Sekonic View Meter L-206 User manual

SEKoNICVTIWIUIETER          L-206,
The SEKONIC VIEWMETER  L-206 is an exposure meter
with a viewfinder of the acceptanceangle of about 10",using
a highly sensitive CdS.'Ihe     exposure of the subject can be accurately measured
by just aiming at the subject through the viewfinder. A
built-in needleclamp eliminates any error in reading the scale.



Specificotio ns
Meosurlng  Syrtem        Highly sensitive,completely mois-
                          ture-proof CdS used; with  view-
                            finder; reflective,doubleconversion
                       system.
Meosurlng   Ronge       3  High  brightness . IiV  l0-18/low
                         brightness . EV 4-12 (ASA 100)
Acceptonce   Angle       3  10'
EV Scole                 3  L-20
ASA  Scole             B  I2-3,200
DIN  Scole                3  12-36
Aperture   Scole          3  F1-45
Shutter  Speed  Scole    3  8-1 12,000sec.
Movle  Scole                      r  8-64  fps
Meosurlng   Accurocy     3  +/, EV
Rectlflcotlon   Constont      :  K - 1 . 3
Dlmenslon                           r  8 5 x 5 8 x 2 5 m m
Welght                                       t  160g.
Others                                  r  With  needle clamp and battery
                       checker.

                         L

Flndcr-Reccptoclc Wlndow

Nccdle  Indlcotlon  Scolc
(Hlgh:  red  frgurc; Low:  Dlock Ogure)
Hlgh/Low  Polntcr  (rcd  mcrk)

       Botlery  Checklng  tlork
         Shutter Specd Scole
              Aperture  Scolc
         ASA Seillng  Knob
        ASA Indcx  Wlndow

                 EY Scolc

         DIN Indcx Wlndow

  Hlgh/[ow  Converrlon  Slgnol
  Hlgh/low  Converrlon  Knob

              Flnder Eyeplecc
     Dlol Index  (yellow  mork)
           Dlql Indlcotlon  Scole
                Swlrch  lutton
             lndlcotlon Needlc

        Bottery  Chombcr CoP





                                                                    Chort @



                        2

NAMESOI PARTS





Nomc Plotc on thc Bock
   Zcro Adlu*lng  Scrcw
    Ncck Strop Holdcr





                                                   I

BEFOREUSINGYOURMETER
   1 .  Z E R O A D J U S T M E N T
   Unless the needle indicates
   the zero position '*'hen light
    is  conlpletely  shut  off,  the
   meter  cannot  functiotr  cor-            'l'herefore,    rectly.          make sure
   of  this  before  yoll  use the
   meter,  that  is  to  s?y, hold
   the meter upright, press the
   Srvitch Button without  load-
   ing the mercury battery and
   see if the Needle rests at the
   zero posttlon.
     If not, slowly turn and adjust
   the Zero Adjusting Screrv on
   the back of the meter  rvith
   a screw driver, keeping the
   Su'itch Button pressed, so as                      Phoro @
    to bring  the Needle to  the
   zero position. photo 5  ,



                                                                                              .  t                                                                                          / ( ;                                                                              '''                                                    1l  Y'-c   2.  MERGURYBATTERYru        ' -le    '''!
6-- ['se a 1.3\'  ntercury  baftery.
/   t'nscre\r'the Ilattery Chamber'   Cap u'ith a coin and load the
   battery, keeping  its (D side
   outward as shown in photo,€,.
   While the battery lasts about
   4 years olt the average, it  is
   advisableto keep it out of the
   nreter in case the exposure
    nreter is tro[ used for a long
   period   irt order  to  prevent
 I  any damage which might be
1  caused by  corrosion  of  the
 r  batterv.

                                                      Phoro @      t,

8 .  B A T T E R YC H E C K T N G
If battery decays below  the
prescribed voltage,  the  ex-
posure meter cannot indicate                    'fherefore,the correct value.
check the battery voltage be-
fore you use th6  metei,  viz,
turn  the  Finder  Iiye-Piece
and set the "FJC" on  it with
the  Conversion  Index  (red
mark V) and push the Switch                         'l'hen,Button. rphoto @).                if
the Needle does not swing up
to the point marked with red
square on the meter scale it
means that  the  batterv  has
decayed and  to be replaced
with new one.
                                                     Phoro @





                               D

GETTINGREADY
1.  SETTINGTHE FILM 5 PEED(A5A DI N)
Turn the ASA ConversionKnob and set the ASA ror DINI
number to the silver line of the ASA  r DIN r Window.
The intermediatevaluesof the filnr speedscaleare as shown
in chart O.


        l'2          2ir          5tt              lrli            l(l(r            lttl         i{11}      16(){)        l'){lrl
ASA

 DtN




                                                          Chort O
2.  AIMING AT TO-IESUBJECT
Aim the meter at main part of
your subject looking through
the viewfinder rphoto  r€ir.
The  light acceptance angle
of L-206 is about 10' and  it
covers exactly the same field
you can look in the view-
finder. As this angle is nar-
rower than that of a standard
lens of a  still camera, the
measuredarea is a part of the
photographedarea in case a
standard lens is used.  So,
in actual photography, it  is
necessaryto first decide main
part  of  a  subject  to  be
measured.
                                                                     Photo @

                      6

Ref. 1.  Acceptance angles and focal distancesof a lens.

