James's Light Meter Collection: Weston Master V
Weston Master V meter England
Maker: Weston Electrical Instrument
Model: Master V (Model 748)
Circa: 1964 - 1972
Price (new): $35
Cell type: Selenium
Measure type: Reflecting/Averaging (3D incident available as accessory)

click for larger imageThe last of the official Weston Master series, at least in the US. When the parent company shut Weston's US operations down around 1972, the Master V went overseas. The english subsidiary, Sangamo-Weston, tweaked it and released it as the Euro-Master. When they went under, another company acquired the rights and made the Euro-Master II for awhile.

A japanese company updated the Master V and released it as the Master 6 . Purists consider it a bastard child of the line.

Anyway, the Master V was the last of the major revisions of this famous make, and one in good working order is still prized today. But at the time, it was the end of the era. Kind of like the Contax RTS III SLR, an old-school beauty in an age of electronic, autofocus marvels, this was the last great hurrah of the selenium cell era. CdS cells had taken the market by storm only a few years earlier, and even though many people pointed out its various shortcomings, CdS rapidly took over.

Personally, this is my least favorite of the modern Masters because I hate the calculator dial (I'm not too thrilled with the pointer lock button either). I think the Master III and IV were both easier to read and use. This one looks too much like a roulette wheel.

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