Minolta Auto Meter IV F User manual

-
H
Hv
MINOLTN
O 1991 Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. under the Berne
ConventionandUniversal
Copyright
Convention
9222-8054-18 IDFAP
I ftinteC inJapan
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MINOLTN
AUTO
E tNsTRUcTtoN
MANUAL
[r.l
voorD'EMPLoI

The MinoltaAuto Meter lV F's versatile
operationwill help
simplify
yourmost
critical
applications.lt includes
suchbasics
as ambient,cord and non-cord
measuring
modes, average
calculation,
and memory
space
for two seperatereadings. In
addition,flashmeasurements
from 1/500
- 1 sec.,brightness
difference
calculation,
a wide film-speed
range,
and digital
as
well
as analog
displays
will
further
enable
you
to applytheAuto
Meter lV F to virtually
any exposure
or lighting
situation
you
encounter.You will
then be free
to concentratemore
fully
on
creativedetails.
Next, a word about this manual. lt is divided
into several
sections
to makeiteasierfor
youto learn
aboutthe meter
and
to find specificinformation
whenever
you needit. The first
two
Names of Parts and Displays and Preparations
shouldbe
read before you begin using the Auto Meter lV F. Basic
Operationthen
explainshow
to usethemeter
to make
ambient
and flash measurements.
The next section,
Special Func-
tions, describeshow to use the Auto Meter lV F's main
features.Finally,
Applications,
explainssome
uses
for
these
features
thatwill
enable
youto realize
thefull
potential
of your
AutoMeterlV
F.
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
NAMES
OF
PARTSAND
DISPLAYS .......
2
BODY 2
DATAPANEL
DISPLAYS... 6
PREPARATIONS 8
BATTERY. 9
Inserting .""' """' I
Low-PowerWarning. " 10
SETTING
FILMSPEED
... ......1
1
SELECTING
AMEASURINGMETHOD. ....12
Incident-LightReadings ""12
Reflected-Light
Readings " 14
BASIC
OPERATION
.. ...
1
6
MEASURING
AMBIENT
LIGHT ,,..17
With
a StillCamera' "'17
With
a Cine
Camera' "1I
MEASURINGFLASH
LIGHT ..22
Witha Sync Cord """'22
Without
a SyncCord "25
SPECIAL
FUNCTIONS. ......,28
MEMORY ...,29
AVERAGE... ......32
BRIGHTNESS
DIFFERENCE .......34
RE.CALIBRATION ....36
APPLICATIONS ...,,37
LIGHTING.RATIO
MEASUREM
ENTS
SCENE.CONTRAST
MEASUREMENTS ....41
USING
THEANALOGSCALE ......45
FILTER-FACTORCORRECTION ..47
ILLUMINANCE
MEASUREMENTS ......49
ACCESSORTES ......51
CARE
AND
STORAGE... .....54
SPECIFICATIONS ..56
II

1.Power
button
turns
power
onandoff;clears
memory
2. Averaging
button
displaysaverage
oftwostored
readings;
activatesbrightness
d
ifference
3.Memorybutton
storesdisplayed
reading
inmemory
4. Data
panel
5. ISO button
selects
ISOfor
adjustment
with
up/downcontrol
6.Display-selectorbutton
changes
displayunitsbetween
flnumber
and
EV
7.Modebutton
changes
measuringmode
8.Sync
terminal
outlet
for
synccord
9. Receptormounting
index
10.
Sphericaldiffuser
11.Diffusermounting
index
12. Accessory-receptor
jack
outlet
for
accessory
receptor
2

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3.Measuring-level
adjustmentscrew
adjusts
meter
calibration
14.
Batterychamber
15.Measuringbutton
16.
Up/Down
control
adjusts
shutterspeed
andISO
values
17.Strapeyelet

