Is anyone using a Gossen digisix?

[Skinny McGee]

If so can you tell me what you think of them... I was thinking about a Luna, but buy the time I buy the meter and the battery adaptor I could buy the digital... Any thoughts? i was concerned about how high the iso went.. But some one answered my last question on this, and said all I had to do is give two more stops down to get 12800 from 3200... Is that full stops or just stops on the lens?
Example ( I have the prewar Summar so If it gives me 1/60 @ 4.5 then do I just go down past 3.2 to 2.2? ) Or do I just experiment with it? Any help would be great and any commnets about the meter...

Thanks
Skinny

 

[RJBender]

Skinny,
I have a Gossen Sixtino which has a 6400 ASA maximum setting. Are you metering at ASA 3200 and using 12800 speed film? If the film is 2 stops faster than your meter's ASA setting, you can stop the lens down 2 stops ( to give the film less light) or increase your shutter speed 2 stops (e.g. 1/60 to 1/250). Otherwise your film will be 2 stops overexposed.

R.J.

 

[JoeFriday]

I just got one from Richard_L a few days ago.. I've used it a handful of times.. and as it so happens, I also have a Luna Pro SBC, but I think that works slightly differently than your model

from my limited use, I'd say the Luna Pro is much quicker to operate.. my SBC has a match-needle style, so I just push the metering button on the side and spin the dial to center the needle.. within 2 seconds I have all the aperture/speed combinations right in front of me.. the Digisix cuts out having to center a needle, but relys on a slower method.. it gives you an EV number (in thirds) and you spin the white dial to that setting.. then you can read the same numbers.. it doesn't take a whole lot longer, but it seems less intuitive

I've been told that after you use the meter for a while, you start to think in EV numbers and the dial isn't even necessary.. I'm not sure how soon that will happen for me, though

the other 'cons' of the Digisix are the size of the numbers.. small.. hard to read in a hurry... also, setting the ISO/ASA is a slow process compared to the Luna, which can be changed in a second or two on the fly

but the Digisix is about a third the size of the Luna Pro, and that's what I wanted it for.. you can easily conceal it in your hand, or wear it around your neck and possibly even forget it's there

here's a link for the Digisix operating instructions

 

[doubs43]

Skinny, I've had a Digisix since last Christmas and I like it. If there's a negative, it's cycling through the ISO settings when using different films but that's a minor annoyance. Over all, I'd say it's an excellent meter.

Walker

 

[richard_l]

But some one answered my last question on this, and said all I had to do is give two more stops down to get 12800 from 3200... Is that full stops or just stops on the lens?
Example ( I have the prewar Summar so If it gives me 1/60 @ 4.5 then do I just go down past 3.2 to 2.2? ) Or do I just experiment with it? Any help would be great and any commnets about the meter...

Doubling the film speed amounts to 1 full stop, so 3200 -> 12800 is 2 full stops. If you are using a film rated at 12800 and the meter is set for 3200, then you should stop down 2 full stops from what the meter reads. If the meter sez 1/60 @ f/4.5 you could, for example, use 1/60 @ f/9 or any combination of shutter speeds and f-numbers amounting to 2 stops down.

I sold my Digisix to Joe Friday because it was hard for me to read the little numbers without reading glasses (which I don't like to mess with when taking pictures). It is very sensitive and accurate. I replaced it with a Sekonic L308BII which also is a good, reasonably priced meter.

Richard

 

[mjm6]

Skinny,

I have a Digisix, and like it for the rangefinders because of it's small size. It also is a great backup (I never go on a real trip with only one meter, that's just tempting fate too much).

However, if you are shooting a very high speed film (12,800), then I suspect you may be pushing the limits that the meter can do at the low light end. The Digisix can read down to EV0, which is equivalent to a one second exposure at f1 with 100 speed film (or 1/30 second at f2 at your 12,800 speed).

That is the lower limit of the meter. That is the reason I only use it as a handheld camera meter, because it doesn't have the lower end sensitivity to work for real low light levels.

For that, I have a Gossen Luna Pro S that I got used (a recent model, which takes the modern batteries). It can go down to EV -4, which gives a lot greater range for low light level shooting.

Just be aware of that limitation before you purchase.

One last thing, the values that are reported on the Digisix are not actually EV values, unless you have the meter set to ASA 100. They are actually LV values, which are dependant on the ASA. EV is independant of ASA.


---Michael

 

[FPjohn]

Hello:

I use a DigiSix as a incident light meter for a backup to the use of the "Sunny f16" rule.
It is very sensitive, light and goes well with a rangefinder (M6, 111b). It has displaced my much used Euromaster as my chief meter.

yours
Frank

 

[furcafe]

I've had a Digisix since it came out (well, I had a Digisix but broke it & replaced it w/the Digiflash). I like it because it's extremely small & accurate, is much more sensitive than the old-school CdS meter I was using @ the time (Leica-meter MR) & more versatile than the Cosina Voigtlander VC meter.