My Nikon FM2 film camera has no meter, for the battery connection is broken and I can’t find anyone willing to fix it. “It’s too old, – it’s not worth it…’ etc etc. But I bought this great camera back in 1987, and it’s been like an old friend. I can’t just throw it away. I’d tried using it with a Sekonic analogue meter attached, but the numbers are too small now, for me to see them!

But there may be a solution, the TT ARTISAN LIGHTMETER.

This neat little light meter is mounted on the hotshot of the camera (although in this case it’s a ‘cold shoe’ for there is no connectivity between the camera and the meter).

It works with two dials, one for shutter speed and one for aperture, and the ISO is set with a ring around the aperture dial.

The ISO is set to match the film speed, – in this case ISO400, for Ilford HP5, and the shutter speed at 1/125th sec, to give a long depth of field, for landscape etc. Press the metering button and spin the aperture wheel until the green middle light shows that an optimal exposure has been recorded. Set the camera aperture to match the meter, and shoot – and bracket perhaps, for safety.

It’s slow, but then it’s not for action shots, – the Fujifilm mirrorless cameras are for that!

Here’s some light-meter facts:

• Indicator Light & Two Dials: The current exposure status is displayed by the indicator light. The left and right dials can modify the parameters, which resemble the Manual mode of camera.
• 23-stop Shutter Speed
• Clicked Aperture Dial.
• 45°Average Metering:
• Indicator light will automatically turn off and it can be activated by touching the dial and metering button;

The meter runs off a 3612 battery, – hard to find, but I got one in Halfords, – apparently they are used in car alarms! The battery can be a little difficult to fit, and the screw to remove the battery cover is tiny, but at least a screwdriver is supplied with the meter.

They’re available on Amazon, – and I’m sure, in all good camera shops!

I’ll update this post when I get some test shots developed.