Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/03/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Topher These were called 'extinction' meters and didn't necessarily need a prism, they were made from the late 19th century onwards. A graduated (light to dark) scale was used to match with what the eye could just distinguish and then the reading was made. 'Rudimentary' is a description which comes to mind, erring most in dim light of course due to the lack of light with which to distinguish any change. Leitz did not make one though I think another manufacturer created one which bore the Leica name on it somewhere. Far more practical, to go with the IIIf (1950s vintage) would be one of the Leicameters (made by Metrawatt) which sat on the accessory shoe and was about the size of a matchbox, often seen at camera fairs, less frequently seen working, but generally available for around $50. The earliest Leicameters for the Leica were bakelite models from Weston and bulky, the second 'series' were satin chrome and small, the last designs were for the M cameras and provided coupling with the shutter speed dial. Jem > -----Original Message----- > From: topher [SMTP:topher@netvigator.com] > > hailing all camera historians......... > I read somewhere (quite a while ago, so I can't remember where) that > for > awhile (ie before normal lightmeters) people where using some sort of > small > prism device which you looked through and tried to match variably dark > numbers against the scene which you were photographing.....if my > description > is good enough to understand, has anyone actually used one of these? Did > Leica make one? I understand they weren't particularly accurate, but they > would be better than nothing in situations where the "sunny 16" rule > didn't > apply (indoors) and they would be a nice "retro" accessory for a IIIf or > something similar... > > topher