Topic: Should I get a spot meter?

[David A-W]

Contemplating getting a spot meter to use with my 5x4 - not sure what to get (new ones seem very expensive) - do you use one? What benefits does it bring above an ordinary meter? I shout black and white, not anticipating E6 use.

[Francois]

I've been wondering the same thing for a few years now.
Apart from doing zone system stuff and verifying if any part of the image will be out of the film's contrast range, spot meters don't have much of an advantage.
I use an incident meter for all the cameras that don't have a built-in meter and I train my eyes to detect what to do.

As for a meter, anything by Gossen and Sekonic that doesn't take a mercury cell is a winner in my book.
But if you want to get something cheaper, keep an eye for meters by Spiratone and Prinz. They're older and cheaper built than the big two, but since they aren't as popular you might get a chance at a good price. Also, Minolta used to make some good meters.

[hookstrapped]

I had an old analog Pentax spot meter. Very nice for when I was doing zone system, but now I just use an old Gossen Luna-Pro with the incident dome. The advantage of the spot is when you can't move to everywhere covered in your shot get an incident reading. I guess that's why it gained popularity for zone system landscapes.

[cs1]

I can really recommend a meter that can do both (spot and incident) but one that can meter the contrast range. I find this function very useful. Your can sweep the spot from the darkest to the lightest point in your composition and it will tell you the range in stops. This helps with many decisions. E. g. if I have a range of 8 stops it'll be hard to get a good exposure with Velvia with its limited range. I mostly use this technique to properly expose an image and it hasn't failed me so far. I have a Gossen meter which is really good and reasonably priced. It can do range measurements.

[John Robison]

I have a nice spot meter that was purchased used for $208 plus I spent another $35 for lens adapters.
It's compact and light weight and the size of the spot can be adjusted by which lens you use.
By now you have probably figured out that I'm talking about a digital camera, in this case a Olympus EM10.
When going out with my analog cameras this camera comes with and is used as a meter, in fact, it's primary use has been as a meter for my film cameras.
Besides working as a spot meter it can be switched to an evaluative meter when necessary.
It is no more expensive than many other used spot meters and in a pinch.....can even take pictures! How about that.

PS; Almost forgot, this 'meter' can display a histogram and also display the scene in B&W.

[Pete_R]

I've had a Minolta IVf for years with a 10 degree spot attachment which can be removed and replaced with an incident dome or a flat diffuser or a disk with a hole used for reflective readings. It's also a flash meter, with or without a sync cord, and also does average and brightness range. So basically does everything. There is a 5 degree spot attachment if a smaller spot is required but not, afaik, a 1 degree spot option. If you want a 1 degree spot you'll probably have to go for a dedicated spot meter.

The IVf is also sold under the Kenko brand - https://kenkoglobal.com/catalog/meters/

Both Kenko and Minolta versions are common on ebay.

Benefits? That depends on what you want it for. Could be essential or could be useless. I find the 10 degree spot is useful to be able to meter from a selected part of the scene but I don't do SBR measurements - you would probably need a 1 degree spot for that.

[David A-W]

No decisions yet, am still looking around. I did come across a nice Olympus OM4ti which has a spot meter, but I really don't need another camera. I mean, I have quite sufficient cameras for all my needs. I have the benefits of many cameras to choose from so another one isn't needed really. I would only need it for the spot meter capability and not for the fine lenses and appeal of the camera itself. I've never used Olympus SLRs so it might be nice to try it but, no I don't really need another 35mm camera at this time, though it is at a good price and I'd probably easily get my money back if I did buy it and changed my mind...

[Francois]

I personally wouldn't bother with another camera.
In a pinch, you can always use the LightMeter app for Android. It's got a zoom feature built-in.
While it was very good on my old Samsung, my newer LG phone creates unstable exif tags, so the app is now unreliable.
Here's the link to it anyways.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dq.fotometroNa

[David A-W]

Updating this thread from a while back. I've kept the Spot Meter idea on the back burner for a while but recently came across Nick Carver on You Tube and am now working my way through his Manual Metering for Film Photography course, which I have to say is excellent. I thought I knew plenty but I'm learning lots from this. There's about 7hrs of tutorials so good value for money and i'm happy to be able to support a working photographer.

https://www.nickcarverphotography.com/teaching/online_courses/manual_metering_film_photography/

He makes a strong preference for the Pentax Spotmeter (analogue or digital) above others such as the Sekonics due to the way in which they display results and, by adding a simple scale, help you determine where you want to place what on the exposure range. As he says, he's building on what Adams did with the Zone system but updating it for modern ways of working.

End result, I've ordered a Pentax Digital Spotmeter for myself and will put his Precision Method into practice.

[Francois]

Nice.
I know I've been looking at getting a spot meter for some time now but still haven't pulled the trigger. I find them expensive so I've been thinking of eventually building one.... But that's one heck of a puzzle.

[Pete_R]

Shouldn't be too difficult. Think of it as a camera that doesn't need to hold film. In fact, I'd start with a camera mirror box as it should have everything you need. But you would need to mask the sensor to a central spot.

[hookstrapped]

The old analog Pentax spot meters go for around $120.  I had one -- they're great.

[Francois]

Shouldn't be too difficult. Think of it as a camera that doesn't need to hold film. In fact, I'd start with a camera mirror box as it should have everything you need. But you would need to mask the sensor to a central spot.

I was thinking about using an Arduino light sensor module. It's got both a digital output for events (like in a shutter tester) and an analog output to measure light.