Can selenium light meters be repaired?
Reviving a selenium meter. I’ve found that most selenium meters don’t die. They just need a bit of work to coax them back to life. These instructions apply to many of the Zeiss Ikon cameras, as their inner workings tend to be easier to open.
How do I test a vintage light meter?
Cut pieces of print paper and print each negative at the same enlarger height, time and lens opening (having labeled which stop of the film it was). Then see which one of the prints is the very closest or hopefully right on matches the gray card. That will be the ISO for that meter, film, camera and chemistry.
How long do selenium meters last?
Up to 50 years, sometimes significantly more, depending on manufacturing quality and storage (especially exposure to light). Sometimes 5 years or less, ditto.
How does a selenium light meter work?
The electric part of such a meter is an electromagnetic measuring instrument which is connected to the anode and cathode of a selenium photo cell that produces more or less electric power when exposed to more or less light. The optical part of such a meter is a window in front of the photo cell’s light-sensitive side.
What is an Ikophot?
The Zeiss Ikon Ikophot Rapid is a handheld meter made in the 1950’s by Zeiss Ikon in Stuttgart, Germany. It is a battery-less selenium cell reflective meter. Selenium is an element that would generate voltage when it is strike by light.
What is an Ikophot Zeiss Ikon?
Ikophot was Zeiss/Ikon’s name for their hand-held meters; like a lot of companies, they didn’t get around to giving them separate model names until later on. Their Ikophot Rapid was the same thing but used a match-needle instead of a scale. There’s also a certain resemblance to the Russian Leningrad.
How do you calibrate an old light meter?
To calibrate the analog light meter, you need to set the film speed first. Now, place the light meter in front of the object. Then, you need to press the start bottom to start the movement of the needle. The needle will move and show the light levels present on the object.
What is an ikon ikophot meter?
The Zeiss Ikon Ikophot is a handheld meter made in the 1950’s by Zeiss Ikon in Stuttgart, Germany. It is a battery-less selenium cell reflective meter. Selenium is an element that would generate voltage when striked by light.
Is This Zeiss Ikon meter the first of its kind?
This meter is apparently the first of only two that Zeiss Ikon produced. Both named Ikophot, a later model was tagged Ikophot Rapid and featured a match-need dial rather than the scale featured in this one.
Is this an ikophot rapid or a Leningrad?
Both named Ikophot, a later model was tagged Ikophot Rapid and featured a match-need dial rather than the scale featured in this one. On his site, James Ollinger finds some interesting similarities between the Ikophot and other East European meters, particularly the well-known Leningrad series.