DATA
PANEL
DISPLAYS
39
1.
Analogscale
displays
measured
data
andmemorydata
simultaneously
in
0.5
EV
(1/2-stop)
increments
2.Shutter-speed/Fram
ing-rate
display
displays
current
shutter
speed
or
framing
rate
Display
units:
TIME: fractions
ofseconds
TIM
E
s: whole
seconds
TIME
m: minutes
5 CINE: frames
Per
second
6 3.
Film-speed
display
displays
ISO
in1/3-stop
increments
.
7 4.
Measuring-mode
indicators
5.Memory
indicators
indicate
when
one
or
twodata
arestored
inmemory
6.
Average
indicator
appears
when average
of data or brightness
difference
is
d
isplayed
7.
Digitaldisplay
displays
f/numbers,
EV, or brightness
difference
in 0.1 EV
(1
/1
O-stop)
increments
8.
Display-unit
indicator
indicates
whethe
r tlnumber or EV is shown in the digital
d
isp
lay
9.
Ove
r-lUnder-range
indicators
indicate
when a reading
is over/under
the meter'sdisplay
rangeorsensitivity
range
8
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BATTERY
PREPARATIONS
The Auto Meter lV F is powered
by
alkaline-manganese,
carbon-zinc,
or
battery.
Installing
1.Remove
the
battery-chamber
cover by sliding
it in the
direction indicated bv the
arrow.
2. Insertthe battery
with the
plus(+)
and minus
(-)
ends
oriented according to the
d
iagram in the batte
ry
chamber.
3. Replace the battery-chamb
er
cover.
a single
AA-size,1.5v
1
.2v nickel-cadmium
L,

After
you install
thebattery,
all
of the meter's displays and
indicatorswill light for a few
seconds,afterwhichthey will
be replaced by the display
shownatright.
Auto PowerOff
To conserve
power,the Auto Meter lV F's displayautomatically
switchesoffifyoudo notmake another
reading
or press anybutton
for 10minutes.
To restore
the
display,
press
thepower button.Data
inmemory
and
thereadingwill
beerased.
Low-Battery
Warning
SETTING
THEFILM
SPEED
The Auto MeterlV F's film speed
rangeis ISO 3
1/3-stop
increments. 8000
in
When the battery's power
becomes
low, the data panel
will blink. When this occurs,
replace
the old battery with a
new
one.
1 1.42 2.84 5.6 I 11162232456490
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1.Press and hold the ISO
button.
2.Use the up/down
control
to
select
the desired
ISO val-
ue.
. ISO 125 and 1250 will
appear in the display
as
120and1200,respectively.
After
you insert
a battery,
the
film
speed
will
be resetto ISO
1
00.
lf youchangethe
filmspeedafter
youtakea measurement,
the EV or aperture
display
willchange
to maintain
a correct
reading
with the new film speed and the selectedshutter
speed.
See p.47for informationon how to use the ISO setting
to
compensate
meterreadings
forfilterfactors.
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10 11

SELECTING
AMEASURING
METHOD
Incident-Light
Readings
When
you
use
a meter to
makeincident-light
read-
ings, the exposure is
based e
ntire
ly o n th
e
brightness
of the light
falling on (incident
to)
your
subject.
Asa result,
the subject'sreflectance
(how dark or light
it is)
willnotinfluence
the meter reading
and light anddark tones
willreproduce
as
they
appearedin
the
originalscene.
Another
advantage
of incident-light meteringis thatthe light
receptor
canbematched
to
your
subject.
For three-dimensional
subjects,
you shoulduse one of the
spherical
diffusers;when you photograph
flatsurfacessuch
asposters orpaintings,
usetheflat
diffuser.
An incident-light
reading
is the simplest, most convenient
method of determining
the exposure in a wide varietyof
situations.lt is most
effectivefor scenes which
containa full
range of tones, such as in architecturaland landscape
photographs. Incident-!ight
meteringalso works well for
portrait and other situationswhere the lighting can be
controlledand adjustedto make the contrast
rangeof the
scene
fit
the
exposurerange
of
your
film.
12
Incident light metering
To takean incident-light
reading,attach
any of the diffusers
(Spherical
Diffuser,
FlatDiffuser,
MiniDiffuser,
4X Spherical
NDDiffuser,or
8XSpherical
ND Diffuser)tothe
Auto
MeterlV
F. Position
the meter near your subject,
aim the receptor
directly
at
thecamera
lens,
and
press
the
measuringbutton.
Withthe Auto
Meter
lV F, you can alsousethis
measuring
methodto quickly
determine
your
lighting
ratio.See
p.38
for
moreinformation
13

