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I want to get my mother's old Contax IIIa
camera working again because of its fast f1.5
lens.

But the light meter is completely broken and
I can't get it fixed.

Can anyone advise me where to get some sort
of small light meter to use instead. Nothing
too fancy.

Regards, Peter.

Peter Jason wrote:
> I want to get my mother's old Contax IIIa
> camera working again because of its fast f1.5
> lens.
>
> But the light meter is completely broken and
> I can't get it fixed.
>
> Can anyone advise me where to get some sort
> of small light meter to use instead. Nothing
> too fancy.
>
> Regards, Peter.

e-Bay

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

Peter Jason <> wrote:
> I want to get my mother's old Contax IIIa
> camera working again because of its fast f1.5
> lens.
>
> But the light meter is completely broken and
> I can't get it fixed.
>
> Can anyone advise me where to get some sort
> of small light meter to use instead. Nothing
> too fancy.
>
I really like my Sekonic L-208 Twinmate. It is a classic
style analogue meter, but is really small and has a modern
sensor and electronics.

It is $94.95 at B&H photo.

<www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&Q=&sku=200224&is=REG>

Peter.
--

Peter Jason wrote:
> I want to get my mother's old Contax IIIa
> camera working again because of its fast f1.5
> lens.
>
> But the light meter is completely broken and
> I can't get it fixed.
>
> Can anyone advise me where to get some sort
> of small light meter to use instead. Nothing
> too fancy.
>
> Regards, Peter.

Uhfortunately, because of the rarity of non-automatic-exposure cameras
these days, the simple not-too-fancy lightmeters have become extinct in
the market place. Those sold new today are fairly pricey.

Many camera shops sell used merchandice, and I have seen used
lightmeters at some of my local camera shops. Try there.

On Sun, 31 Dec 2006 07:53:29 -0800, Don Stauffer in Minnesota wrote:

>
> Peter Jason wrote:
>> I want to get my mother's old Contax IIIa
>> camera working again because of its fast f1.5
>> lens.
>>
>> But the light meter is completely broken and
>> I can't get it fixed.
>>
>> Can anyone advise me where to get some sort
>> of small light meter to use instead. Nothing
>> too fancy.
>>
>> Regards, Peter.
>
> Uhfortunately, because of the rarity of non-automatic-exposure cameras
> these days, the simple not-too-fancy lightmeters have become extinct in
> the market place. Those sold new today are fairly pricey.
>
> Many camera shops sell used merchandice, and I have seen used
> lightmeters at some of my local camera shops. Try there.

Also, try eBay. Or your local newspaper classifieds under the Used Photo
heading(s). Or any of the number of used camera stores with a web site.
Get a copy of Shutterbug magazine or go to their web site:
http://www.shutterbug.com/ It has tons of ads and listings for such
stores as well as a classified section for private party sales.

Stef

On Sun, 31 Dec 2006 10:37:56 +1100, "Peter Jason" <>
wrote:

>I want to get my mother's old Contax IIIa
>camera working again because of its fast f1.5
>lens.
>
>But the light meter is completely broken and
>I can't get it fixed.
>
>Can anyone advise me where to get some sort
>of small light meter to use instead. Nothing
>too fancy.
>
>Regards, Peter.
>
If you have a digital camera maybe using the readout,
say in the 'P' or 'M' mode,
can give you a ballpark figure to transfer to the Contax.

"irwell" <> wrote in message
news:...
> On Sun, 31 Dec 2006 10:37:56 +1100, "Peter
> Jason" <>
> wrote:
>
>>I want to get my mother's old Contax IIIa
>>camera working again because of its fast
>>f1.5
>>lens.
>>
>>But the light meter is completely broken
>>and
>>I can't get it fixed.
>>
>>Can anyone advise me where to get some sort
>>of small light meter to use instead.
>>Nothing
>>too fancy.
>>
>>Regards, Peter.
>>
> If you have a digital camera maybe using
> the readout,
> say in the 'P' or 'M' mode,
> can give you a ballpark figure to transfer
> to the Contax.

Sadly the digital camera (an OlympusE500)
will not indicate f-stops lower than the lens
attached to it at the time, which in my case
is either f-3.8, or f-4.0.

