GIII Q17 question...

[ranger]

Having purchased it, put a new 1.55 v silver oxide battery in, (wrong voltage I believe) checked it against handheld meter and another camera meter, it appears to be off a couple of stops. Probably the voltage thing right? Another question is, what about the ASA setting lever? You can set the film speed by number, but it also afffects where the little engraved 'sunny' 'cloudy' line up on shutter ring. What's the proper way to use this? My thinking is that you use this instead of light meter? ie: set ASA, and set shutter according to light conditions. Can you enlighten me?! Rob. 🙂

 

[Kim Coxon]

If you want a copy of the manual, you can download it from my website here. http://pentax-manuals.com/manuals/range/range.htm

3 solutions to the battery problem.

1. Use Wein cells, some say the best but also very expensive.

2. Get a battery adapter, initial cost high but cheaper and easier in the long run than Weins.

3. Re-calibrate the meter, cheapest solution and works for most shots.

Kim

 

[ranger]

... thanks for the manual. Explains alot.
what about recalibrating the meter, have you done this? Show me how! 🙂

 

[Andrew Sowerby]

If the meter is consistantly off (say +2 through all shutter speeds) just set the ASA to reflect that. That's the beauty of setting the film speed yourself. See ya in hell DX coating! Huzzah!

 

[Kim Coxon]

The GIII repair manual is here http://pentax-manuals.com/repairs.htm

You need to remove the top. The trim pot is behind the red/white film moving flag. Choose a nice sunny bright day and use an accurate meter to adjust against a neutral background. The reason for using a bright day is that the the difference between a 1.35v cell and 1.55v cell is not linear. The brighter the light, the greater the diffrence. Indoors under room lighting the difference can be as small as 1/2 stop whereas on a bright day it can be 2 stops. It is for this reason that changing the ASA will not work. (Sorry Andrew)

Kim

 

[ranger]

Thanks Kim, I may give it a try....hopefully not too much will go flying when I get the top off. Gotta figure out how to get the advance lever off first I guess.... anyway, thanks... rob.

 

[Kim Coxon]

Use a friction tool on the top to unscrew it.

Kim

 

[Kat]

Another option would be simple hearing aid batteries. Here in my part of the world, they cost a little over $3USD per pack of 4. You just need to improvise for the size difference.

 

[ranger]

Another option would be simple hearing aid batteries. Here in my part of the world, they cost a little over $3USD per pack of 4. You just need to improvise for the size difference.

So, it is the voltage difference? If that's all it is, then I will go out and buy the hearing aid batteries.....or rip'em outta some old farts hearing aid!! (just kidding)

If it's not just the voltage, i'll make the repair.

 

[Kat]

I'm not sure what you mean. The hearing aid zinc air batts have 1.4 voltage, I'm told that the .05 difference from the original mercury batts are negligible, and so far in my shots that has been the case. The only problem would be that they are smaller than the mercuries, so you need to add padding. Oh, and they also drain fast once they're "opened," but you can extend their lives by replacing the tape in between uses.