RE: [Leica] Voigtlander clip on meter

["Dan Honemann" <ddh@home.com>]

Can anybody point me to where I can buy one of these?  Can't find it on B&H
or Don Chatterton's sites.

Thanks,
Dan

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Kam
> Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2000 5:14 AM
> To: Leica user list
> Subject: [Leica] Voigtlander clip on meter
> Importance: Low
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> I have borrowed a Voigtlander clip on meter from a friend and
> used it for a
> week.   It  is such a lovely thing that I have decided to buy
> one.  Here is
> my report:
>
> Construction - it looks like a plastic toy in pictures but it is very
> solidly built.  It is made of metal with a surface finishing
> rather similar
> to that of the M6.    A well-built solid but light weight (42g
> only) stuff.
>
> Handling and ease of use - the design is excellent and very easy to use.
> I'll be surprised if anyone on this list will need to refer to
> the manual to
> find out how to use it (I only looked at the manual once to find out its
> weight).  The two dials on the top are easy to use.  The aperture
> dial, much
> to my liking, is stepless.  There is no difficulty whatsoever in
> reading the
> LEDs, even under direct sunlight.  Under this head the meter will score a
> full mark.
>
> Accuracy - It can't be as accurate as a sekonic or minolta,
> that's for sure.
> Having said that, in most cases (by most I mean over 90%) it produces the
> same reading as my M6.  The silicon photodiode is fairly sensitive.  As it
> is so small and can be used as a hand-held meter, you can take it
> up to your
> subject and take a closer "spot" metering.  In one case I took a reading
> from less than 12" away from the face of a lady, she just found it a cute
> little thing to look at.  In terms of obstructiveness I guess it is even
> less obstructive than a Leica.
>
> Other uses - it may sound silly, but in the past few days I took the meter
> to almost everywhere and compared its reading with my eye
> metering.  It was
> fun.
>
> Compatability - as there is no coupling device it can be used on
> any camea.
> I have tried it on a M4-2, a IIIf and an Olympus SP which has a
> dead meter.
> In all cases it does not cause any obstruction to operation.
>
> Battery life - I used it very intensively in the past few days (and my 15
> month old daughter played with it even more intensively - she
> just loved to
> see the LEDs going on and off).  There has been no sign of battery drain
> (though only fitted with alkaline batteries, it has been producing
> consistent reading so I assume that there is no signficant drop
> in voltage).
>
> My conclusion: although not cheap (HK$1,300, about US$160), my
> vote for best
> accessory of the year surely goes to it.
>
>
> Regards,
> Kam
>