Harl-Man

Seeking UHH advice.
I have an Olympus 35RC rangefinder camera I purchased at the Army PX back in 1973 and I learned much about photography from using this camera.
But the internal light meter has died.
I don’t have any idea what it would cost to repair or if anyone would repair it.
Have any of you experience and thoughts about the Voigtlander VC Meter II that mounts on a camera hot shoe?
Do any of you know of any similar types of hot shoe mount light meters.
Thank you in advance for your responses.
Harley Bowman

Bob Mevis Loc: Plymouth, Indiana

I would think the voightlander would be reliable.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

The voigtlander is a very good meter but pricey - I had the version I. All the other shoe mount meters that I know of are older selenium cells of dubious accuracy.
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Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

Years ago I had a hot-shoe mount Vivitar light meter, and used it back when I shot with a variety of meter-less rangefinder cameras. (Actually, I'm pretty sure I still have it in a box around here, and if you'd like it, you can have it.) It was small, compact, and every bit as accurate (for an averaging meter with what may have had a 40-50 degree field of 'view') as compared to any of my metered SLRs of the time, and was powered by a single and easily obtainable S76 battery (and was thus not selenium). Its been years, but I doubt I paid more than $8-10 for it. No clue about this Voightlander meter you asked about, but if its over $25, I'd suggest looking around for other options.

The meter in your Oly 35RC is indeed 'repairable' though. There are probably a dozen retired electronics, engineering, or just plain tinker-er folks here on UHH that could do the fix in fifteen or twenty minutes.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I've used one of these Sekonic meters. I purchased this from an on-line antique store. It works reasonably well on my Leica IIIf and Retina IIa.
--Bob

(Download)

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

ALL these meters were very good. Were. In their day. @ 50 years ago.
They are selenium cell meters. They get de sensitized when exposed too much.
AND when exposed to a little humidity, the tiny little copper contacts corrode.
I also had one like rmalars- hooked to the (cold) hot shoe: dialing the meter adjusted the exposure.
Check eBay for "selenium cell", "shoe light meter", etc

Send this guy a tenner:
https://www.cameramanuals.org/olympus_pdf/olympus_35_rc.pdf

BebuLamar

Don't mean to be off topic but can you use a handheld meter instead. There are good handheld meters both new and used that are less expensive.
Personally I have a couple of the 35RC's too and the meter does work on them but not accurate so I simply guess the exposure.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Frankly, negative film doesn’t need completely accurate metering. I am sure this will do the job, but I’m not sure you need it.

I did have one - I don’t remember the brand - it worked OK as long as I had it, but it fell off in a field once, and I didn’t notice before I got back to the car.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

The meter pictured by the OP, mounts on the hot shoe but, of course, there is no integration with the camera's exposure control system. In its day the accessory shoe was strictly a mounting convenience and usually did not even accommodate flash synchronization. A meter in that location will not necessarily sample light from the right place on a subject or scene.

The Voigtlander meter is cute and most likely somewhat accurate if handheld and used properly.

I can't see any real practical use for a reflected light meter in that mounting configuration. The recommended technique of using a reflected light meter is to read off an 18% gray card, or some other substitute middle tonal zone in the subject or scene. If you are going to invest in a handheld meter there are many reflected light, incident light, spot meter types and combinations whereby you can select the place where you are going to sample the light, independent form the camera in a more convenient way. An incident light reading is made from the subject position with the light collector aimed toward the camera. In all cases, it is more practical to be able to position the meter, place it at the right distance and position for a reflected reading or aim it correctly for an incident light reading. Handheld spot meters are always separate for the camera.

Currently made meters usually have digital readouts as opposed to analog meter movements were inaccuracies in needle defection can be problematic as well a viewing parallax.

Check out the Sekonic line on the new market or a good Minolta model on the used market.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

go for it

radiojohn

If you trade convenience for better features, a hand held meter that also doe incident light readings maybe worth the trouble.

pendennis

Not to rain too hard on your parade, but you can replace your Olympus 35 RC with a decent used one for far less than the $225 price tag for the meter @ B&H.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

There aren't a lot of those hot shoe mount meters still being made. $225 is a pretty steep price for one, but it will emulate a camera's built-in meter's function, if that's what you want.

All meters of this type measure reflected light... they measure what's bouncing off the subject and back toward you. So long as the scene in front of the meter is "average" tonality, it will give an accurate reading. But if the scene leans toward one extreme or another, you need to make some adjustments to compensate because the meter itself has no idea what it's "looking at". For example, if you point it toward a black wall, it's going to give you a reading that will cause over-exposure. If, on the other hand, you point it toward a white wall, it will want to under-expose. In other words when things you're photographing are average tonalities, the meter will give you settings to photograph it "average". Or, when the scene and subject are exceptionally dark tonality, a reflective meter will tell you how to make it appear "average". And when the scene is overly light tones, the meter will guide you to make it "average". You have to mentally adjust for these "metering errors", inherent to any reflective metering system.

An alternative is an incident meter. This type of meter instead measures the strength of the light falling onto the subject, guiding your exposure settings based on that... instead of what's reflected off of and what's influenced by the tonality of the subject and it's surroundings.

Incident meters have to be pointed at the light source, rather than at the subject. So they are separate, handheld meters. Personally I've got several of them... a recent Sekonic L358 is the primary one I use and carry whenever I'm out shooting. This works both as an incident meter with ambient light and can be used to measure flash (which many reflective meters cannot). The Sekonic L358 is no longer made (only avail. used), but the L308 is very similar. The only difference is that the L358 can be fitted with different radio modules to work with wireless flash and studio strobe triggers, such as Radiopopper and Pocket Wizard... The L308 cannot be fitted with radio triggers.

Sekonic L308: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1390250-REG/sekonic_401_305_l_308x_u_flashmate_light_meter.html

Another hand-held, incident meter I used for many years is a Sekonic very similar to the modern L398. It's a beautifully made, "old school", analog type meter. One neat thing about it is that it doesn't require any batteries. It uses a photocell that generates it's own small electrical charge when light strikes it (I don't think it's selenium, though it works similarly). The one I have is 30 or 40 years old now and is still perfectly accurate. The L398 is built like a tank and really a thing of beauty compared to the modern plastic/digital readout. Works the same as other incident meters taking ambient light reading, but the L398 cannot be used to measure flash. I still carry mine sometimes when I'm not planning to use flash.

Sekonic L398: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/435535-REG/Sekonic_401_399_L_398A_Studio_Deluxe_III.html

Many of these incident meters also can be used as reflective meters, if wanted, often by swapping out a different sensor diffuser or sliding a different one into place. On the other hand, I don't think there's any way reflective meters can be used as incident meters.

These Sekonic and some other similar meters cost the same or a bit less than that less versatile, reflective hot shoe mount meter you're considering. (I have several of those, too, in my vintage camera collection. Some still work, some don't. I paid far less for them than the price for that new one!)

Blair Shaw Jr Loc: Dunnellon,Florida

Fascinating....love the history of these items. The Voigtlander looks capable of getting it done.

Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

The OP could be looking for a meter that fits the age of the camera.
I have some old kinda sorta working meters only because I have a camera that fits.
Kiev 60, Pentacon 6, a couple Iskras and a Zenit or 2, etc- all get a Leningrad meter.
Some have a range of accuracy- and some of those can be adjusted,