CalcuLite XP meter - still the low light leader?

[CasperMarly]

Have and use Calculite XP light meters. They can meter under moonlight. I think the ads said "under a quarter moon" and when I got mine I tried it. It actually worked though I still had to deal with recipocity for the film I was using.

Are there other meters that are as sensitive in low light conditions?

Not going to get one, just interested. The XP meters work fine and the accessories allow ground glass exposure measuring which helps a lot with close work using the View Camera.

 

[Dan Fromm]

How did you calibrate y'r XP for direct off the gg reading?

 

[CasperMarly]

How did you calibrate y'r XP for direct off the gg reading?

Was pretty simple.
I took a reading direcly over the camera at a grey card and then off the ground glass. Nothing changed in lighting or focus. Counted the difference in exposure and applied that for the photos.
Did it a few times in sun, shade and some bounce lighting areas and it held true.
Got lucky on eBay some time ago and got a full set of the probes and a meter for almost nothing. Nice wooden case and everything.
The meters are small and lightweight and have been working now for decades.

 

[Anon Ymous]

The Gossen Lunasix 3 can meter down to EV -5. That's crescent moon.

 

[CasperMarly]

The book on the XP says EV minus 7.
At the time it was the lowest light reading of a commercial product. Don't know if anything since that reads lower.

 

[AgX]

The manufacturers must got something very wrong.


Sensitivity:

Calculite XP : EV-7 resp. 0.0015fc

Gossen Profisix : EV-4 resp. 0.0016 fc

Thus concerning the one unit they got identical sensitivity, concerning the other they are 3 stops off !




(The data sheet for Gossen says 0.17lux and I used the lux/fc conversion factor of 10.76)

 

[AgX]

I very much think that someone at Calcu-Light mixed up:

"Sensitivity in EV" with "min. EV value on scale"



And you guys got fooled by that...


By the way, the min. EV value on scale for the Profisix is -8

 

[AgX]

The Gossen Lunasix 3 can meter down to EV -5. That's crescent moon.

I got the Lunasix at hand, which is basically the same meter. And that got a sensitivity of EV-4.

Actually do not even know a meter that goes below EV-4. But to establish that is the topic of this thread.

 

[Arvee]

According to an online chart: EV -7 = .0015fc where EV-4 = .016fc. Perhaps Gossen missed the boat.

 

[Steve Goldstein]

The manufacturers must got something very wrong.


Sensitivity:

Calculite XP : EV-7 resp. 0.0015fc

Gossen Profisix : EV-4 resp. 0.0016 fc

Thus concerning the one unit they got identical sensitivity, concerning the other they are 3 stops off !

(The data sheet for Gossen says 0.17lux and I used the lux/fc conversion factor of 10.76)

I think you got the decimal point wrong. 0.17/10.76 = 0.0158 fc, rounding to 0.016. The Calculite is 10 times more sensitive at 0.0015.

 

[AgX]

I stand corrected:

I calculated right, but then made a typo, and did not realize this, though for the safety I even put the figures in the post!

Gossen Profisix : EV-4 resp. 0.016 fc




(This is a typical case of "proving that something cannot be true" which then results in such typos that fit ones expectations...)

 

[AgX]

Yes, the figures for the Calcu-Light XP then are right.

(Though the error about mixing up the EV values I hinted at is common and I repeatedly saw it at catalogs.)


What really puzzles me is the extreme high sensitivity. I did not know this meter up to now, it does not show up in my archive (in contrast to other Calcu meters) and even if I overlooked it in some catalog or so, I sure would not have overlooked a statement of such high sensitivity. I guess I shall have to look into my catalogs again...

 

[chriscrawfordphoto]

Sekonic L-858 goes to ev -5 in incident mode, which is better than the Gossen meters. In 1 degree spot mode, the Sekonic goes to ev -1, which is the best low light sensitivity of any one degree spotmeter. Unfortunately, it has an awful touch screen display. I have the older Sekonic L-758DR and I love it. The 858 has a lot better lowlight capability, but I find the touchscreen to be slow and hard to use in the field.

 

[Anon Ymous]

I got the Lunasix at hand, which is basically the same meter. And that got a sensitivity of EV-4.

Actually do not even know a meter that goes below EV-4. But to establish that is the topic of this thread.

Correct, it goes down to -4, not -5.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Have and use Calculite XP light meters. They can meter under moonlight. I think the ads said "under a quarter moon" and when I got mine I tried it. It actually worked though I still had to deal with recipocity for the film I was using.

Are there other meters that are as sensitive in low light conditions?

