[secondrysystem]

Hello from Michigan. i was given a honeywell spotmatic from a friend and its another question about the light meter. i have read other forums about my problem but nothing matched my problem. my problem is when i started using my camera for the first time the light meter was a bit slow to react but it would work now when i turn it on the meter hand almost goes to the middle of - + the battery is new. i checked the battery contact in the battery spot and on the inside of the bottom cover and both are fine. i did test the battery in the camera by setting the asa to 100 and b and it would go from - to almost the middle then i turn it off and the hand moves slightly down but not all the way but when i turn the shutter speed when its on to a different shutter setting like 250 it would go right to -. before i stop by a locale camera shop i want to see if its a problem i can solve.

[dms]

As I understand it--you have done the battery check--and its fine. But then the next part I don't follow. BTW a reading off a clear blue sky midday is a good check. Maybe slightly less in winter--but to the expected accuracy it should be about 1/iso sec at f/16. If it is off by a stop--but the difference is consistent--just bias the iso value.

[secondrysystem]

what i was saying on the second pari it that it still didn't work even tho i troubleshooted it to the best of my abilities and i don't know what could be the problem.

[TomB_tx]

The Spotmatic meter is "balanced" so that the needle is at rest just below the mid position with no battery, so this sounds normal. The two meter cds cells often degrade with age so that they underexpose in low light. I have a few Spotmatics, and one of the meters responds much slower than the others -so it happens.
Eric Hendrickson (see threads about him on this forum) can refurbish your Spotmatic to operate like new, replacing any meter parts needed, cleaning out old oils and lubricating and adjusting to specs. Very reasonable cost, and a free estimate if you send it to him. Highly recommended.

[gofour3]

The Spotmatic meter is "balanced" so that the needle is at rest just below the mid position with no battery, so this sounds normal. The two meter cds cells often degrade with age so that they underexpose in low light. I have a few Spotmatics, and one of the meters responds much slower than the others -so it happens.
Eric Hendrickson (see threads about him on this forum) can refurbish your Spotmatic to operate like new, replacing any meter parts needed, cleaning out old oils and lubricating and adjusting to specs. Very reasonable cost, and a free estimate if you send it to him. Highly recommended.

+1 this is what I would recommed as well.

Phil.

[MysteryOnion]

go from - to almost the middle then i turn it off and the hand moves slightly down but not all the way but when i turn the shutter speed when its on to a different shutter setting like 250 it would go right to -.

Sounds like you are describing almost an issue with the meter's potentiometer being off it's settings/calibration? If the factory settings have been changed, the reactions of the meter may seem subdued. Sometimes, due to corrosion inside the sensor board found next to the eyepiece, the circuit is shorted out. If the meter's needle seems to favor one area than the other regardless of where you set the ASA dial and shutter speed and pointing to light sources, then possibly one of the snail coil springs inside has been bent or snapped due to a shock to the camera... happened to two Spotties I found recently.

As recommended by others above, it sounds like a trip to Eric is in order.

[1L6E6VHF]

One nice thing about these old mechanical cameras, is that you have a cheap and ugly way out - pretend your camera is an SL. Ignore the meter and set the shutter and aperture manually, but exposure guide, guessing, or an external meter (some digital cameras can be used as meters!)

[dubiousone]

I have a Spotmatic II and the meter is dead so I elected to use it with an external meter. Actually, I think my Gossen Luna Pro is a better meter than my K100DS !!!

[stevebrot]

Actually, I think my Gossen Luna Pro is a better meter than my K100DS !!!

Definitely more sensitive! The Gossen does a better job at incident light too.


Steve