Hi, I have an M3, and have been thinking of buying the Voigtlander VC light meter which fits into the hot shoe. Has anyone had good/bad luck with this meter? Thanks Phillip (sorry the link is so huge)

http://www02.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___191967___VOMS___REG___CatID=902___SID=EB3BC027E70___call=specs#goto_specifications

-- Phillip Silitschanu (speedin_saab@hotmail.com), December 26, 2001

Answers

The VC meter has one serious flaw: no way to lock the reading. So you can't meter at eye-level and know what you're metering. I have a Sekonic L208 Twin-Mate, which also fits in the shoe. Bring the camera to eyelevel, select the 90mm framelines and frame what you want to meter, push the meter button. The needle stays locked, you can then read off the exposure and set it on the shutter and lens.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), December 26, 2001.

My experience with the shoe-mount Voigtlander VC Meter has been pretty good. I'm using it on my M4-P, and it's more convenient and allow faster shooting than with a handheld meter. Metering with the VC meter is done at chest level and the aperture and shutter-speed readings transferred manually to the lens and camera body. This was the way to meter using the uncoupled exposure meter built into older cameras. This takes some getting used to, especially for those who are used to eye-level metering through the camera's viewfinder. I shoot slide film, which has less exposure latitude than negative film, and the exposure result with the VC Meter is extremely good. I rarely get more than just a couple of mis-exposed shots with every roll of film. Most of the faulty exposures were actually my own mistake--when I aimed the meter towards the sky rather than towards the subject. The only problem I have so far is that the meter's shoe can be too loose fitting on some cameras and too tight on others, and the meter has been dropped more than once (and by Sod's Law, always on hard ground), either by slipping off from a loose-fitting shoe, or slipped off my fingers while trying to pull it off from a tight mount. Despite the mishaps, the poor meter seems to work fine, which goes to show how well built it is. I would thoroughly recommend this meter based on my user's experience.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), December 26, 2001.

I still like the battery powered Leica meter MR on my M3 the best, which is shutter coupled and reads a direct f stop. In actual field use, its nearly as fast as the built in meters to me. It also hold a meter reading and has a selective metering angle of what a 90mm lens sees.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), December 26, 2001.

I actually have an MR meter which died, is there any way to fix it (which would be cost effective?) Thanks Phillip

-- Phillip Silitschanu (speedin_saab@hotmail.com), December 26, 2001.

Phillip

I have a Leicameter MR4 which I have used for almost 15 years with never a problem. It is very convenient to use and if you use it properly (understanding the principles of light metering), you will always get the proper (or at least desired) exposure. It is always within less than 1/2 stop of my Gossen Luna Pro analog meter, which is my "gold standard".

I would contact a competent Leica repair person about your MR meter, it may be fixable if the electronics are not fried. This meter uses a cadmium sulfide photocell, which unlike the old selenium meters, doesn't often go dead. I would think the VC meter would be inconvenient to use because it is not coupled to the shutterspeed dial, as is the MR/MR4 meter. Also, according to what I've read, the diode display remains lit for only about 10 sec.

I checked the Steve Gandy (cameraquest.com) website. He is charging $ 150 for a new VC meter. You can probably get a nice working MR4 meter for about the same price, which would be my choice, if I were in your position. As far as I'm concerned, the only real down-side to the MR4 meter is that it requires a mercury battery, which can be hard to come by (though there are substitutes that can be used).

I agree with the comment about the actual use of the MR4 meter being very quick, not much slower than an onboard camera meter.

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), December 26, 2001.

1. The selenium-cell Leicameters read at chest-level, which was ok because they had a very wide angle of coverage. The MR and MR-4 CdS meters read an angle comparable to a 90mm lens, have a reading lock, and are best used at eye-level otherwise you don't really know what the meter ie reading.

2. For repairs on MR/MR-4 you might try Hollywood Light Metrics in LA.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), December 26, 2001.

Hi, Phillip:

I own a VC Meter and have used it long enough to discover that I don't like it: Jay is certainly right. In fact, I think that any advise coming from him should be, at least, carefully considered.

From my particular point of view, the problem with the VC is the lack of measurement lock. It is OK if you measure from waist level (two hands neeeded if not mounted on your camera) but then again I'm never sure whether the meter actually looks what I want it to. It covers the same field than a 90 mm lens so that using it at waist level while you actually hold the camera (not the meter) could easily mean that your are aiming to something different than intended (IMHO) specially if your adjusting the little wheels at the same time.

And if I don't feel very sure about the indication of my meter, I'd be better off relying on plain Sunny 16, which is right most of the times in my case (we are talking about B&W, right? If the subject matter is slides, you do need a meter).