Not going to get one, just interested. The XP meters work fine and the accessories allow ground glass exposure measuring which helps a lot with close work using the View Camera.

the GossenLuna-Star F2 meters meastres below EV0.

 

[AgX]

I am still puzzled...

I checked out my archive and looked through all the catalogs and stuff, and in the early 90's a sensitivity of EV-4 by far was extreme.

But I also found one dubblesided photocopy out of some magazin or catalog, I dated as 1993. And it contains (without importer or manufacturer stated) an ad for Calcu flashes.
For the models Flash S, Flash II, Light X and Light XP.
The title says "Digital Precision for an utmost advantageous Price"
There are hints at metering in the dark, but no wording of any kind that I would expect for a meter that is by one magnitude more sensitive than even the two or three most extremely sensitive competitors.
That likely was the reason that I read what was given at the small-letters section not as sensitivity but as min. value on scale, as an error of the translator.


I filed that Calcu photocopy at the far back of my lightmeter register where the obscure or no-name ones sit. And funny enough just the next filed item is a page out of the catalog of a german dealer/importer of obscure stuff who got the sensitivity of the Polaris meter wrong by 5 stops!
Just the usual error concerning what I explained above.



Thus can you confirm that the Calcu Light XP actually is that much more sensitive as stated?
(Best tested against competitors.)

 

[AgX]

I went down to the bottom of my archive and checked everything including wholesaler catalogs, except for some magazines, but these are few anyway: No trace. I also have been a visitor to Photokina in those years, putting my head into the most tiny booth.

If that meter would really be as great as it seems now (at least concerning sensitivity), why did it not come to my attention as it should? (I hope this does not come over as arrogant.)
Was is well known in the USA?

Furthermore, to those who used it: Was it in practice usefull at the lowest levels of intensity? I mean here the Schwazschild-factor already comes into play and such metering likely only makes sense after testing each film type for this, unless data is given.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I went down to the bottom of my archive and checked everything including wholesaler catalogs, except for some magazines, but these are few anyway: No trace. I also have been a visitor to Photokina in those years, putting my head into the most tiny booth.

If that meter would really be as great as it seems now (at least concerning sensitivity), why did it not come to my attention as it should? (I hope this does not come over as arrogant.)
Was is well known in the USA?

Furthermore, to those who used it: Was it in practice usefull at the lowest levels of intensity? I mean here the Schwazschild-factor already comes into play and such metering likely only makes sense after testing each film type for this, unless data is given.

the most sensitive meter I own is the RhDesigns darkroom meter on my Timer2 but I have no idea how to use it as an image-taking exposuremeter. it reads light coming through cracks in a darkened room at night!

 

[AgX]

I am still puzzled...


Thus can you confirm that the Calcu Light XP actually is that much more sensitive as stated?
(Best tested against competitors.)

So the Calculite XP is presented here the most senstive lightmeter there was, but nobody actually can confirm this.

 

[CasperMarly]

The meters were never really popular. No sure why. First time I saw one was working at a Camera store & the rep came in, had us gather around and then threw the meter against a wall about 12 feet away. Told us "we'll guarantee it 100%" to be working right. Solid State was a big thing at that time.
The X was not as sensitive as the XP. Both worked well. Have had both and ended up keeping the XP, mainly for its lower light sensitivity.

 

[AgX]

Was it a US-made product?

 

[CasperMarly]

Was it a US-made product?

Designed and manufactured in USA
Quantum Instruments, Inc.
Garden City, NY 11530

 

[irivlin]

Have and use Calculite XP light meters. They can meter under moonlight. I think the ads said "under a quarter moon" and when I got mine I tried it. It actually worked though I still had to deal with recipocity for the film I was using.

Are there other meters that are as sensitive in low light conditions?

Not going to get one, just interested. The XP meters work fine and the accessories allow ground glass exposure measuring which helps a lot with close work using the View Camera.

The Gossen Luna Pro SBC (silicon blue cell) performs about the same as a Lunasix 3. I've recently bought a Calculight XP and I'll be doing some comparison tests. As another member has mentioned, low light levels run into problems with reciprocity. I have a couple of Nikon FE cameras and in the darkest of nights (set to automatic) the cameras will give exposures of a number of minutes (sic). The results are more often good than bad.
I find FP4 suffers from reciprocity issues less than Tri-X or Ilford HP5. Kodak T-Max 3200 does surprisingly well at low light levels, rated at approx 1000 asa. The Nikon F2as has very good performance in low light. There are many inexpensive Lux meters that do well, if you can be bothered dealing FC to EV.

 

[ic-racer]

Anyone have a picture. Google image search does not show an example.

 

[MattKing]

Of the meter?