Pracktica MTL 3

twhite87

twhite87

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Tim
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Anybody know much about these cameras? I have just acquired one to use for some film photography, but when I press the exposure meter button I can only ever get the needle to sit just under the 'O' mark. The needle is sitting on the bottom when in a dimly lit area (As expected), but it will never go above the 'O' even when at 1600 ASA with 1" SS at f2.8 (even when metering from the sky or a light bulb). Does it matter that I haven't actually loaded any film yet? It should still meter correctly yes? If anybody know how I can fix this it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Try a fresh battery (and ensure that the battery compartment is completely clean and free from residue from previous exploded batteries - white vinegar and a q-tip does the trick). To be honest, other than that, i'd not bother investing any more time and energy in repairing it, just shoot it with an external lightmeter.
 
doesnt the meter on these only engage when you stop the lens down?
 
As above. If you can't it working properly, and you don't have a separate light meter, just use Sunny 16 (Sunny 11 might be better in the UK). B & W and colour negative film usually have quite a bit of latitude, and it's only colour reversal that's critical.

I did this all the time when I was a kid, back in the 60s, and money was tight. I can still do it quite well, and check myself occasionally by estimating the exposure and comparing it with my DSLR/F2's meter.
 
Mr Bump said:
doesnt the meter on these only engage when you stop the lens down?
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Indeed it does...and the meter can become sticky with non use and of course inaccurate due to age.
 
There is a very good "app" available on android which I have installed on my moby: "beeCam lightmeter." I have tested this against the DSLR and it is accurate.
 
huxleypiggles said:
There is a very good "app" available on android which I have installed on my moby: "beeCam lightmeter." I have tested this against the DSLR and it is accurate.
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Any chance you know an IOS version?
 
Seconic 308 :-)
 
Practical mtl3 was my first ever camera

I seem to recall that you can no longer get the right batteries for them so is it po silence that this could be causing themail problem?
 
Carl Hall said:
This is my app, but I use the free version. I'm not sure what the paid version has over the free one but it does what I need!

Here's a screenshot of me using it on my mug at work lol

View attachment 34998

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/mylightmeter-free/id578970826?mt=8
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I use the same app on Android. I paid for it because the paid version retains the ISO setting, the free one resets to 100 when you close the app. It probably has other benefits but that's the one which swung it for me.

I used it for about half the rolls of my OCOLOF project (the second half) and while there might be a touch of overexposure on the resulting images compared to the ones metered on a Weston V, it's nothing that a tweak in LR couldn't resolve.
 
I bought a smartphone so I could use it as a light meter, tried a couple of the apps and none of them work! Apparently the Galaxy S3 Mini lacks a certain something that's needed. :( Now if I'd paid monthly like everyone else I would be due an upgrade real soon, but since it was hard cash and the thing still appears mint, it's too hard to justify!
 
ChrisR said:
I bought a smartphone so I could use it as a light meter...... Apparently the Galaxy S3 Mini......
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Isn't that a small bar of chocolate?
 
ChrisR said:
I bought a smartphone so I could use it as a light meter, tried a couple of the apps and none of them work! Apparently the Galaxy S3 Mini lacks a certain something that's needed. :( Now if I'd paid monthly like everyone else I would be due an upgrade real soon, but since it was hard cash and the thing still appears mint, it's too hard to justify!
Click to expand...

Not all phones return the required exposure information when the app requests it, unfortunately. Some of them just return junk/dummy values because the manufacturer was too lazy to write the function call.
 
stevelmx5 said:
I always use "Light Meter Free" and I've never had any issues exposing for slide film so that's good enough for me :0)

View attachment 34789
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I've got this app now. I was getting some funny values with my Sekonic 308S, doesn't match up to what the app gives me.
 
The app is ok, slightly underexposing, the sekonic gives me bad readings from available light, but is great when I use it with my studio set up.
 
Weird? I've never used a Sekonic but I take it the batteries are good? Studio lighting will give brighter readings so may be easier to record for the meter with low batteries?
 
I think I just need to do some more tests and thing
 
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