Photographic accessories maker Keks has unveiled a new external light meter which is inspired by the classic Leica Meter MR.
Keks said the meter, called the M Meter, is designed to work with Leica M-mount cameras which lack a light meter, and couples with those camera’s shutter dial.
“The M-meter inherited the body style and shutter speed coupling design from the Leica MR-meter, the coupling design saves you any need to transfer shutter speeds from meter reading to camera.,” Kek said.
The meter has a digital OLED screen which shows suggested exposure settings, and also features exposure compensation.
Instead of using button cell batteries, the meter is powered by a rechargeable USB-C battery which provides more than 10 hours of continuous use off a single charge. Keks added the battery is easily replaceable in case of failure.
The Keks website says the meter has the following parameters:
- F stops from f.1.0 to f/128
- Shutter speeds from 30 seconds to 1/1000
- ISO from 6 to 3200
The meter has a more restricted range of shutter speeds than other Keks meters because it is specifically designed to work with Leica M-mount rangefinders from the 1950s and 60s, which only had a fastest shutter speed of 1/1000.
The meter is available in satin chrome, black chrome and black paint, and Keks says the black paint version is made from solid brass, with the paint designed to wear away to leave visible “brassing”.
The meter comes with a 24-month warranty and costs between $99 and $119 depending on the finish. This early bird special lasts until 1 May, with orders being sent out later that month.
Keks, which is based in Hong Kong, has produced a number of external meters for film cameras over the last years, including the recently released KM02, an improved version of the earlier KM01C.
It has also branched out into other accessories, including a small external flashgun, the KF01, which is inspired by the TLA140 flashguns made for Contax G rangefinders.
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
I’m doing everything I can to promote film photography in the 21st Century, and help it survive and thrive. If you want to write something for Kosmo Foto, please drop me a line at foto.dowling@gmail.com.
