Kiev Light meter

[Turves]

How accurate is the selenium light meter on a Kiev 4?

My partner was in the photo sales, service and customer service areas. She is not a big fan of selenium light meters. She recons they have a 20 year life span and after that forget it.

If they are not accurate then I should probably look more at the non light meter models. After all they are more hansome and probably a bit lighter.

Any thoughts?

 

[wolves3012]

First find a Kiev 4 with a working meter! They aren't terribly accurate (in my experience). Good enough to give an idea but they are affected by "sun in the frame" kind of situations. They do age but it's still possible to get replecement cells. A separate meter has the advantage of being replaceable and usable with other cameras.

As for selenium meters overall, selenium is fairly well matched to the sensitivity of film and needs no batteries - both plusses. On the downside they aren't very sensitive unless a large cell is used. There are plenty of Weston Masters and the like still working and cheap, I have a III and IV and they still work accurately, despite being far more than 20 years old!