Nick Norton Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 I have a couple more questions about my eclair acl. Where is the low battery indicator? I'm worried this might be broken, and i don't want to completely drain my battery which would damage it. How does the exposure indicator function? I was told my camera had some sort of internal light meter but i have no idea where it is displayed or how it works. Thank you for your patience- nicholas ps. shot my first roll last night, hope to have something to show you soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Ratner Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 Nick, you shot your first roll but don't know how the meter works? PLEASE tell me you used a handheld. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Norton Posted September 8, 2008 Author Share Posted September 8, 2008 Nick, you shot your first roll but don't know how the meter works? PLEASE tell me you used a handheld. My Spectra IV never leaves my side. ...literally. it is attached to my battery belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Belay Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 To reply to your two answers : There is no low battery indicator on the camera itself as it's a modular design with self-contained sub-parts. The low battery light is in fact the out-of-synch warning light on the motor, which basically tells you you don't have enough power left to run the motor up to speed. And the motor will stop pulling film way before the battery is so drained that it gets damaged, so no risk to go too low by simply running the camera. As for the light meter, Eclair opted for a deviation principle light-meter : it tells you that the light is changing by up to 3 stops up or below a given measured level, rather than telling you how much light actually comes in. So in practice it works like this : you point your camera at the subject and frame it as you want to shoot it (in the correct focal position in case of a zoom) and with the electrical circuit on (leds lit up in the viewfinder), you set the leds to the middle position with the dial on the base of the camera. This is your 'light measurement' and the lightmeter will then move if the light changes in your viewfinder, indicating a possible over- or under-exposure and allowing you to correct it with the diaphragm on the lens. This metering system was made with the idea that the camera would be used in uncontroled light situations (like news gathering and such) and that the operator needed a simple system to make sure the light variations would remain within an acceptable range (or else, be corrected manually). Of course, you still need an external light meter ('proper' kind) to tells you what your beginning f-stop should be. The camera's lightmeter is thus just a monitoring device while filming. So keep that Spectra by your side ! Best, B I have a couple more questions about my eclair acl. Where is the low battery indicator? I'm worried this might be broken, and i don't want to completely drain my battery which would damage it. How does the exposure indicator function? I was told my camera had some sort of internal light meter but i have no idea where it is displayed or how it works. Thank you for your patience- nicholas ps. shot my first roll last night, hope to have something to show you soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Belay Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Sorry, that should obviously have been : To answer your two questions... To reply to your two answers : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Norton Posted September 22, 2008 Author Share Posted September 22, 2008 Thanks a ton boris! -nicholas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Hinkle RIP Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 (edited) Nick, I don't know what type of battery you use but if it has a cigarette lighter charging plug, then you can use one of these to check it: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1502...ester_with.html I have one & it works fine, though honestly I don't really use it that much. Also, thanks Boris. I always wondered what the heck that meter was doing. Edited September 22, 2008 by Jason Hinkle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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