Reveni Labs Spot Meter - 1 Year Review
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- I've been using the Reveni Labs Spot Meter as my main light meter for 1 year now, and thought it was the perfect time to do a review!
Having such a small light meter has allowed me to save space in my camera bag, and lighten my load during landscape and woodland photography trips. It's the perfect replacement to my broken Soligor Spot Sensor II, as when it was working it simply took up too much space and often left me with the decision of what gear to leave behind.
I'm not an expert at metering (yet!), so this isn't going to be a "how to" video but rather a look at the specs, the ergonomics, and my personal experiences and thoughts after having used this light meter for over a year.
Hope you enjoyed today's video, as always feel free to check out my Instagram page @jesshobbsphoto for some of my work. Below are the links to the websites and videos I mentioned in the video for you to check out. Thanks for watching!
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Reveni Labs Spot Meter - 1 Year Review
00:08 About Reveni Labs
00:37 Reveni Labs Dunkbot Kickstarter
01:16 Specifications
02:28 How it Works
03:14 Metering Modes
05:18 Final Thoughts
For more on Reveni Labs, as well as the Spot Meter:
www.reveni-labs.com/
IG: @revenilabs
Reveni Labs Dunkbot Kickstarter campaign:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
For more on Nick Carver:
www.nickcarverphotography.com/
IG: @nickcarver
Nick's videos about the Reveni Labs Spot Meter:
• The New Reveni Labs Sp...
• Online Course Updates ...
More videos about the Reveni Labs Spot meter:
Mat Marrash: • Reveni Labs Spot Meter...
Alex Luyckx: • Hits The Spot | Reveni...
All music licensed through Epidemic Sound.
@6:01 "...and on some occasions it even took the place of a lens; which is just not cool". This is what sold it for me. Thanks for a good review.
Phoenix, AZ
I love all of Matt's work. I have 2 of the small cube averaging meters. I got the spotmeter when it came out. I thought Matt's greatest addition was the battery unit. It still is a VERY small spot meter compared to anything else. I also can't recommend Nick Carver's course enough. It is a great course and it has a whole section on using the Reveni spotmeter in his PMM. Thanks for highlighting Matt's work--and Nick's. Appreciate your efforts.
Matt does do some seriously amazing work, and I am definitely a big fan of this spot meter! You're right, even with the battery pack, it is still quite small, and I love that I can carry it around my neck without even noticing that it's there!
I haven't done Nick Carver's course yet, but I've heard so many good things about it! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
A very helpful overview. And enjoyed the addition of the dramatization! :)
Thanks Billy! The dramatization was so much fun to do, ha ha!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
I'd like to grab a couple of these meters for the same reasons you have. Like you Jess, I keep my kit in separate bags, one for large format, one for medium and my 35mm kits I have in their own bags. Keeping a dedicated meter in the large and medium format bags will save me losing a meter and/or sacking one bag to get the meter for the other. These meters are an ideal size! I have an old Minolta light meter and like your Soligor, it's bulky. Though, it's a good meter!
I'm terrible with my stuff, and always end up forgetting something at home, so this would at least eliminate one of the possibilities of leaving things at home, ha ha! And the Reveni is so small, I just love it!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
I have a feeling getting the Soligor fixed will be more expensive than the second Reveni :). Great post and channel, thank you for sharing!
Ha ha, that's true! So maybe I'll just get the second Reveni instead!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
Great video Jess!
Thank you so much, thanks for watching! ❤️
Jess, you are amazing, all of the work you share is pretty inspiring, thank you for doing this, your experience with the Reveni Labs Spot Meter is the same as mine. Reveni labs stuff is pretty amazing, I have a few things from them, but yeah, very portable. :)
Thank you so much, I really appreciate the kind words! Reveni Labs does make some really great stuff, and I am very happy with my spot meter! Glad to hear you enjoy them too!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
I got my spot meter about a year ago as well. Initially i was excited then a little bummed about the battery life. The battery pack changed everything for me I like to take my gear backpacking and can find myself in poor and cold conditions for several days and the extended battery pack has yet to fail me. Its the smallest and lightest spot meter and has a lot of versatility. Matt has been great about continuing to support his products with firmware upgrades and addressing issues. Its been a real game changer for me.
Thank you Jess, just order mine today. :)
Thanks Jess!
