might be internal differences.

[@khanscombe619]

I really like the Voigtlander VC II. It's so simple classic like my trusty Nikon F2SA the way it meters over under led. I was interested in the Gossen Digisix. What's your comparison on it besides size? I lole it's layout as I use the Gossen PrifiSix And what digital meter is that on far right the looks like a Minolta display?

[@ricardo8653]

Hi, great video. Would you know the angle that the sensor "lens" cover? Would it be something equivalent to a 50mm lens? Thanks again!

[@jlwilliams]

The specs say it covers about 45 degrees, while a 50mm lens on a 35mm film camera covers about 40 degrees (horizontally) so a bit wider. Keep in mind that these specs aren't necessarily based on any actual measurements! With mine I try to get as close as reasonably possible; if it's not possible to get close, I'll meter off a substitute subject. An old trick that still works is to hold your hand in the same light as the subject, meter off the palm of your hand, and then open up one stop from the reading (this usually works regardless of your racial background because palms are pretty uniform, BTW.)

[@sdhute]

Which is your favorite light meter ttartisan or reflex labs? Especially after much use

[@jlwilliams]

This is strictly a personal choice, but I prefer the Reflx Labs meter because it's smaller, it's more readable in bright light, and because you can make readings with a single button press rather than turning the knobs.