Zorki 4 Light meter?

[KRaZiGLiTcH]

Hi everyone i am planning on buying a Zorki4 from fedka soon and was wondering what is a good & cheap reliable light meter I can use with the zorki or should I try sunny 16 ?. Thanks heaps for any advice

 

[Sid836]

You could pair it with a sverdlovsk-4 that is cheap and very accurate. The only drawback is that due to age and poor electric circuitry, it might get fried soon.
A better solid alternative, more expensive but absolutely reliable, would be a Gossen SBC lunalite.
Also, a light metering application for your mobile phone should be considered. I use Pocket Lightmeter on my iphone and always get great results.

Here is a shot on PanF with my Zorki-4 metered withe Pocket Lightmeter and developed in FX-1. You can see sprocket holes in the frame but this my fault, another story:

 

[KRaZiGLiTcH]

You could pair it with a sverdlovsk-4 that is cheap and very accurate. The only drawback is that due to age and poor electric circuitry, it might get fried soon.
A better solid alternative, more expensive but absolutely reliable, would be a Gossen SBC lunalite.
Also, a light metering application for your mobile phone should be considered. I use Pocket Lightmeter on my iphone and always get great results.

Here is a shot on PanF with my Zorki-4 metered withe Pocket Lightmeter and developed in FX-1. You can see sprocket holes in the frame but this my fault, another story:

Thanks, that's a great photo. I wish i could use a Iphone but i have a lumia520, not the best phone lol. i will look at those😀

 

[Sid836]

Thanks. Give digital light meter a try.
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/digital-light-meter/26a02936-554d-4a1b-98ff-9a2ed83f05b6
I am sure there should be more, but I do not have a windows phone to try with.

 

[Spanik]

A sekonic L-208 is about as light and small as they get.

 

[KRaZiGLiTcH]

Thanks. Give digital light meter a try.
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/digital-light-meter/26a02936-554d-4a1b-98ff-9a2ed83f05b6
I am sure there should be more, but I do not have a windows phone to try with.

Thanks heaps for that, i will give it a try. i did not know one existed lol. Now to test if my phone is accurate enough haha

 

[KRaZiGLiTcH]

A sekonic L-208 is about as light and small as they get.

Thanks heaps

 

[Ko.Fe.]

For iPhone I have free app, it is perfect, but not cool.
I have L-208 it is fancy and also measures incident light.
And it is new.

 

[evill_genius]

I have a Lumia 1520 and use Metero which has been great so far, easy to use and fast to load. I use it with my Leica IIIF and Zorki C.

 

[locheeboy]

Carry a small compact camera or use whatever other camera you have with you for metering in difficult light. Ah'd use those tae check if any (old) light meter is accurate anyway. Sunny 16's fine as well.

Personally, ah use a Weston Master V + Invercone most of the time...

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I have an old Sekonic L-88, with a selenium cell (along with an L-208). Both are very reliable and small. I have used the oldest one in trips and it's never failed me. And I only paid about $10 for it in the auction site! 🙂

 

[KRaZiGLiTcH]

Thanks heaps everyone, every person has been really helpful. ^_^

 

[David Hughes]

... Personally, ah use a Weston Master V + Invercone most of the time...

Hi,

Those old Westons are a real bargain and I like using the right vintage meter for the camera. Of course, with an ex USSR camera you should be using a Leningrad 4 or 8 meter and they are dirt cheap, like the Westons.

Regards, David

 

[wolves3012]

Another vote for the Westons, I have a Master III and IV. As long as you get one known-working, they're pretty rugged and reliable. However, I did find a couple of Sverdlovsk 4s a few years ago and have found them to be reliable and accurate. They are a semi-spotmeter, not wide-coverage and they're pretty sensitive, if not the quickest to use. The only real drawback to the Sverdlovsk is the power source, since the original mercury batteries are unobtanium. I use a 3-cell computer motherboard backup battery, which you'd then have to find a means to recharge every 6-12 months (fortunately, I do have the means to charge them). Avoid the Sverdlovsk 2 and 6, they aren't anywhere near as good as the 4.

 

[rbiemer]

I quite like the Sverdlovsk 4. And have not had any trouble with it.
Getting a workable power source is a bit of a pain but there are options out there.
To quote myself from an earlier discussion:

To quote from http://cameras.alfredklomp.com/sverdlovsk4/:
Quote:
Power supply

The Sverdlovsk has an interesting relation with its power supply.​ Mine says 'supply voltage 3–4 V' without any further explanation, so I guess the electronics are just very liberally designed to allow use under less than ideal circumstances.​ However, it appears there's a one stop readout difference between supplying 3 or 4 volts.​ If you're going to use this meter, I'd recommend you calibrate it first using the self-calibration procedure described below, or by gauging it against a known good meter.

