AboutJohn and Chris Expertise We are both professional photographers, with over 15 years experience. We can answer questions about photography, as well as questions about cameras from the 60s to 90s. (extensive 35mm, quite a bit of other formats.) Please, no darkroom questions.
Expert: John and Chris Date: 12/16/2005 Subject: Capital F4 CdS Exposure Meter
Question Hi Guys!,
Just wondering if either of you has had any experience using the Capital F4 CdS exposure meter?
The manual that came with this meter is badly translated (I guess from Japanese as it's made in Japan)to the point of being next to worthless and having no experience using a hand held meter of any kind it's operation is a mystery to me.
I intend to use this meter as a spot-metering device with my classic SLR camera collection (including a Pentax Spotmatic,Yashica TL-Super,Ricoh Singlex II & Vivitar 220/SL).
This is a new model available almost anywere camera's are sold and I'm not aware of any web-site (I've looked)that can help explain it's operation (just the dealer's site that sell them & they are no help at all).
Pictures of it are available on the net & I read the explanation a Mr. Tom Gehring gave to another perplexed owner (his explanation dosen't seem to fit this type of meter as there's no button to actuate the units metering).
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Joe
Answer Joseph,
I've seen them before, but have never used one. I think it's basically "on" all the time, and as you turn the dial the meter will deflect when you've turned it far enough for it to be sensitive to the light that is available. Try switching the "hi/low" to get in a range that will deflect the needle.
However.... some things you should know. That is not a "spot" meter and will not work as one. (Your spotmatic has a built in spot meter and is a better meter than the capitol, even though it suffers from the same battery problem --- that I haven't gotten to yet). It is actually a "reflected" meter that works in a kind of averaging pattern.
Your meter isn't really a new model... they were built in 1979 or 1980.
Also, as far as I can remember, your meter requires a 1.35 volt mercuric oxide (mercury) battery that has been illegal for several years now. They haven't made them in years. Mercury batteries had a "flat" discharge curve. This meant that they stayed at a constant 1.35 volts untill they died. They didn't get weaker first. With this kind of battery, you didn't need a voltage regulator which made the unit cheaper. If you put an alkaline or silver or even a lith. battery in it, the meter will become less and less accurate as the battery gets older. Kinda defeats the point of a meter.
There is a battery that will work in your meter (and your spotmatic). It's called a Wein Zinc Air battery. The problem with this battery is that it is expensive. Also, it is AIR activated. Which means that once you open it, it starts to die. And they don't last nearly as long as a regular battery. (You have to take it out and keep it in an air-tight container when not in use) Also, these batteries can be kind of hard to find. Most camera stores don't stock them anymore because nobody really uses anything that requires them anymore.
Sorry for all the bad news. But honestly, that meter wasn't that great to begin with.
If you want a good meter, you should be able to get a nice used one on eBay or perhaps even a camera store. Few people use them anymore because the instant feed-back from digital cameras makes them kinda pointless. My favorite (I still have mine but don't use it anymore, but I keep it because it was the first present my girlfriend ever bought for me!) is the Gossen Luna-Pro F. Out of the box it works as a reflected, incident and flash (accumulative) meter. And with an adapter it can work as a spot meter. They even made a ground-glass attachment for metering on view-cameras! Also, it is a "null" meter, which is supposed to be the most accurate type of needle meter. A lot more accurate than "match" needle.
