Earliest (best value) M with decent internal meter?

[Andrew3511]

I now have both M2 and M6. The M6 meter is accurate and reliable. BUT you do need to squint down the viewfinder and aim the camera at what you want to meter and you can miss a lot of shots doing this. The MR meter on the M2 is just as accurate and you can clip it to the top of the camera or keep it in your pocket and take very discreet readings, put readings on camera, then it's really quick to put camera to eye and take the photo. It does depend on what you are photographing but with people and negative film either B+W or colour I reckon you will get fewer failures from exposure errors than from not being ready to press the shutter button. Photographing buildings/landscape with reversal film though meter as much as you want.

 

[richard_l]

The M6 TTL meter is extremely accurate, but it provides no greater exposure accuracy than a handheld meter. For that matter, AE does no better than manual exposure regarding exposure accuracy. Since a meter cannot read the photographer's mind, a good exposure depends on the human brain taking note of the highlights, shadows, and middle tones, deciding on what combinations of these dominates one's interpretation of the scene, and (with the aid of whatever exposure devices one has), setting the camera controls accordingly.

Whether one prefers a handheld meter, built-in TTL, or AE, depends entirely on personal preference/convenience. Matrix-metering is the only system which has the potential to offer a truly automatic AE which will nail an exposure most of the time without the intervention of the photographer. However, that seems boring to me, and detracts from the creative aspects of photography.

Richard

 

[shadowfox]

Matrix-metering is the only system which has the potential to offer a truly automatic AE which will nail an exposure most of the time without the intervention of the photographer. However, that seems boring to me, and detracts from the creative aspects of photography.

Richard

Richard, I agree with you mostly, as for AE made things boring, it depends on the type of photography that you're doing. If the subject is still, yes, using an AE would be "boring", but if you're doing street photography where the subject and/or composition can go away in less than a second, having a good AE does help 🙂

 

[nicoy3k]

The m6 metere is realible, simple, fast to adjust, and not distracting.

 

[roguewave]

Don't blame the tool. Spend more time with a good meter without a camera. Walk your streets to get a good sense of the EV in the places you know best & then just aply as needed. Most films are forgiving enough if the image is worth keeping. Light is our ingrediant. If you don't study and get to know it's qualities, get a point & shoot.