The native power source for the Sverdlovsk is the Russian 3-RTs-53 battery (3,75V nominal at 0.25A). Price one rouble, guaranteed lifetime 1.5 years, and out of production since the fall of the Soviet Union.​ However, mine is going strong on four PX625's (they don't really fit the compartment, but with some squeezing...​),​ and the possibilities for modification are endless, as long as you provide the necessary juice.
Calibration

The Sverdlovsk has a 'power checkup' switch that doesn't seem to do anything, but is in fact the centerpiece in an ingenious calibration procedure:

1. Set the film sensitivity to 100 ASA, or 64 GOST if you own a domestic model.​ (You'll find that this speed is specially marked.)
2. Set the ± dial to zero.​ Set the speed dial to 1/2000s (the extreme end of the scale).
3. Completely cover the sensor for twenty seconds.
4. While keeping both the power checkup switch and the metering button pressed, and with the sensor still covered, start rotating the dial.
5. The LED should extinguish when the triangle at f/8 or f/5.6 is within the limits of the rectangle at 1/250s.​ This means your batteries are okay.
6. If your batteries are not okay, correct with the ± dial as necessary to make the match.

Note that this both checks the batteries and calibrates the meter.​ If the light fails before the 20 seconds are up, your batteries are obviously low.​ If the meter somehow drifted off calibration, step 6 will compensate the error.

The battery I use is a "Saft" brand 3.6v battery marked "LS14250" and is very slightly too tall/long but it does fit.
When we first started talking about this meter and battery options--3+ years ago?--I had just put this one in my meter and it is still fine. Though, now that I am more aware of how long it's been in the meter, I will be getting another one to keep in the bag with it!

Rob

 

[KRaZiGLiTcH]

Thank you to everyone that has posted, you all have helped so much.
It should be fun to start using the zorki 4 once i get it.

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

In your shoes I'd go around looking for a Weston Master V or else a Weston Euro-Master I or II as they are calibrated in ASA which is the same as ISO.

With luck, you'll find one in its box with the cases, lanyard, manual and Invercone. They are easy to find like this and keeping them in the dark is what prolongs their life. Also - a big plus in their favour - they don't need batteries and spare batteries and so on.

People will tell you that the meters that don't need batteries are less sensitive in low light but, allowing for normal everyday use and normal negative film's latitude, that is a red herring and can be ignored.

BTW, the Leningrad 4 or 8 are also easily found in cases with the lanyards and incident light thing. You may have problems getting one in a box with instructions but they are very easy to use although graduated in DIN. Weston's are also easy to use once you've some experience of them but you do need the instruction manual.

Regards, David

 

[Elmar Lang]

Hello,

I agree that a (working) Weston Master could be a great choice: it's very accurate and reliable.

The cheapest exposure meter, besides "sunny-16" is this one: http://expomat.tripod.com/ . No batteries, etc...

 

[Valkir1987]

Leningrad 4

When you go for a FSU meter. I would recommend the Sverdlovsk 4 or the Leningrad 8 instead of the Leningrad 4.

The Leningrad 4 has the disadvantage of two measuring ranges overlapping in a common field of use. Which makes many measurements very complicated unless you really know the meter.

 

[David Hughes]

When you go for a FSU meter. I would recommend the Sverdlovsk 4 or the Leningrad 8 instead of the Leningrad 4.

The Leningrad 4 has the disadvantage of two measuring ranges overlapping in a common field of use. Which makes many measurements very complicated unless you really know the meter.

Hi,

I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. Both the Leningrads and Westons I own and use have two scales under the meter needle but on either make only one scale shows at a time. And on both makes the lower scale goes up to a point and the higher scale starts at that point.

The real difference is that the USSR's meters are simple and straight forward but the Westons can be a bit off putting at first glance and have to be used all the time to feel relaxed with. Plus the Weston should be held sideways to the scale figures apart from the later Euro versions. (And the first Weston used a different Invercone to the later models.)

The easiest meter to use is the Weston made Leica Meter of the 1930's which lets you read the speed off of the scale but a) you can't change the film speed (seems designed around a 30 ISO film) and b) it uses the old/odd aperture scales.

Regards, David