Leica LTM Cosina/Voigtlander VC Meter II

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses

Rhodie

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On advice of members of this forum I managed to find one of these today with my IIIG + summilux 50 1.4.
Using it in conjunction with me sekonic meter I found it to be a stop or so out.
I have shot a roll of T-max and am working my way through a roll of agfa ultra [50 asa].
As it won't be until the middle of next week before I see the results I wondered what your experiences might have been with this meter?
What are the situations that I need to be wary of?
Again your thoughts & advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Rhodie
 
Fantastic little meter! Measures reflected light, so it can easily be fooled by tricky lighting conditions. The operator needs to know how to meter properly. I like mine so much, I'm selling off my 2 Leica MR meters.
 
I always meter off the back of my hand with my VCII ... for reflective metering it appears to be a bit vague!

:)
 
Keith novak said:
I always meter off the back of my hand with my VCII ... for reflective metering it appears to be a bit vague! :)

How does that work again Keith? I read somewhere that you meter off your hand & then add or take a stop... Never tried it myself.

Cheers!

Peter
 
physiognomy said:
How does that work again Keith? I read somewhere that you meter off your hand & then add or take a stop... Never tried it myself.

Cheers!

Peter

The exact value/adjustment depends on your skin color. Trial and error will give you the correct adjustment to make.
 
rover said:
The exact value/adjustment depends on your skin color. Trial and error will give you the correct adjustment to make.

Thanks rover... I haven't had any problems metering normally with my VCII except in harsh lighting, so I might give this a go just to have another option... I assume that an easy way to 'customize' any adjustment would be to meter off your hand with the VCII & then check it against a reading with my digital? That is assuming they agree initially...

Peter
 
Meter off the open palm of your hand, and then open up 1 stop.

While the back of a person's hand can vary in tone depending on race & sun exposure, the palm does not. You 'open' 1 stop up from an 'open' palm, easy to remember.

It's a great meter.
 
FWIW, my VCII agrees with my gossen/sekonic handhelds.

Are you sure the variance is not due to how you are metering (ie, are you using the same spot to meter off of? ). Also handhelds are usually incident as opposed to reflective (VCII) meters, and will give slight variance in reading depending on how you use them. For instance, standing in bright sunlight, you can compare it with the open palm to see if it matches sunny F/16 rule. But you must stand with the light falling on your palm, not from the side, and certainly not from the back.
 
Mine is very accurate, but as mentioned above, you have to be sensible and not just point-dial-and-shoot. Since I'm usually on the street, I often meter off a light sidewalk in sun and in shade and then just remember those settings until I'm out of that "scene" and move into another lighting condition.
Now if I could just find it... I lost the damn thing in my apartment.
 
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