Anyone else LOVE Minolta Light Meters?

I bought my Flashmeter III back in the 1980's and have used it ever since. Wonderfully accurate, I never go out to shot without it in my vest's top left breast pocket.
My model uses six 1.5 volt button batteries, (the same batteries that power the meters in my F2, FM and FA cameras)
 
Fred R. said:
Thanks, Chris. Because of your post, I found this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8saFxL93Qg&feature=related
for "recalibrating" a lVF. It works!
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Well, what is shown there should more properly be called "cleaning the incident dome switch". The later Flashmeters have a user calibration potentiometer accessible in the battery compartment - but if they are offset by more than the one or two stops adjustable there or go out of linearity, you'll have to send it in.
 
Thanks for the photo, Rangefinderfreak. My soldering skills aren't that good, so I think I'll go with six #357 silver oxide batteries or three 2L76 lithiums.
 
I used a Minolta III-F also in the late 80's and early 90's when I did some Wedding Photography.. A Classic, and time tested!
 
rockman525 said:
Chris,
What do you think of the Minolta Spot Meter F for use with medium format b & w?
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Should be a great meter. I haven't used one, but my other Minolta meters are incredibly accurate. To get the best results with any spotmeter, you need some understanding of the Zone System or at least the understanding that whatever you point the meter at will be rendered middle gray with the exposure indicated on the meter.
 
Old thread, I know
Love these things- it's the meter I grew up with (my dad let me use his flash meter iv) and it's the system I know best

Should pick up a vi one day

The auto meter IIIf was in production for a long time, iirc
 
Minolta IV, Weston Master V, Sekonic 398...the only hand held meters I have ever owned.
All were better than good.
The Minolta was certainly the most versatile and modern...never needed or wanted anything but that Minolta.

Thanks "2012 Chris" for the memories.

btw, I had a LunaPro...didn't like it but forget why....:)

CG
 
I have a Minolta Auto Meter V F, and love it, though it took me a while to trust it thanks to its slightly weird readout.

My spotmeter is a Pentax :)
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
All of my strobes are the same age, I bought them at the same time and haven't had to replace the flash tubes in any of them, but I did get tripped up once when I bought a softbox made by a different company than the others I had. Damned thing gave different color than the others!
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Replace all the modifiers at one time . Keep to one brand. White goes yellow. Wash with bluing to restore and wrap with blue tissue to resist change.
I learned the tissue trick from my grandma.

Paul C Buff stuff is uniform and reasonably priced. Using 4 Einstein units with grids and PLM umbrellas with white front diffusers.

Flash meter 4 is great, but long instruction book. AA battery.
 
They were the lightmeters everyone fought over in college, I still have a autometer 3. My favourite light meter is still the Gossen variosix F.
Nice old thread!
 
I like most things Minolta: My manual-focus Minolta 35mm SLRs and lenses, medium-format Minolta Autocords and dedicated accessories, and my Minolta Autometer III (plus flat-disc diffuser and 10-degree spot attachment) and Spotmeter F.

It all just works for me.

- Murray
 
GarageBoy said:
One gripe - you have to go buy and carry around a reflective attachment...
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Minoltas were primarily designed as incident light meters. If you want to quickly shift between incident and reflected, then there are some other options.

If you want the reflected metering to be a spotmeter, Minolta's Flash Meter VI has a 1 degree spotmeter as well as incident metering. So do several Sekonic models, like the L-508, L-558, and L-758. Gossen Starlite, also.

If you want the reflected metering to be a wide-area meter, then Gossen made a number of meters with a sliding incident dome that moved over the reflected light metering window. No worrying about losing the dome or reflected light attachment. The Luna Pro, Luna Pro SBC, Multi Pro, Ultra Pro, digisix, and luna pro digital all offer this. The Sekonic L-308 Flashmate does as well.
 
Update:
recently a photobud who now only shoots Digital gave me a complete Flashmeter III kit, so now I have two, and have one in each of my bags (SLRs in one, rangefinders in the other).
Robert
 
My IV is my favorite flash meter. Bought it when it came out and have put it through heavy use. The lanyard let go once and it hit concrete and flew apart. I put it back together on location and it's still working just fine. I really looks rough though. The LCD cover is cracked and it's really beat up. There's no lanyard or pin to hold one too.

I also have a IVF and like it but not nearly as well as my IV.

I used a III for years with no issues. I also have a Selonic with spot and incident. It's excellent but much larger.
 
I've got more meters than I need.

Minolta autometer IVf and flashmeter IV, I prefer the autometer. Probably because I've had it longer. I have the reflected light widgit for both.

Gossen! Luna-Lux SBC x 2 and Luna-Pro SBC. More or less the same, Lux with LEDs Pro with a needle.

Sekonic: 398, the one with a silicon cell. A nice classic meter, no battery required.

one of those little CV meters if I can find it.
 
Minolta Spotmeter F not powering up

Minolta Spotmeter F not powering up

My trusted Minolta F isn't powering up. I let the battery fester and leak. Cursed my stupidity changed for a fresh one powered up for a split second then died. Cursed some more!
Upon opening the case all is pristine and curiously with a good battery inserted there is a red LeD illuminated! Not visible from outside with the case closed can only imagine it is telling a service engineer something? Problem is Konica Minolta no longer service these meters and neither does Sony. Does anyone know of a service manual or the significance of the strange red LED glowing away to itself in a dark sealed case?
 
I love my Minolta Spotmeter F, but back in the 1990's the little internal light stopped working (the one that allowed you to see the f-stop in the bottom of the window while viewing your subject, I really liked that light). A couple years ago I stupidly left an Eveready battery in the meter and it corroded. So I very carefully took it partially apart of clean out all that white corrosion and made sure all the contacts were clean. Low and behold, when I got it all back together again (thankfully it still worked), but even the little internal light was working again. So now it's as good as new. Very cool meter.
 
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