         Focal Distance        Picture Angle

                  f- 50mm        46"
             100mm        24"
             135mm        19.
              200mnr        12"
             250mm        10"

Ref 2. Relation between angle of lens and I--206.
 lThe shadowedareas are the nreasuringranges of L-206t





  50mm lens.      100mm lens.     200mm200mm lens.lens.
 3.   i.:':i, ...' , . .,,;:,             Photogroph   inrlde  the  vicwflnder.
  First, set the  "ll"  or  "l-" on
 the Viewfinder Eye-Piecewith
 the red  triangle  V.  when
 you rneasLrrea bright subject,
 or a dark one, respectively.
 Press the Switch llutton, and
 the Indication Needle is freed
 fronr the needle clamp and
 the battery circuit is on.  At
  this tin-re,rvhen the Switch
 Flutton   is  pressed,  "blue
 color" you  see  inside  the        Switch on
 view-linder, disappears and
  this rtreansthat the indication              Blue
 n e e d l ei s u n h o o k e d , . p h o t o , s , , .
 After a nloment interval, re-          Swltch oi
                         7

lease the Switch  Button  and the "blue  color" appears again
inside the viewfinder.   Thus, the Needle  is clamped so that
you can read the Scale indicated  by  thg Needle.
However, note that  the "blue  color"  will  not appear inside
the viewfinder    if the Needle  stays beyond  the  scale  limit.
In such case, convert  to "H"  and press the Switch  Button
again  for measurement.
4.  DECIDTNGTHE EXPOSUR,E
The Needle Indication Scale consists of two rows of Expo-sure
index Numbdr, one printed in black under the scale from
o to to and th'e other printed  in red above the scale from
10 to 16. And there is a tiny Square-    Window in the upper
irght corner of the Scale Plhte. The Window shows red
co'ior if you set the Finder Eye-Piece at "H" but if you set
 it at "L" the red color disapPears.
So, this tells you that when tne-Eye-Pigceilt"t,  at "H"  in
ftre tigl-tt placb you have to read the Red Number as the
NeedlE indicates, and with the Eye-Pieceset at "L" read the
Black Number. The tiny window thus works as a reminder.'(H" itt cu."  of photo @, as the Fye-Piece is set at      the
Needle is indicating  f f  in red, instead of 5, and accordingly,
vou have to rotate and set the dial at 11 on the Exposure
index Numbers around the Dial.
e.g. See photo @: F8, IlI25 sec.: F16, 1/30 sec.
Intermediate values on the Dials: The Shutter Speed and
Aperture Cials have intermediate graduations, as shown in
the chart below.





                                             t$

                                                                           (fpr)

            Aperlurc                    Shutter  SPeed   Dlol     Chorr O

A S A :    I O O  N e e d l e :     l l   A  m o r k :           lndex   :   I  I
                                                             Phoro   (o;





As color fil1t has very'isslllaller latitucle in its sensitivity thart
lton<lchroltte film,  it    very difficult to reprgduce true lleau-
tifulpess 1;f cglor i1 the p|gtography,  if ygu make even a
slight error  itr detertnining the righ.t exposure.
-o?r."qu"lltly,    it  is a cgmritoli practice irt colgr photography
tg make the bright part of the subject the basis ft;r exposure





or  reflectrlr.


                                              I

Photo  (t'l

I t    i s  ; r t l r i s : r l l l t ' l o r   t l r c   t l t t '   l ) : u ' t r i r i t  l l l r o t o r - t t ' i t l l l rt _l rvz r t v o u   l { o
t ) t , i u ' t l r e s t t l r j r . ' r ' st ( )  t l r i t t  \ ' o r . t ( ' i u l  l o o l i , o t t l v  i t t   t l r e r r r : r i r r ; l i r r L
o l '  t l r e s r r l , r j c c t t l r r o u g l r   r  i c u  l i r r r l e r i r r r c l I l r e : r s L l r ei t s c x l x ) s L l l ' c
i t c c L l r a t c l \ ' ( ' r t ' l t t < l i r r g i r t l l u t ' n c t : o l '   l i g l r t    l t - o t t t  i t s s L l r r ' o u r r c l i r r g
s r t c h  : I S s l i r ' - l i g l r t   i r r r < l r - t ' l l t ' t 'ito n   i t r o t t t t r l  t l t t ' s u l r j r - r c t .

