Keks M-Meter, modern Leica MR meter

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shawn

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Pre-orders are up now for the Keks M-Meter lightmeter that is coupled to the shutter dial.

front-facing-closeup_orig.jpeg

They even have a brass black paint option. Pre-orders have a discount.

I just ordered a silver one for my M3.

Edit: Keks has confirmed elsewhere you can set it for the earlier shutter speed sequence of the M3 too.


www.kekscameras.com

Mmeter

The new M-meter is a light-meter designed specifically for meterless Leica M bodies. Inspired by the iconic Leica MR Meter, the M-meter couples with your Leica's shutter speed dial for intuitive operation. The 1.3-inch OLED screen displays all readings an
www.kekscameras.com
 
Interesting. I wonder if there's any advantage to this over the MR-4 ... I have one of those for my M4-2 but I almost never use it as I find I prefer an incident meter most of the time, and when a reflected light meter is needed, my iPhone with a meter app does the trick nicely.

G
 
Pre-ordered. I wish it used replaceable drugstore batteries instead of an integrated battery that will eventually go sour, but other than that it looks perfect for my M3.
 
My main concern is that, unlike the MR meters, you can’t see the shutter speed unless it is turned on, or so it seems. Will probably get one though.
 
I believe another difference is the metering area: the MR4 meters an area roughly equivalent to the field of view of a 90mm lens, this one covers a 50mm view. If using a normal or wide lens with an MR4 you can engage the lens preview lever and select a part of the scene to meter. Correct me if I am wrong. However, I’m glad to see this meter produced and I will get one.
 
rumbliegeos said:
If using a normal or wide lens with an MR4 you can engage the lens preview lever and select a part of the scene to meter. Correct me if I am wrong.
Click to expand...
Yes, preview lever will reveal the 90mm frame which can be used to frame what you want to meter.
 
This is excellent! I was looking at retrofitting old Leicameters using the same light sensor chip, for just this purpose, in order to couple to the shutter speed.
 
This thread inspired me to pull out my MR-4 meter and examine it more closely. It had had the problem of not coupling to the shutter speed dial very well ... the pin would often slide out of the slot on the shutter speed dial. I found that the accessory shoe mount has a pair of tiny screw adjusters that let you adjust the fit of the meter coupling with the shutter speed dial .. a couple of thin screwdrivers and about five minutes, now it works perfectly.

Life is Good. ;)

G
 
They just added the instruction manual too.

It looks like it has a similar function to the K02 that you can set the aperture steps of your lens as well as min/max F stop. That way it won't give a suggested aperture that is outside of what the lens can do. You can set the shutter speed scale as well so that it suggests actual settings on your Leica. +/- 3 stops of compensation if you have a filter attached.
 
I preordered one to be used with my M-A and M4 black paint. My MR-4 meter has been overhauled by a German company specialized in overhauling these meters but the CDS cell seems to have deteriorated despite the meter being stored in a dry cabinet. Really looking forward using this new meter.
 
Except for the name (which means „cookie meter“ in German) I really like it. It could enhance all those meterless Leicas with a bit of modern spirit 😉
 
My MR-4 meter had been overhauled by a fellow in Germany as well - about two years ago. It's still not very accurate. It's about a stop and half over. I might bite on one of those black KEK's for a black M4.

..Avery
 
I (just a couple of days ago) got the KEKS KM-Q instead of this. I think it's cool, looking almost like a built-in part of my silver M4, and I can also use it on a couple of other cameras that aren't Leicas. KEKS KMQ Light-meter
 
Godfrey said:
Interesting. I wonder if there's any advantage to this over the MR-4 ... I have one of those for my M4-2 but I almost never use it as I find I prefer an incident meter most of the time, and when a reflected light meter is needed, my iPhone with a meter app does the trick nicely.

G
Click to expand...
There are two clear advantages:

- The MR meters use the banned mercury cells, so using them requires modification or something like an MR-9 adapter or a Wein cell
- The MR meters have Cadmium Sulfide cells, which age, so over time may report more light than is actually there, leading to underexposure.
 
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