Chris,
First, you have one of the "classics" of exposure meters, a model that
Ansel Adams used extensively (along with a Weston Ranger 9).
Operation:
1. Set the film speed by pushing on the button just upper left of the
dials and rotating the top dial until its small windows are lined up correctly.
2. The meter has two ranges. With the door on the back closed, it's in
the high range. With the door open, the low range (very sensitive). You
can lock the door open by engaging the small pin head on it in the tiny
slotted hole near the bottom of the back. You should notice the hinge on
the door is "sprung" with a leaf spring. To disengage the pin to close the
door, just push down on the hinge against the leaf spring. You will notice
the number range under the meter needle changes as you open an close the
door on the back.
3. The button on the right side locks the meter needle down. Pushing it
in unlocks the needle so it can move. You will see a small slot on the end
of this button. By pusing it in and turning the button 1/4 turn clockwise
you can lock the button and the meter needle will remain free. Push it in
and turn it back 1/4 turn counter-clockwise to allow it to lock the needle
down.
4. When making a light reading, note the number the needle is pointing
to. Move the second dial (middle one) until the large red triangle lines
up with the same red number on the top dial. This middle and bottom dials
now display the shutter speed and lens aperture combinations that can be
used. They are in 1/3rd stop increments around the edge; middle dial is
apertures; bottom dial is shutter speeds. (The little window on the middle
dial will also show the EV for this exposure. Aperture range is f/1 to
f/32. The shutter speed has two ranges: the one with plain (silver)
background is fractions of seconds from 1/2 sec. to 1/1200th sec.; the one
with red background is whole seconds from 1 second to 90 seconds.
5. There are small "U" "1/2 A" on one side of the red triangle and "2X C"
and "O" markings on the other side of it. These are used for density
control of B/W and color films.
a. The red triangle represents placement of Zone V (Ansel Adams Zone System).
b. The "U" represents the limit of shadow and the "O" the limit of
highlight. If you "spot meter" by walking up to and measuring
representative highlight and shadow areas, anything outside these marks
will be "Under" or "Over" exposed on average B/W film.
c. The "A" and "C" can be used with B/W film for adjusting placement of
exposure; "A" for a scene with "absence" of contrast between highlight and
shadow, and "C" for a scene with very high contrast between highlight and
shadow (especially backlighted subjects). For color, if you have colors
falling within the "A" and "C" range, they will be rendered best. Most
color negative films are more forgiving (wider latitude) than these markings.
Hope this helps,
-- John
At 17:59 5/21/01, Chris Barker wrote:
Secondly (OT), does anyone have time to explain (off-list perhaps) the top
dial on a Weston Master V exposure meter? I have worked out how to use
the meter in general terms as an incident and as a reflected meter with
various ISO settings - I use the EV window in the top dial. But what are
the red settings marked "LIGHT" on the top dial for? And what do the
little markings "1/2", "2xC" and "0" mean, along with the large red triangle?
Sorry to deviate from OM stuff here, but I am loath to start bidding for
an instruction manual on the *Bay :>). I bought the light meter, not to
have another gadget to play with (honestly), but to check my OM1N with a
2-4 installed.
Chris
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|