Another Light Meter Question (again)

Post by **johnnhud** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:58 am

I have never used a light meter. But I picked up a General Electric PR-1 off ebay for $3 and am wondering if I could use this to help me expose Tri-X film correctly. I know that there are better meters out there, but what I'm wondering is if THIS one can be used somewhat effectivly with my film. I use a Canon 814 with manuel exposure.

Heres a pic

If I set the dial to 200 for the film speed, it tells me what the F-stop should be set at for correct exposure. So do I just need to make sure that my camera is locked on that exposure?

Any advice would be helpful!

Website · Post by **BigBeaner** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:03 am

I can't tell be the photo but it really doesn't exactly say it reads in f-stops, does it? Also you set the ASA and the shutter speed of your camera.

It's a reflective light meter, not bad but I would prefer an incident meter myself.

Post by **super8man** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:13 am

Somewhere on my website I talk about using a meter like this...anyway, yes, set it to 200ASA (or 160) and then look at what film speed closely matches your 814 - that's the tough part...you are now limited to whatever aperture is next to the PRESET shutter speed of your movie camera. If your 814 allows for a variable shutter, you get a little more latitude in your available f-stop setting....and all this assumes no loss of light through the lens...much less the accuracy of the meter in question. Personally, you would do better with a Weston Master II as an absolute minimum...they probaly go for about double what you paid...$6!!!

Post by **Evan Kubota** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:14 am

Where are the shutter speed markings on the meter? Clearly you will need to consult those for the appropriate frame rate. Some meters (Sekonic Studio, etc.) have quick-read markings for certain frame rates - 16, 24, 48, etc. These assume a 180 degree shutter.

Post by **johnnhud** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:29 am

It has an incident light meter atachment. Not sure how good it is. My wife took my digital camera on a trip but I'll use my Mac's camera to hopefully get a better picture...

As you can see, The orange circle shows where you can set your film speed. (.2-1600) The red circle shows "Frames/Sec" and then the silver outer ring is the f-stop reading. You can also spin the black inner dial 360 degrees and go from Frames/Sec to "Time"

Post by **flatwood** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:29 am

Those old selinium cells loose their zip over the years. If you can check it against a newer meter you can see if you have to compensate some when you set the film speed. Your shutter speed is somewhere around 1/50 or thereabouts at 24fps so what you're looking for is f stop information in the end. This type meter, you hold at camera position and point it toward your subject. It works best when the light source is behind the camera looking at the subject.

Post by **super8man** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:30 am

The shutter speeds are on the black dial, the aperture/f-stop settings are on the silver outer dial. Once the meter reads some number, you turn the dial/pointer to match that number, then you read on the scale below where the black and silver dials line up...this is where you are stuck in movie camera land with having only one shutter speed to choose from...typically 1/43rd of a second or 1/30th depending on non-XL vs XL repsectively. Again, light loss, blah blah blah...

Post by **johnnhud** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:33 am

I posted a better picture up above....

Post by **johnnhud** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:15 am

super8man wrote:set it to 200ASA (or 160) and then look at what film speed closely matches your 814 - that's the tough part...you are now limited to whatever aperture is next to the PRESET shutter speed of your movie camera.

Can you elaborate? Thanks!

Post by **woods01** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:06 am

For heaven's sake throw that piece of a junk away and get a decent
light meter! The analog sekonics are much better choice for a starter
meter, and they don't cost much more than a reel of film and
processing. Good for still and movie cameras.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sekonic-Light-Meter ... 0044088720

Post by **Evan Kubota** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:18 pm

I agree with woods01. You can also find good deals on 'Brockway' meters. Brockway was simply an early importer of Sekonic in the US. My 'Brockway Deluxe' with slides, case, and domes was $15 shipped.

Post by **super8man** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:41 pm

You'll figure it out once you get a meter (any kind) in your hands...you will think, "hey, I can chooses f2.8" but then you will look at the required shutter speed and go, "oops, guess not" when you see that a given scene wants f8 at 1/40th of a second...Don't worry, we all buy things that turn out to be useless in practice...it's part of the learning experience.

Post by **Guy Bennett** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:27 pm

Once you've determined that the meter works, or get another one that you know works, you'll need to do some tests to determine the amount of light loss, if any, due to the viewfinder and zoom lens. You can do this be metering the same subject in the same light with both the external and internal meters and at various focal lengths and noting the difference.

With a Nizo 801 M I get approximately a 1/2 stop difference at the short end of the zoom and a 2 1/2 stop difference at the long end and would have to compensate accordingly if I used an external meter, which I never do 'cause it's too much trouble. I go with the camera's internal meter and leave it at that.

Post by **flatwood** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:43 pm

super8man wrote:..... we all buy things that turn out to be useless in practice...it's part of the learning experience....

Right on! You've got to start someplace. When I was a kid (old codger hat on) nobody I knew could afford a meter. We used the scale that came in the Kodachrome box and it worked pretty well under normal conditions.

new acronym:

OCHO = old codger hat on!!

Post by **super8man** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:57 pm

I discovered that my Olympus Pen 8EE regular 8mm camera underexposes by a solid half stop when I use the 1.5 volt alkaline 625 battery instead of the recommended 1.3 volt oldshcool OEM mercury battery. Since that camera has no manual override I will simply adjust by selecting a lower ASA than the actual film. Bottom line, you have to figure it our for yourself. Incidentally, I have never had a problem in all my cameras with the internal light meters...either they work as they are supposed to, or they are plain broken. Never had one that worked but gave a wrong meter result.