Anyone using a Voigtlander VC II Meter on their film Leica?

kshapero

kshapero

South Florida Man
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I am intrigued by this little accessory. Anybody using this on their film Leica? Or am I being lazy even considering one?

VC-set.jpg
 
Its a wide-area non-TTL reflected light meter. Probably the most inaccurate type of light meter you can use. Better off using a handheld spotmeter or incident meter, and you can get a good incident meter for less than this costs.
 
I'm in the awkward position of responding after someone so experienced as Chris Crawford.

However, I have had a positive experience using the VC II. It is compact and reliable as a reflective-mode meter.

Just as with, e.g., the Sekonic L-308S-U or other meters with a 30 degree field of view used in reflective mode, one needs to keep in mind the need to adjust for the desired amount of shadow detail in a high-contrast scene. And there are now competitors (for instance the KEKS EM-01 or similar) at +- half the price.
 
I have two, a v1 for nearly 15 years and a v2 for a couple of years. Both have been reliable and battery life is excellent. They are extremely accurate as long as you meter off of the correct tone.

I usually shoot black and white film and meter off of green grass. The results seem equal to using one of my Sekonic incident meters.
 
I usually have an auxiliary viewfinder on my IIIf so have I adapted mine to a wrist band.

As said above, knowing how to use it is important. You can't just blindly point it at a scene and use the reading.
 
besk said:
As said above, knowing how to use it is important. You can't just blindly point it at a scene and use the reading.
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I think this is the thing, and it applies to ALL meters, also the in-camera ones (specially when shooting films or dig.cameras with little exposure latitude).
 
Used the VC ll meters for years, they are great, reliable, and of course, used within the constraints of a light meter. You must still interpret the scene a bit for exposure. But overall, no complaints at all.
 
When I'm shooting with my two Leica IIIc cameras, I have the VC II meter on the one with the 5cm lens, and a wide or short tele with an external finder on the other. Works really well.

I like the meter and would recommend it.

Best,
-Tim
 
Never liked that meter, or any meter that attached to the camera. Ha, ha, ended up dropping mine along with an M4 into two feet of Florida's best salt water.

I've have a hand held meter now. Much easier and convenient for me, but honestly, 90% of the time it's just Sunny 16. My brain works faster then meters in most outdoor lighting situations.
 
steveyork said:
Never liked that meter, or any meter that attached to the camera. Ha, ha, ended up dropping mine along with an M4 into two feet of Florida's best salt water.

I've have a hand held meter now. Much easier and convenient for me, but honestly, 90% of the time it's just Sunny 16. My brain works faster then meters in most outdoor lighting situations.
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Agree on the 90%, but it's the 10% that can cause a fail.
 
I have one, but after using it a while on the M2, found it fiddly for my old eyes, so back to the pocket-ready Sekonic.
I have relied on a meter all these years, and now wish I had trained myself early in judging light by eye. For unimportant photography that I do, any working meter is better than none, and none is sometimes plenty.
 
steveyork said:
Never liked that meter, or any meter that attached to the camera. Ha, ha, ended up dropping mine along with an M4 into two feet of Florida's best salt water.

I've have a hand held meter now. Much easier and convenient for me, but honestly, 90% of the time it's just Sunny 16. My brain works faster then meters in most outdoor lighting situations.
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One in question here is very nice, handy accessory and made to match top plate of most RF cameras.

I used twinmatte for years. Now if in doubt of S16 I use mobile phone free metering app.
 
I used a handheld meter with my M4 for years, but found it inconvenient to carry, so I splurged on the VC Meter II. I used it for 3 years. Very accurate. The only time I had an incorrect exposure is when I pointed it at a reflective street sign, but what meter wouldn't fail in that scenario. Like any center weighted meter, make sure you are looking through the finder when pushing the button on it. I usually put my rangefinder patch on whatever I wanted to meter before pushing the button. When using this method, I found it almost as fast as an M6. I eventually stopped using it because it taught me to meter by eye. I haven't used a meter in 10+ years.

ChrisCrawfordPhoto: You should actually try using a piece of photo equipment before giving it a knee-jerk negative review.
 
I use one on my IIIF. Handy but not likeable. Film speed setting changes too easily. On my M Leica's I use the Leica MR-4 meter. Field of view corresponds to the 90mm framelines and shutter speed is coupled to the shutter speed dial making it extremely easy to use.
 
After getting used to Sunny 16, even though I have the VCII always mounted on the M4-P I still tend to eyeball the exposures. Mostly I got it for those difficult times when I'm not sure about the light, especially when shooting color. I have a Sekonic L328 for back-up with the IIIf.


PF
 
I had the version 1, worked well, but I dislike shoe-mounted meters. That's where the aux viewfinder goes! :D
 
Every time I have film in my Leica IIIf I have the VCII mounted on the shoe. And it is designed so you can EASILY adjust the shutter speed. I find it accurate for general scenes; it matches my Sekonic L-308s and my Sekonic Master IV (Kodak gray card). There is the viewfinder problem but I also have lanyard given to me by a member so I can wear the VCII around my neck.

I also use it on my Olympus 35RC but the shutter adjustment isn't as easy but can be achieved. My 35RC has a problem in the auto mode and I find the VCII is just about as quick as the auto mode.
 
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