I can't seem to find a really low f-stop lens
for this camera, in the Zuiko range anyway.

Many thanks for all replies.

Regards

On Mon, 1 Jan 2007 12:29:40 +1100, Peter Jason wrote:

>> If you have a digital camera maybe using the readout,
>> say in the 'P' or 'M' mode, can give you a ballpark figure
>> to transfer to the Contax.
>
> Sadly the digital camera (an OlympusE500)
> will not indicate f-stops lower than the lens
> attached to it at the time, which in my case
> is either f-3.8, or f-4.0.

Being able to deal with that is almost literally a no-brainer,
assuming you know how apertures and shutter speeds are related. One
stop of aperture is equal to one stop of shutter speed. So if you
want to shoot at f/2.0, see what shutter speed the Olympus suggests
using at f/4.0. That's a two stop difference in aperture (f/2.0 ->
f/2.8 -> f/4.0), so since the f/2.0 aperture would let in 2 stops
worth more light, you'd shorten the Olympus's shutter speed by two
stops as well. If you're not familiar with the different standard
shutter speeds and apertures long understood by film camera users,
it would be a good idea to memorize them, which can be quite easy if
you see the mathematical relationships between them. Adjacent
shutter speeds differ by a factor of 2 and adjacent apertures by a
factor of 1.4 (1.414... is the square root of 2). One stop
differences are represented by:

Shutter speeds:
1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000

Apertures:
f/1.0, f/1.4, f/2.0, f/2.8, f/4.0, f/5.6, f/8.0, f/11, f/16, f/22

So if the E500 indicated 1/60th sec. at f/4.0, the Contax IIIa
could be set to use f/2.0 at 1/250th sec. or f/1.5 at 1/500th sec.
(f/1.5 is close enough to f/1.4)

The E500 is an overly expensive and large camera to use as a light
meter though. A small P&S that shows the apertures and shutter
speeds that would be used can be just as useful, and some are even
smaller and less expensive than many present day light meters.

"ASAAR" <> wrote in message
news:...
> On Mon, 1 Jan 2007 12:29:40 +1100, Peter
> Jason wrote:
>
>>> If you have a digital camera maybe using
>>> the readout,
>>> say in the 'P' or 'M' mode, can give you
>>> a ballpark figure
>>> to transfer to the Contax.
>>
>> Sadly the digital camera (an OlympusE500)
>> will not indicate f-stops lower than the
>> lens
>> attached to it at the time, which in my
>> case
>> is either f-3.8, or f-4.0.
>
> Being able to deal with that is almost
> literally a no-brainer,
> assuming you know how apertures and shutter
> speeds are related. One
> stop of aperture is equal to one stop of
> shutter speed. So if you
> want to shoot at f/2.0, see what shutter
> speed the Olympus suggests
> using at f/4.0. That's a two stop
> difference in aperture (f/2.0 ->
> f/2.8 -> f/4.0), so since the f/2.0
> aperture would let in 2 stops
> worth more light, you'd shorten the
> Olympus's shutter speed by two
> stops as well. If you're not familiar with
> the different standard
> shutter speeds and apertures long
> understood by film camera users,
> it would be a good idea to memorize them,
> which can be quite easy if
> you see the mathematical relationships
> between them. Adjacent
> shutter speeds differ by a factor of 2 and
> adjacent apertures by a
> factor of 1.4 (1.414... is the square root
> of 2). One stop
> differences are represented by:
>
> Shutter speeds:
> 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250,
> 1/500, 1/1000
>
> Apertures:
> f/1.0, f/1.4, f/2.0, f/2.8, f/4.0, f/5.6,
> f/8.0, f/11, f/16, f/22
>
> So if the E500 indicated 1/60th sec. at
> f/4.0, the Contax IIIa
> could be set to use f/2.0 at 1/250th sec.
> or f/1.5 at 1/500th sec.
> (f/1.5 is close enough to f/1.4)
>
> The E500 is an overly expensive and large
> camera to use as a light
> meter though. A small P&S that shows the
> apertures and shutter
> speeds that would be used can be just as
> useful, and some are even
> smaller and less expensive than many
> present day light meters.

We live & learn.
I am new to photography.
Thanks