Twinmate L208 Question

[froyd]

Just lucked out on a tiny Twinmate for half the normal going rate. It'll be a great companion to the 398 that often stays home due to its size.

However, after playing around with the 208 for a little bit, I'm noticing that the needle does not lock rock solid the way it does on the 398. It floats, or quivers, 1mm to the left or right of the locked position unless I hold my hand absolutely steady. Is this normal or was the price too good to be true?

 

[sebastel]

does it have any effect on your meter reading? is it more than half stop?

i can't compare to the 398, but all my meters using a needle type display float a bit. some more, some less. without exactly knowing the amount of float, it's hard to tell whether it's a defect or normal. it'd just accept it if the meter is fit for its intended use.

 

[froyd]

the floating is minimal, less than 1mm. it's just different from the 398 where the needle is basically clamped down and even if the hands move a bit, the needle stays glued in place.

I'm assuming the 208 is working as intended, but wanted confirmation.

 

[Vincent.G]

Just lucked out on a tiny Twinmate for half the normal going rate. It'll be a great companion to the 398 that often stays home due to its size.

However, after playing around with the 208 for a little bit, I'm noticing that the needle does not lock rock solid the way it does on the 398. It floats, or quivers, 1mm to the left or right of the locked position unless I hold my hand absolutely steady. Is this normal or was the price too good to be true?

Mine stays still at the reading - despite being dropped countless times by my little boys when they play with it. However my reflective readings are way off by 2 stops (took me some film to figure it out) but I have learnt to compensate for it.

 

[cz23]

I just tried mine and once the needle locks it does not move.

John

 

[froyd]

Mine stays still at the reading - despite being dropped countless times by my little boys when they play with it. However my reflective readings are way off by 2 stops (took me some film to figure it out) but I have learnt to compensate for it.

Model variations?

Mine gives me similar readings in incident and reflected --assuming of course that the subject being measured be of average reflectivity.

 

[Vincent.G]

Model variations?

Mine gives me similar readings in incident and reflected --assuming of course that the subject being measured be of average reflectivity.

When I got it new, the reflective readings were fine. Now it underexposes for two stops consistently. I am not sure if it was caused by the drops. I have to set the ISO at 100 for ISO400 film to compensate.The incident meter which I use most of the time is generally good.

And since you have the L-398, what are the differences between it and L-208? I am thinking of getting a L-398 for myself.

Edit: I wish to add that what I find puzzling is the meter sensor for incident and reflective are at the same place and switching one mode to the other simply just involve sliding the plastic dome over the sensor.

 

[froyd]

The 398 is far handier. Fast in use, better ergonomically, H and L scales, etc. A little less sensitive than the 208, but I use it with my 3.5 Rolleiflex, so I'm not doing any available darkness photography with it. Its size is pretty manageable, but sometime I want to go out with nothing in my pockets and the 208 is perfect for that.

PS the 398 also uses the same sensor to read incident and reflected, but the swap is more cumbersome because it involves untwisting the lumisphere and replacing it with a honeycomb grid. Can be done, but not convenient to jump back and forth between the two modes. In my use, the 398 is an incident meter only.

 

[Clovis]

My 208 needle wavers if I shake/sway the meter back and forth. I believe this is normal, as unlike my L-28c (L-398 predecessor) it doesn't have a plate to clamp down the metering needle.

I haven't found this to be a problem if you have competent control of your hands. I find my L-208 does the job just as well for my purposes as my heavier and bulkier Studio Deluxe.

 

[pete hogan]

My L-208 is a couple of months from new and hasn't been dropped. The needle swings left and right if the meter is moved and then goes back to the same original reading.

 

[jim_jm]

Mine does the same thing, but always returns to the same position as soon as I stop jiggling it. It is nice and compact for throwing in your pocket and has always been reasonably accurate for me. I used to carry a Gossen Pilot meter which is a selenium meter (no batteries) and even smaller than the the L208, but is very unreliable in low light conditions.

 

[Gareth Rees]

Mine moves very slightly if I jiggle it.
But I don't tend to jiggle it!

 

[kanzlr]

thats normal I think.

 

[sevo]

Mine often has some similar issue - swiping the green needle past the red may temporarily displace the latter by as much as a stop or two. I suspect a static charge build-up on the plastics case. The effect gets smaller and vanishes if the meter is left alone for a while, and seems to occur more often in dry (or cold) air. When it happens, I either wait (and try to keep the meter away from wool and synthetic fabrics), or place the green needle where the red had been before the green got near, disregarding the displacement.

 

[Godfrey]

I have one of the L208s as well. It was never as accurate as I'd hoped, seems to drift by +/- 0.7 EV on any given exposure reading. I'm much happier using my Sekonic L328 meter with the incident bubble ... that's dead-on accurate.

One of these days I'll upgrade to the L358 model.

G

 

[kanzlr]

mine is actually accurate, compared to my Minolta IV.
But one has to keep in mind that it is a small incident meter (mostly) and with its small dome it more prone to misreadings I guess.

 

[one90guy]

My wife bought me the 208 for last Christmas, It reads very close to my L-428. On the 208 the needle only moves if I shake it. I had just compared the readings yesterday, showing my visiting grandson how to use light meters.

David

 

[sevo]

mine is actually accurate, compared to my Minolta IV.
But one has to keep in mind that it is a small incident meter (mostly) and with its small dome it more prone to misreadings I guess.

I haven't had mine misread on incident meterings, but it has issues when it comes to reflective metering in high contrast situations. I rather suspect that such a tiny (maybe 2mm) aperture in a purely passive optical system can't be flawless in all circumstances - all my professional meters either have active optics with lens elements, or use a much bigger aperture (close to 1cm) for the same purpose.

 

[Vincent.G]

The 398 is far handier. Fast in use, better ergonomically, H and L scales, etc. A little less sensitive than the 208, but I use it with my 3.5 Rolleiflex, so I'm not doing any available darkness photography with it. Its size is pretty manageable, but sometime I want to go out with nothing in my pockets and the 208 is perfect for that.

PS the 398 also uses the same sensor to read incident and reflected, but the swap is more cumbersome because it involves untwisting the lumisphere and replacing it with a honeycomb grid. Can be done, but not convenient to jump back and forth between the two modes. In my use, the 398 is an incident meter only.

Thanks for sharing.

One more problem I experience with my L-208 is a loose ISO adjustment ring on my copy. The ISO setting occasionally gets shifted when I keep the meter inside my pocket. There were a few occasions when I mistakenly took a meter reading at the wrong ISO setting because of this problem. Nowadays I make it point to check the ISO setting first after I take it out of my pocket.

I like handheld meters that uses a needle to show the EV value. Suits my usage style better.