Today, and thanks to Larry in this same site, I'm using a Gossen Scout II he gave to me and feel very happy with it: one handed operation, no batteries, very responsive and, though from waist level too, I feel that now I do know what I'm aiming to.

Anyhow, what meter to use will depend upon your particular preferences/experience, so that I intend only to supply you with the information I think fair to let you know after my personal experience.

Best of luck, Phillip.

Regards

-Iván

-- Iván Barrientos M (ingenieria@simltda.tie.cl), December 26, 2001.

I use a VC on an M3 and on my Rapid Omega...have had excellent results with it shooting slide film. Like most any tool it takes a bit of learning to get the hang of it but have picked it up pretty well.

Yes, it can be a bit fiddly as the wheels don't lock down, and it's not as quick as a Leica meter that drops onto the shutter speed wheel, but it does work well.

I did read with interest the post on the Sekonic - I'm tired of swapping my VC between the M3 and Rapid Omega - about how big is the Sekonic?

-- C.L.Zeni (clzeni@mindspring.com), December 26, 2001.

I have the Cosina Voigtlander VC & like it for the same reasons that others have noted. The lack of a reading lock is a pain, but far from a significant flaw . . . for me. I also have an old, but refurbished, Leica-Meter MR & while it's nice to have the reading lock, I've found that it's just not as accurate as the VC in low-light conditions (it's also considerably bigger & doesn't really give 1/2-stop readings like the VC). FYI, if you're in the US, I would recommend George Milton of Quality Light-Metric in Hollywood, California (323-467-2265)--he did a great job repairing my MR & recalibrating it for silver oxide batteries.

-- Chris Chen (furcafe@cris.com), December 26, 2001.

I had one. Didn't give good readings. Disposed of it promptly.

-- Yip (koklok@krdl.org.sg), December 26, 2001.

I use the VC meter and like it for the convenience of having it on the hotshoe and not having to fumble for a handheld meter. The shortfalls mentioned above are valid, however you have to be creative to get the most out of it. I don't trust where the meter is aiming either especially when I can't take the reading eye level. Instead I point it at the palm of my hand or whatever and use the reading as zone 5 or whatever. I know it isn't comforting but works really well for me.

-- ray tai (razerx@netvigator.com), December 26, 2001.

I like the VC meter. If you're looking for an in-camera meter mounted on top, with all the attendant comforts, this isn't it. If you're comfortable with a hand-held meter and want one that sits on top of the camera instead of in your pocket, it's just fine. Personally, I think it's funny that people complain that their VC won't couple to the camera and won't allow you to meter using framelines, but wouldn't make the same criticism of a Sekonic meter that's eight times larger, doesn't couple with the Leica shutter and framelines, and is in a pocket somewhere, or at home because it's too much to carry around. The disadvantage of any of the Leica meters is that when they're on the camera there's no place to fit accessory finders for your 24, 21, and 15mm lenses. Voigtlander sells a double-shoe attachment that will hold their meter AND a finder.

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), December 26, 2001.

Hi Phillip, I just bought a VC meter and think it is very convenient, becuase it is small and fits on the camera hot shoe. I also compared the seconic L-208, but this is much still much bigger and I think it is not really constructed to mount it on the camera. It is a little drawback that the meter doesn't have exposure lock, but I think you get used to it and you can always use the "hand method" ray described. Compared to the Leica Meter MR it gives you much more accurate readings in available light situations (the MR gives you more a guess of what you should set). I didn't get my slides back yet, but I think they should be ok, because the readings are very accurate compared with a spot meter and my M6 build in meter. When I saw the seconic and the VC meter next to each other my decision was quickly made. I guess you could also buy it and sell it with a little loss on the internet or trade it in when you don't like it. I hope this helped you in your decision. Johannes

-- Johannes Fleischhauer (j.fleischhauer@vsao.ch), December 27, 2001.

I get very good exposures with mine and especially like its great low-light abilities. I don't think not being able to meter at eye-level is a disadvantage because, with a non-TTL reflected light meter you often must make adjustments like aiming it down when there's a large expanse of bright sky.

-- Robert Marvin (marvbej@earthlink.net), December 27, 2001.

The VC meter in my Bessa-T camera has given me very very accurate exposure readings. About 90% of the shots had the correct exposure and I was rather happy about it. I agree that the VC meter doesn't lock in the reading but neither does my meter in the Leica CL camera which uses match needle reading rather than the LED display. I think that the VC meter is a reasonable investement and more accurate than the Leica MR which is more of a collector's item.

-- Alfie Wang (leica_phile@hotmail.com), December 29, 2001.

The old coupled selenium MC meter is still a pretty good choice for general photography. I have used several of them over the year's on M3's with satisfactory results. They can still be found in good working order for $50 to $60.

-- Jim Scheffler (hassy@prodigy.net), January 01, 2002.