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![]() Maker: Dorn Model: Dornlei (also Photrix in the USA) Circa: 1937 Cell type: Selenium Measure type: reflecting/averaging |
I was looking through an old copy of Minicam Photography magazine and came across an ad for a Photrix meter that I did not recognize. I have a Photrix S.S. meter, which was actually a rebranded HIckok meter. I also have an ad for a Photrix Model A, which was a desktop type that appears to be the same as a Photovolt 200. This advertisement was a new (to me) meter entirely.
This is a small meter; not quite as wide as a Weston Master IV or V and about 2/3rds the length. Mine came in a leather never-ready case that's still in decent shape. All of the Dorns seem to have a unique visual design and this Dornlei is a good example: the meter face is set at a bias across the the meter case, even though the cell is placed across the flat side of the front of the meter. I'm not sure why they did it: it might make the face a little larger and easier to read, but it's a bit counter-intuitive to hold the meter pointing pointing at the subject and read the face without turning the meter to straighten out the face. It seems to me that it would cause a lot of incorrect readings as the cell would be unintentionally twisted off-target. How to use it — I haven't figured it out yet, and I like to think I am good at this. There is no calculator dial nor adjustable rule. There are two film speed rows, (American, I presume) Scheiner and DIN; below that are the apertures and shutter speeds. The needle moves from left to right as it sees more light, which accounts for the shutter speed scale. How you equate that to an ƒ/number and film speed stumps me. I can't think of another meter that's designed this way. Purchased for $10 on eBay paired with yet another Weston Master V. I don't know how many Vs I have; I'm afraid to count. |