Reflected-Lig
ht Read
ings
When making ref
lected-
light
readings,
the meter
measu
res and averages
the light reflecting
from
allsubjects
within
its
field
of view. Like all
reflected-light meters,
the Auto Meter lV F is
calibratedto provide an
exposurewhichwill reproduce
the metered
areaas a tone
with18%reflectance
(zone
5)regardless ofits true
shade.
With practice,
you should
be able to pre-visualize
how you
wantvarious
parts
ofyour sceneto appear in
the
finalimage.
Youwill
then
be ableto take
a reflectedmeterreading
of any
areaand,byadjusting
thedata
provided
bytheAutoMeterlV
F,
obtain
a correctexposure.*
Reflectedreadings,
together with the meter's brightness-
differencef
unction,
enables
you to quickly
and easilydeter-
mine
the brightness range
of a scene
(see
p.41). Withthis
information,you
can then adjustthe exposure
and/or
pro-
cessing
to fit your film's exposurerange. Reflected-light
readings
are also usefulwhen you want to meter subjects
which
emit
instead
ofreflect light.
Reflected light metering
//v /FG
_ ffit flil_J
Reftected
risht fS\ ilFu,.
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To make a ref
lected-light
reading,
attach
the reflected-light
attachment,
Viewfinder
5o or Viewfinder
10
" ll to the meter.
Position
the receptor
headso thatit is reading
the area
you
want
to meter
without
casting
a shadow
on thisareaor being
affected
bysurrounding
parts
of
thescene
orother
lights.
* lf,
forexample,
you
meteranarea
which
is
one
stop
brighter
than
zone5,you
will
haveto increasethemetered
value
by
onestop
inorder
to make
thisareaappear
withitsoriginal
brightness.
lf you meter
an area
which
is one stop darker
than zone5, you willhave
to decrease
the exposureone
stop
to keepitfromappearing
brighter
than normal. Here
again,
with
practice
you
willbeable
to recognizetherelative
brightness
of
variousshades
regardless
oftheircolor.
14 15

tsASIC
OPERATION
MEASURING
Procedure
For
1
. Press the power
turn
the
meter
on.
. The most recent settings
will appear in the disPlaY
window.
2. Refer
to p.11
and set the
desired
filmspeed.
3.lf the meter is not set to
ambient mode, Press the
mode button until AMBI
appears
in the disPlaY
win-
dow.
. Any data in the aperture
display
orin
memorY
willbe
cleared
at
this
point.
4. P
ress the display-selector
button to set the units in
which
measured
data
willbe
displayed.
. When the meter is set to
display EV numbers,the
analog scale and shutter-
speed display
will not aP-
pear.
AMBIENT
LIGHT
Use
WithA Still
Camera
button to
16 17

5. lf the meter
issetto display
flnumbers,
use
the up/down
control
to select
the desired
sh
utte
rspeed.
. For a still camera, the
meter's shutter-speed
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lf the reading
is over or underthe meter's
displayrange,
FNo.
and
o (over)
oru (under)
will
blink.when thishappens,
use the up/down
control
to change
the shutter
speed and
bringthe
aperture
back
into
the
displayrange. lf
thereading
is overor under
the meter's
measuring
range,
o or u will
blink
andE
will
appear
in
the
digital
display.
Procedure
ForUse
With
A CineCamera
range
is from 1/8000
to 30
sec.in 1/2-stop
increments.
6.Position the meter and
press
themeasuring
button-
. The meter
willcontinue
to
make readings
as long
-as
the measuring button is
held
in. When you release
it, the last reading
will re-
mainin the digital
display.
lf you selected flnumber
display, the reading will
also be displayed
on the
analog
scale.
1. Press the power buttonto
turn
the
meteron.
. The most recent settings
will appear in the display
window.
2.Refer
to
p.1
1
andset
the
film
speed.
3.
lf the meteris not already
set
to ambient
mode,
press
the mode button
until
AMBI
appears
in the display
win-
dow.
4.Press and hold the up
control until the shutter
speed display passes
1/8000sec. and the time
unrts change to CINE.
Selectthe framing rate of
your
camera.
lqfffi
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ffi Iiffi
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18 19

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5. lf the angleof your camera's
shutteris not 180
speedshould
beadjusted
accordingtothe
table1.
Table
1
Shutte
r
open
ing Film-speed
Adjustment
160
"1/3
stop
220" +113
stop
-1/3
stop:
press
the downcontrol
once,e.g.,
set
ISO
80
+113
stop:
press
the
upcontrolonce,
e.g.,
for
lso 120
The meterwill continue
to
make readings
as long as
the rneasuring button is
held
in. Whenyou release
it, the last reading
will re-
mainin the digital
display.
lf you selected
f/number
display,
the reading
will also be
displayed
on
the
analog
scale.
lf the reading
is over or underthe meter's
display
range,
FNo.
and
o (over)
or
u (under)
will
blink.
lfthe
reading
isover
orunder
the
meter'S
measuring
range,o oru will
blinkand
E
will
appear
inthedigital
display.
for ISO
100film,
ISO100
film.
set
6.Position the meter and
press
themeasuring
button.
E
11
16
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20 21

