Fed 3, what light meter

R

russell123

Messages
4
Name
russell
Edit My Images
Yes
Have just purchased a fed 3 film camara and as it has no lightmeter and is completley manual will I have to buy a lightmeter and if so which one would you recomend. It will only be used occasionaly so cheep but reliable. The other this I was wondering was as I would be using it as a second camara with my canon 5d could I frame the shot I eant with the 5d half press the shutter then copy the meter readings onto the fed 3 and then take the shot.
 
You could use your dslr as a meter but it's over kill. Search around for the exposure mat and the ultimate exposure calculator. With a little practice you'll get close enough on guessing the exposure with out a metre, well at least for negative film.
 
You can use your 5D as a lightmeter as you say. But you may have to do some test shots to determin if you need to adjust the reading ether way
 
Sunny 16, or a cheap Weston Master. Shouldn't cost more than a fiver or so from eBay.
 
I always used a Weston Master exposure meter "back in the day" and it would still be my choice today.
It doesn't need any batteries and if you can find one with an "Invercone" attachment you take incident light readings, which are far more reliable than using reflected light.

I recently bought on old 35mm film camera which came with several accessories from the internet auction site.
Amongst the accessories was a perfect working Weston Euromaster meter in it's original real leather case, although the "Invercone" was missing.
I only paid £10 + postage for the whole package, although I've never shopped for just a meter.
The best ones to find would be a Weston Master 5 or Euromaster meter.

PS. Why is your post tagged "NSFW"?
 
Last edited:
New to this site and not sure what to post under, which tag should l have used? Tanks for all the replys think I may start loiking for a weston.
 
russell123 said:
New to this site and not sure what to post under, which tag should l have used? Tanks for all the replys think I may start loiking for a weston.
Click to expand...

it didn't need a prefix to be honest, but would have been better posted in the Film and Conventional section of the forum.

Fortunately, any mention of film cameras in the general populace, and one or two of the F&C denizens are on it like a tramp on chips anyway, and you've got some decent answers here, but i'll move it to F&C anyway (with a pointer that'll hang around for a day or so, in case you lose it :) )
 
TheBigYin said:
it didn't need a prefix to be honest, but would have been better posted in the Film and Conventional section of the forum.

Fortunately, any mention of film cameras in the general populace, and one or two of the F&C denizens are on it like a tramp on chips anyway, and you've got some decent answers here, but i'll move it to F&C anyway (with a pointer that'll hang around for a day or so, in case you lose it :) )
Click to expand...

First time I'd been out F&C in weeks and two filmy threads started at once...
 
Meter, who needs a meter?.....Negative film, asa 400, F/8 1/100 shutter speed. .....what can possibly go wrong! :D................actually shoot at those settings on most average days and majority of shots will be ok I reckon. ( I take no responsibilty if you try it and you're not happy with the results though!:p)

Weston meters are pretty good ....less so in low light conditions perhaps.

Personally I'd advise you to read up on sunny F/16, go out and have a play with some cheap film and see just how easy it can be to judge light levels for the best part of everyday shots.

Not only does it save you pennies buying a meter, it also saves you having to carry one!
 
Even use your DSLR, put it on manual and guess the exposure see how it looks then look at what the camera is suggesting. Digital is much more sensitive to over exposure than negative film so don't worry too much about red blinkies.
 
The fact that digi blows the highlights much easier than négative film makes me wonder if advising to use a dslr for metering film is such a good idéa. With expérience and understanding, suitable compensation can be made by the tog but for a "newbie", there is a real chance of ending up with little or no shadow détails......
 
If you have a phone that supports it (all iPhones, some Androids) then a lightmeter app is easiest and cheapest (ie, free).

If you have an Android, then you'll need to test the app - some phones don't return the light levels from the camera's meter to the app, so they fall back on the screen brightness sensor, which is . . . unreliable, at best.
 
If you have the lovely Fed 3, then you really need an equally lovely, old, metal bodied light meter. Preferably a Soviet era one. However any of the old ones should be a joy to use.
 
Last edited:
abdoujaparov said:
If you have a phone that supports it (all iPhones, some Androids) then a lightmeter app is easiest and cheapest (ie, free).

If you have an Android, then you'll need to test the app - some phones don't return the light levels from the camera's meter to the app, so they fall back on the screen brightness sensor, which is . . . unreliable, at best.
Click to expand...

What they said ^

Whilst a period light meter looks the part and is more in keeping with the analogue camera, I've always preferred the light meter app on my iPhone for speed and simplicity.
 
I use the iPhone app - and it's bang on!

Done a few tests against other cameras - and 2 light meters too!
 
Last edited:
I have a Leningrad 7 and a Weston V. Testing them against a DSLR and an ME Super, they were all within around 1/3-1/2 stop of each other. Just for the sake of it, I use the Leningrad when I took my Zorki 4K out.......it just seems more fitting :) As mentioned, though, selenium meters can become less accurate with age and are pretty iffy in low light.
 
I couldn't afford a meter when I was a kid, and just used the settings printed on the box of film. It was fine with B & W and colour negative, and I didn't shoot colour reversal at the time.

The settings were the same as, or close to, Sunny 16 IIRC. Just bear in mind that this is a guideline, not a rule. I still use it in SA, where the light is much stronger, and find that Sunny 11 is generally better in the UK.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top