Minolta Auto Meter IVF

[soupdragon]

Hello.

I own and currently use a Minolta autometer IVF.
I've only really used it as an incident light meter but know it can be used for reflected light.
I have the manual and some disks with holes in but, for the life of me, I can't interpret the instructions.

Anyone got experience with these and can help?

 

[zx9]

Hello.

I own and currently use a Minolta autometer IVF.
I've only really used it as an incident light meter but know it can be used for reflected light.
I have the manual and some disks with holes in but, for the life of me, I can't interpret the instructions.

Anyone got experience with these and can help?

Sorry mine only came with the incident dome, for reflected I use a Minolta Spot meter or more often the light meter app on my phone.

 

[soupdragon]

I have an app on my phone but it varies wildly from either of my light meters.
I guess I'll have to keep searching the net.

 

[zx9]

I have an app on my phone but it varies wildly from either of my light meters.
I guess I'll have to keep searching the net.

I have 'Light meter' and 'Viewfinder' off a neutral surface they are both very similar, they do vary in use as light meter behaves like an average where as viewfinder is more of a centre spot / centre weighted definitely not a true spot meter. I think like any other meter the user needs to figure out how best to use it with their way of working.

 

[soupdragon]

After much reading of old posts on other forums it appears I have the 40 degree reflected light attachment.
This is just a flat disk with a hole in it.
By all accounts it replaces the ambient cone and pushes down a small steel pin to let the meter know it's fitted.

I know what I'm doing when I get home.

 

[zx9]

After much reading of old posts on other forums it appears I have the 40 degree reflected light attachment.
This is just a flat disk with a hole in it.
By all accounts it replaces the ambient cone and pushes down a small steel pin to let the meter know it's fitted.

I know what I'm doing when I get home.

Great well done. Now that you mention the detail I sort of remember seeing it before possibly when I got the meter some where way back in time.

 

[wiltw]

The reflected light disk for the Autometer IVf causes the meter reading to 'shift' appropriately automatically...a pin on the surface of the sensor face is depressed/not-depressed, differentiating reflected attachment from incident attachment. That pin sometimes can go faulty and not activate electrcally as it should, and (when Minolta service existed) could be repaired so that the reading was automatically 'shifted' properly, depending upon attachment type. You can test function of the protruding pin...just take off all attachments, and take a reading while the pin is pressed in, then allow the pin to pop up...you should see the reading change (by about 5EV IIRC); if the reading is the same with pin in/out, it is malfunctioning.

Use, when the switch is working properly, is entirely THE SAME in reflected mode vs. incident mode.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

The reflected light disk for the Autometer IVf causes the meter reading to 'shift' appropriately automatically...a pin on the surface of the sensor face is depressed/not-depressed, differentiating reflected attachment from incident attachment. That pin sometimes can go faulty and not activate electrcally as it should, and (when Minolta service existed) could be repaired so that the reading was automatically 'shifted' properly, depending upon attachment type. You can test function of the protruding pin...just take off all attachments, and take a reading while the pin is pressed in, then allow the pin to pop up...you should see the reading change (by about 5EV IIRC); if the reading is the same with pin in/out, it is malfunctioning.

Use, when the switch is working properly, is entirely THE SAME in reflected mode vs. incident mode.

The incident reading and the reflected reading will only match when correctly directed. And the reflected reading taken from a grey card or an average scene. It is generally far more consistent to use an incident reading as it pegs the highlights and tonal range between shots when the dome is directed towards the camera from the subject or from between the subject and camera for distant shots.

The Weston master with invercone, the gossen variosix and the Sekonic meters achieve the same light reduction by using smaller holes in the baffle so do not need a pin system. Of course in the Weston the normal use is as a reflected light meter. And using neither the baffle nor the invercone gives a low light reflected reading, and automatically changes the scale. (If pointed toward the light, when used this way, you can get a useful low light incident reading, but you must compensate by a 4.5 stop adjustment of the reading)