MEASURINGFLASH
Witha SyncCord LIGHT
1. Press
the power buttonto
turn
the
meter
on.
. The most recent settings
will appear in the display
window.
,:ts: Frid,1Et .: .....
{,rooE:,
4.
Use
the
up/downcontrolto
select
theX-sync
speed
of
your
camera.
. Shutte
r speeds between
1/500 and 1 sec can be
selected in 1/2-stopincre-
ments. Cinespeedscannot
beselected
in
cord
mode.
5.
Attachtheflashsynccordto
themeter's
sync
terminal.
. The
flashmayfirewhen
you
attach
thecord.
6.
Position the meter and
press
the
measuring
button;
the flash will fire and the
exposure reading will be
made.
2. Referto p.11 and set the
desired
film
speed.
3. lf the meter is not set to
cord
mode,
press
the mode
button
untilCORD appears
inthedisplay
window.
Any data in the aperture
displayor inmemorywill be
clearedatthis
point
andthe
shutter-speed
rangewill
changeto 1/500
- 1
sec.
. EV
display
cannot
beselected
in
cordmode.
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lf the readingis over or under
the meter's
display
range,
FNo.
and
o (over) oru (under)
will
blink.
lfthe readingisoveror underthe meter'smeasuringrange,
o oru will blinkand
Ewill
appear
inthe
digitaldisplay.
lfyou changethe shutterspeedafter
you make
a measure-
ment,the aperturedisplay,
analog
display,and any datain
memory
will
clear.
Thetrigger
voltage
of someelectronic
flash
units
may
betoo
high
for
the
AutoMeterlV Ftofire
them
in
cordmode. lfthis
is
trueof
your
flash,
use
non-cordmode
(seep.
25).
Withouta
Sync
Cord
1. Press the power button to
turnthe
meteron.
. The most recent settings
will,appear in the display
window.
2.
Refer
to
p.11
and
set
thedesired
film
speed.
3. lf the meter is not set to
non-cordmode, press the
mode button until NON.C
appears
in the display
win-
dow.
o Any data in the aperture
display
orinmemory
will
be
cleared
atthis
point
and
the
to 1/500
- 1
sec. shutter-speed
range
willchange
. EVdisplay
cannot
be
selected
innon-cord
mode.
24 25

***********fig**g '- iii-r
4. Use the up/down
controlto
select
the X-syncspeed of
your
camera.
. Shutter speeds between
1/500 and 1 sec. can be
selected
in 1/2-stop
incre-
ments.Cinespeeds
cannot
beselected
rnnon-cord
mode.
5. Pressthemeter's
measuring
button.
NON.Cwill begin
to blink,
signaling
that the meteris
in stand-by,
waiting
for the
flashto fire.The meterwill
remain
in stand-by for one
minute. lf you press the
measuringbuttonagain,
the meter's
internalclock
will
reset
to one minute;
if you press any other functionbutton,
stand-by
will
becanceled
andthat
function
willbeengaged.
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6.Position
the
meter
and
firethq
flashto makea reading.
. lfthe
reading
is
over
orunder
the
meter's
display
range,
FNo.
ando (over)
or u (under)
will
blink. lf the readingisoveror
under
the
meter's
measuring
range,o oru will blinkand
Ewill
appear
inthe
digital
display.

$pfficHAk
ffiffindffiTnffiruffi
MEMORY
To use the
Auto
MeterlV F's
memory, make a reading
(flash
or ambient)
and press
the memorybutton. A dot
willappear
in
theupper
right
corner
ofthedisplay
window
indicatingthat one valueis
stored
(1).
lf you make a second
reading,
the new data will
appear
in the digitaldisplay
and on the analog scale.
The value in memory will
also
remaindisplayed
on
the
analog
scale
(2).
lf you store this second
reading, another memory
indicator
will appear above
th
e first
(3)
.
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28 29

r'You may make a third
reading--all
three
will
be
displayed on the analog
scale and the most recent
will appear in the digital
d
isplay
(4)
.
lf you press the memory
buttona thirdtime,
the first
reading
will be replaced
by
thethird
(5).
. With only one value in
memory, if you make a
second reading, you can
still recall the original
reading
tothe
digital
display
by pressing the average
button.
When A appears in the
display
window, the
digital
displayshowsthe memory value.
lf you press
the average
button
again,
A will
disappearand
thesecondreading
willreturn
tothedigitaldisplay.
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You may storea reading
meter's
display
range,but
meter's
sensitivity
range.
Toclear
the
memory,
turn
measuring
mode.
in
,memory
which is beyond
the
not
a reading
which
isbeyond the
the
meteronandoff
orchange
the
Data in memory will be lost if the battery
dies or if you
change
thebattery.

