Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/11/04

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Subject: Dum Iovis Nodat
From: Marc James Small <msmall@roanoke.infi.net>
Date: Tue, 04 Nov 1997 09:55:10 -0500

Well, I FINALLY got a chance to just go take some pictures.  The ratty
kind, grit and dirt and real stuff.  Stuff I like to shoot.

Well, my M6 meter was spurlos versunkt, and badly so:  it was suggesting,
with 100 Delta on board (AND the film-speed dial correctly set!) that a
late afternoon outdoor scene would need 1/2" at f/1.4.  I knew that wasn't
right (hey, I may not be an Ansel Adams or Robert Capa, but even I can
figure out the unavoidable), so I sunny-16'd and finished up.

Took the film out and dug out my trusty IB.  Leica cheerfully advises that,
no matter how low the battery is, if it functions at all, it will give an
accurate reading.  Well, after a night of worry (HOW could I tell the folks
on LUG that my M6 was kaput after all of my praise of its toughness, just
in putting up with me?), I replaced the battery and, voila!, the customary
M6 meter is fully functional again.

The problem has been going on for some weeks, as the first shots on the
roll were taken a month ago and are grossly overexposed (even beyond my
usual skill at making a Bad Negative of a Great Scene).

The moral of this lengthy tale?  Trust not Mother Leica on everything and
use your common sense:  if the battery looks dead, it probably is, and
don't forget to balance common sense against the light meter's readings.

Oh, and shoot a mechanical camera:  the meter can die, but the camera keeps
on keeping on.

Marc


Marc James Small
Cha Robh Bas Fir, Gun Ghras Fir!
FAX:  +540/343-7315