I have a antique light meter for my old argus c3 it is an L3 and it is
not working some one said it has a photo electric cell that dose
not use a battery is there any where that I can buy this
cell??????????? I thought it had a cell that used a battery and the
battery went bad but i'm not sure now.......

"Vic Zarka" <vnz (AT) webtv (DOT) net> wrote

Vic, I did a quick search and it appears that most of the C3 meters are non
functional. The Selenium cells themselves do not particularly deteriorate,
but the weak link is the moving parts of the meter itself, including the
winding - possibly you may be able to have it repaired, or purchase a
functioning unit on eBay. Incredibly, there is one vendor who sells these
meters, new in the box, for $45. This is more than the entire camera is
selling for on eBay.
http://gallery.bcentral.com/GID20255...3-Cameras.aspx

The Argus C3 still has quite a following, and if you are interested in
following up on this, join some of the discussion groups dedicated to this
particular camera. Are some links that may be interesting to you:
http://www.theothermartintaylor.com/...as/000009.html
http://arguscg.tripod.com/
--

Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com/forum/

uses a selenium solar cell. no battery needed. won't wear out or dry
up. if it doesn't work, then look on e-bay for a replacement.

vnz (AT) webtv (DOT) net (Vic Zarka) wrote:

<catfish (AT) invalid (DOT) address.com> wrote

This is a dcamera group so I assume we are talking about digital cameras.

But, I have an old Argus C3 film camera and a General Electric light meter
that still works and does not need batteries. I almost never use or need
the light meter with any of the 5 digital cameras I own.

Using my Nikon D200 SLR camera, set at "Auto," I sometimes takes a photo
that looks under exposed in low light situations, but I find such low light
shots are editable with PhotoImpact, or Photoshop. If I up the ISO in the
camera to a higher setting to take the subject in poor light, the color and
light is sometimes too altered and harder to correct with software. So, I
have learned by trial an error what settings work best in various
situations..

If you are planning to take pictures with a digital camera outdoors, I would
shoot lots of photos without a light meter for a while to see if you need
the light meter that much. Get a portable storage viewer such as an Epson
P-2000, P-3000, etc. and you will never have to worry about taking too many
photos of the same subject even when you are traveling.

RCN