Dropped my VC Meter II on the floor

kully

kully

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Some nice concrete, not the first time.

Unfortuntely it landed on the protruding bit of the f-stop dial and gave it a little deformation, now I cannot change the ISO disc and am stuck on 1600.

I want to take out the dial and bend it back into shape - but I can't think what the tool is called to undo the top fastener - something like a pair of pliers but with the tips at 90 degrees... Anyone know, please?
 
A spanner wrench. For small screws with the two small dots in place of a slot or phillips head, a small pair of cheap needle-nose pliers ground down to points will usually work pretty well.

I just looked at a picture of the VC meter II on the cameraquest site- the sharpened needle-nose solution should work well.

Micro-tools link that shows these wrenches, given that spanner wrench can mean different things to different english-speakers.
http://www.micro-tools.com/Merchant2/e_spanner.htm

I am not suggesting that you need one, just for information only.
 
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You could try a paper clip, bent so that the 2 ends are the width of the holes apart, and filed to fit into the holes. Hold the bent clip with a pair of pliers, insert the ends into the holes, and use the pliers to rotate the fastener. Know what I mean?
 
Circlip pliers can be had very cheaply too. I bought a set of inside and outside types in a pound shop not so long ago.
Of course the alternative is to always shoot at EI 1600 (probably not the advice you were looking for).
 
"Circlip pliers" - Thanks Mark that was the word I was looking for.

And thanks for the other alternatives - I think I may go for the compass, but I don't want to ruin this rather expensive little thing.

I'm actually getting used to metering for 1600 and knocking a few stops off, but that doesn't work when it's sunny.
 
Sorted.

I used a pair of little pliers in the end - the 'screw' came off quite easily.

I also sorted out the ISO dial moving around too much.

Taking the screw out brings out the two discs of the dial (base and ISO selection) in one piece, under these is a thin metal film washer. You need to remember what ISO setting was on the dial before you unscrewed so you can put it back in the same place. You don't need to worry about the dial itself as the bit it goes onto has a shaped head.

Prising these two discs apart you see a ruffled metal washer and underneath the ISO selection disc two small velour pads. You can either add some slightly thicker pads (I couldn't find any) or add a thin paper sticker. I did the latter and now all is good - enough friction to keep the dial in place unless I move it with my nail.
 
"For the want of a nail, a kingdom was lost ..."

This little meter performed wonderfully and accurately but just wouldn't stay put.

Once, when shooting several tall ships at a large summer port celebration near our home, I had lost the meter (working with two cameras at the time) with the tiny compartment door popping open on the meter itself, spewing its two batteries pell mell onto the quayside. A passer buy tapped me on the shoulder and handed me all the pieces which I hurredily put back together.

Too annoying: I refuse to use ducktape on such a small device so I quickly sold the meter and not that much later, sold the camera to boot.

-g
 
Bloody hell - you sold it for some cellotape? Really - you only needed a tiny little bit - took a buffoon like me <10 seconds.

Ah well.
 
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