The Voigtlander VCII meter ??

[Chuck A]

I am curious if anyone here uses the VCII meter. I just picked up an M4-P and I was curious how useable this meter is. I have a couple of handheld meters to use and while I am rusty, I used to be pretty good at guessing. I just thought it would be nice to not have to carry a separate meter. It clips nicely onto the camera. Sounds very convenient. But how much more convenient is it to use than my Luna Pro SBC?

I have not seen one in person though. When using the SBC you turn the dial to match the needle where you want it and transfer the settings. It looks like the VCII meter requires you to turn 2 dials to get the light you want and then you transfer the settings. I would appreciate some feedback from anybody who has used this meter in the field. Is it slow and how useable is it? The one nice thing about the handhelds is that they will do incident metering as well. I don't think you can do that with the VCII.


Any help is appreciated. These meters are not cheap ($174.00), so I hate to spend the cash on it only to have it sit in the closet. Is it really worth the cash? Unless it is really convenient I would rather spend the cash on lenses and such.

 

[ferider]

Hi Chuck,

congrats on the Leica !

Many like the VCII.

I had one and sold it because I prefer my handheld Gossen Ultra-pro. The Gossen gives me incident and contrast reading which I use often, and I carry it on my belt and am quick with it. The CV meter prevented me from using external finders (unless you use the double shoe adapter, which makes the camera real clunky, IMO), and kept changing the iso dial when being put in/out of the bag. It is very accurate though, and looks nice, much smaller than an MR meter, for instance.

Roland.

 

[FrankS]

I have both the CV MeterII and a Leica meter MR. I prefer the CV meter. The only issue is that the ASA setting is too easy to accidentally change.

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Chuck,
I have the VC meter II and use it on my M4-P, M3, Iskra and anything it'll sit on. It fits the leica like a glove but is a tad loose on my Iskra (I just tear a pc of box end off a roll of film and slip under it to shim the meter tighter and it works well). The lens performs as advertised, is really well built and has survived 25-30 falls on the concrete from about four feet up 🙂, yeah...call me butter fingers 🙂.

The only issue is it's easy to bump the dials, alot of times I carry my camera slung over my shoulder and it brushes my side or arm causing the dials to move, just check it before shooting.

I also have a Luna Pro SBC that I use for Med. format they are two different beasts, you cannot do incident readings with the VC II, it has no diffuser dome. When I carry my Rolleiflex and M4-P I just take the Luna pro to cut down on weight and minimize any possible loss of gear.

I like the VC II because you can meter without bringing the camera to your eye, which makes candids alittle faster. It's a good meter, I recommend it and would buy another.

Todd

 

[ferider]

Chuck, happy birthday, BTW.

For some reason I cannt read beyond two words today ... Need more coffee.

Roland.

 

[Chuck A]

Chuck, happy birthday, BTW.


Roland.

Thanks, its my 49th. I used to think people my age were OLD!

 

[Chuck A]

Does having to move 2 dials slow down the metering process? Also, thanks for the tips on the easily moved dials. It can drive me nuts if I have to worry about the ISO setting moving on me.

I am looking forward to trying the Leica. I haven't used one for years and years. The M4-P will need a CLA, but I got it at such a nice price that I can get a CLA and still be ahead.

I live in a rural area and can't get to see all of these goodies. So I have to buy and try. I now have an R2A, R3A, M4-P, Oly RD and Oly RC. The only one left that I want to try is the Leica CL. After some trials 3 of these have got to go. I can't afford to keep them all. I imagine that it is going to come down to the R2A or the M4-P and I will probably keep either the RC or the RD. That will give me one M mount and a fixed lens as a backup. As far as the Leica goes I am going to have to see how much I miss the in-camera meter.

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Moving the two dials is no different than using a camera with a built in meter, one dial is for the shutter speed and one for the fstop. I shoot f4-5.6 most of the time, so I just adjust the shutter speed dial back and forth to allow for the fstop, kinda like AE. It's not slower for me.

The issue with the easily moved dials only comes into play if you are brushing your camera against something often, like in and out of a camera bag or in my case on and off my shoulder. I typically carry my camera in hand with the strap wrapped around my wrist so the dials moving aren't really an issue. If they were harder to move, say snugger, people would complain that they don't move easy enough, go figure 🙂.

It's a great meter!

Todd