In all measuring
modes, to
obtain
an averaged
exposure
reading for you
r subject or
scene,first
measure
andstore
readings
of the highlight
and
shadow
areas
of your
subject.
Next, press the average
but-
ton.
A will appear in the display
window
and
the
average
ofthe
two readings
willappear
both
in
the
digital
display
and
onthe
analog
scale.
11.422.845.68
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current
light
level. See the nextsection
for details. When
you release
the measuring
button,a fourth readingwill
appear
on theanalog
scale,
but
theaverage
of the memory
data will remain
in the digital
display. To view this fourth
reading digitally,
press the average button again. The
average indicatorand the marker which indicates the
average
reading
on the analog
scale
willdisappear
and the
digital
display
willshow
the mostrecent
reading. Press
the
average
button
again
to restore
theaverage
reading.
lf youturn
the meter
off,
change
the battery,
or change
the
exposure
mode,
average
will
be cancelled
and the memory
willbe
cleared.
.lf you press
and hold the
measuring
button while
A
appears
in the displaY,
the
meter
willindicate
thediffer-
ence
in brightness
between
the average
valueand the
1 1.4
TIME
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for
themeter
to calculate
anaveragevalue.
32 33

BRIGHTNESS
DIFFERENCE
Inambient
andcord rnode,
youcan usetheAutoMeter
lV F
to determine
thebrightness
difference
between
two readings.
This feature
greatly
simplifies
adjustinglamp brightness
to.
obtaina desiredlighting
ratio
or determ
ining
subject
contrast
toanalyzethe
brightness
range
of
your
scene.
See
p.38 - 44
formoreinformation
onusingthisfunction.
. To display the second
reading
digitally
(in
theunits
you have chosen, not
+/-EV)
, p
ress the ave
rage
button. A will disappear
andthesecond
readingwill
appear
inthe
digitaldisplay.
The
original
readingwillremain
in memory
and both
readingswill
be shown
on the analog
scale
if you have selected
flnumber
display. lf you take a
readingnow,themeterwill
functionnormally.
. lf
two readings arestored,
then
thebrightnessdifference will
becalculated
fromthe
average
ofthe
tworeadings.
2.Make
a secondreading
of another
part
of your
subject
or of
anotherlight
and hold
the measuring
button
down.
1.Make a reading
and press
the average button. One
memory
indicator
andA will
appearin
thedisplay.
1 1.42 2.8
ME
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8 111622 32456490
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45
6490.
A
EV ,,:
'
@l
rso
. The meterwill display
the
difference between your
first
reading
andthe
current
light
levelin
+/-EV.
When you release the
measuring
button,
the digi-
taldisplay will
return
to the originalreadingin the units you
have
selected.Both
readings
will
bedisplayed
ontheanalog
scaleif
you
selected
f
lnumber
display.
11.422.84
TIME
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34 35

I
I
r
rRE.CALIBRATION
During manufacture,
your Auto Meter lV F was precisely
calibratedto Minolta
standards.Nofurther
adjustment
of the
meteris
usuallyrequired
toobtain
optimum
results.
However,
if
you
want
to re-calibrate
your
meterto match thereadings
of
another
meter,
theAutoMeter
lV F canbe adjusted
between
-0.8
and
+0.7
EV.
To adjustthe meter, use a small screwdriverto turn the
measuring-level
adjustment
screwlocated underthe battery
cover. The marks
aroundthe screw
show0.2 EV (1/S-stop)
increments
and the indents
in the screw's rotation
represent
0.1EV
(1/1
O-stop)increments.
. The Auto Meter
lV F shouldbe re-calibrated
onlyafter
you
determinethatit willnotproduce
the desiredresults. lf you
are
making
onlya temporary
adjustment,themeasuring
level
adjustment
screwshould
be returned to the zero
position
as
soonas possible
after
you
arefinished.
.2-Jf.z
.4{tr_1t.4
.6-- -:6
APPLICATIONS
36 37