In case it  is difficult to take a direct measurement of the
subject, you may measure a standard reflector, or your own
hand from a distance of about 30 crn by keeping  it  in the
same light condition.
When taking a photograph of an extensive landscape or
distant mountains,reducethe measuredexposureby one half,
so that a dark part of the subject become clearer and the
contrast on the subject surface is lowered, under the influence
of dispersedlight.
e.g.  In case of Fl1 and 11250sec., Fl1 and 1/500sec.
       will be the proper exposure.(l1250xI12:1/500 sec.)
SNAPSHOTS
As the subject is usually in motion in snapshots,take meas-
urement at the camera position in the same manner as in
landscape photography. When you cannot approach the
subject, substitutive measurement is a good method. You
can measureby aiming at another object which has a similar
color tone to the subject.
In case of the substitutive measurement,be sure to take the
measurement under the same light condition as that of the
subject. When you snap a figure in a place full of diffused
reflections such as on the sea shore or in the snow, etc., take
measurementsby aiming  at the subject from the camera
position and open the measured aperture by one-half stop.
For example, when the exposure is F LL, 11250sec., make it
the intermediate aperture between F 11 and F8, and 11250
sec. This is to compensatefor stronger light which is caused
by the diffused reflection fron  snow or water surrounding
the subject.

MEASURING IN COUNTERLIGI{T
There are three main exposure measuring methods.
A To make the subject silhouetted in counterlight.
Measure a brighter background and take a photograph com-
plying with the indicated exposure. As the exposureconcurs
with a bright backfround light, the main subject is under-
exposed to become a black silhouette.
                        t2

B  To  photograph   the
 subject  in  counterlight. 'lake       a  measurement,
aiming at a dark part  of
the subject or keeping a
standard reflector in the
same light  condition  as
that of the subject.   It  is
necessary in this case to               q   *i"J
take care never to let the         r   L       -   , t  r r .      I  r r ,
background light  r count-   Normolly  oimed   ot     Silhouetted
erlight r  enter  into  the                                  Photo @
finder of your meter.
C To  photograph  both
the subject and the back-
ground  in  counterlight.
Take two  reading,  first
aiming at a dark part  of
the subject and  then  a
bright  part  of the back-
ground.
Shoot   at   the    inter-
mediate value  of  these   Bockground   ovoi.Grposed
two readings.  l{owever,
in  case  the  exposure
difference  is more  than
I :6  ratio  between  the
subject and  the  back-
ground,   it  is difficult  to
take  a  photograph   of
lxrth objectives.



                                Borh  photogrophed            Photo Ct


                    13

A/TEASURINGAT AN EXTREMELYDARK PLACE
When  it is too dark to measurethe exposureof your subject,
then, take the reading of the exposureof light source itself
        'subject            and increase the exposure thus obtained byfor the
ten times, for example, when F4, li 2 sec., is . obtained from
the light source a proper exposure for the subjectwould be
F4 5 sec.
M O V I E
The measurementprocess is completely the same as still
cameras. After setting to the dial index, read the aperture
scale against the filming speed,frames per secound,you use.
In case of 8 mm cine camera, the standard filming speedis
16 fps (approx. U35 sec.)
for   the  conventional
double-width films and
18fps for the Single 8 and
Super 8  films, but the
differencebetween them
is negligible. There are
filming speedsof 8, 16 ror                     o
18t, 24, 32, and 64 fps.
                                                  Phoro @

E X P O S U R E V A L U E  ( E V )
In case your camera is equipped with the  It.V. or L.V. scale
on the shutter, take the reading of the exposure value which
appears in the window marked I1V on the dial of tne meter.
Other use of the meter such as setting  of the  dial, reading
of the needle etc. is exactly same as described in  the  pre-
ceeding pages.


                      L4

EXPOSUREWIIEN USING A FITTER
    As the L-206 has no filter multiple scale, multiply the meas-
    ured exposure by the  filter  multiple.  For example, when
    using filter other than U.V. on your camera do not forget
     to multiply the exposureobtained by the meter, in accordance
     with the filter factor.



*





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*
    PRECAUTIONSFOR PRESERVATION
    C Do not leave the meter in a damp and/or hot place for
       a long time.
   @ Protect it from shock.
   @ When not using it for a long time, take the meter out
         of the case and preserve it  in a box with moisture-proof
        material. Keep the mercury battery out of the meter.

                        15