All the thanks is for you, Matt! Without you, the world wouldn't have this great meter!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
Great overview of the Spotmeter! I'm a big fan of mine also, though it's still hard to get used to that overlay effect for viewing; my natural method is to close the other eye, but that's from many years of using the Pentax Spotmeter V!
Thanks Alex! It does take some getting used to for sure, but I find it a natural thing for me now! In a way, it's a really good thing that my Soligor broke, I had no other spot meter to use, so I got to immerse myself fully in the experience of the Reveni Labs one. I wouldn't be surprised if it would have taken me a lot longer to get this video out if I had a Pentax spot meter!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
I switched from my Minolta Spotmeter F to the Reveni Labs spot for exactly the same reason you did. I'm already hauling a 4x5 camera, tripod with a heavy geared head, 3-4 lenses on boards, and film holders around on my back. Not to mention water, a darkcloth, a focusing loupe, Cokin filters, etc. etc. The Reveni spot is so tiny and light.
Although I have to say the other huge selling point for me was the zone system metering mode. My biggest struggle when shooting 4x5 is getting out of the left-brain mode I have to use to get my order of operations, exposure, development details, etc. correct, and focusing on things like composition, visualization, and light instead. With this meter I can just set my deepest shadow on Zone III or IV, and hold down a button to be spoon fed exactly which zone anything else falls on. Letting the meter do all that thinking instead of counting f-stops in my head and doing the math makes a noticeable difference in my ability to think about art while I'm shooting instead of sensitometry.
Been using mine for a couple of years now too and I absolutely love it. Hat off to Matt and Reveni Labs.
Of course, he can do exactly the same metering technique with the MInolta F. I hope he didn't sell his F, because regret is on the way.
@@randallstewart1224
Didn’t sell my F, but it hasn’t gotten much use lately. Still extremely pleased with my Reveni.
I know this video isn’t super recent, but for those asking and still looking for an answer, this meter requires the user to have functional binocular vision, meaning both eyes work together. This is what allows you to see the overlapping images. If you are someone with monocular vision (only use one eye to see), this meter is likely not for you, but it depends on what your specific vision issue is. So sad, as I was really excited about this meter!
Great vid Jess. I think I may retire my old Pentax spot meter ...
Thanks Terry! The Pentax meter is a pretty great one though, but I am really enjoying the Reveni Labs!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
Thanks!
Thank you for watching!! ❤️
I bought my first "real meter" for the strobes and for the most part will sunny 16 everything else, but for a spot meter this is exactly the sort of thing I'd be looking for! also please bring more dramatizations to your videos 🙂
Not sure how I’d use that meter as I wear glasses. I like the smallness of it but for me now my Pentax 1 degree Digital Spot meter is my go to. I also have a Sekonic 858, I think that is what it is but it isn’t my favorite meter. Nice to know that I’m not the only one that has multiple bags with duplicate gear so I’m not always swapping stuff around.
Nice!
Is there a specific case where you only want spot metering compared to say center weighed metering?
Thanks, and good question! None of my medium or large format cameras have built-in meters, so I use the spot meter whenever I'm out with any of those. Occasionally, I'll use a center-weighted meter with my TLR's if I'm not shooting in the woods. And all of my 35mm SLR's have working meters, so I won't take out the spot meter when shooting 35mm. Most of my work is landscape or woodland stuff, so a spot meter is definitely the way to go for me!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
Just for the record: The Zone System is a photographic technique for determining optimal film exposure and development, formulated by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer. Adams described the Zone System as "[...] not an invention of mine; it is a codification of the principles of sensitometry, worked out by Fred Archer and myself at the Art Center School in Los Angeles, around 1939-40." His book "The Negative" laid it all out for the rest of us and Fred Picker just re-wrote what Ansel first explained. 🙂
6:45 you can solve this problem with a "exposition calculator" in a form of a wheel.
thnx for the review - is there a chance you could speak to someone who wears glasses and using this to eye method?
I liked the concept but it was not useful as a spotmeter for my large format film use. I was never sure the meter was looking directly at what I was trying to measure AND the spot area is too large (larger than the circle in the meter). In certain situations, it erred by two stops compared to my conventional spotmeters or the spotmeter setting in my digital cameras. I since found that there are light meter and spot meter apps for smartphones that are (IMO) easier to use and more accurate. AND since I have my phone with me all the time, I use that and no longer carry a light meter at all.
OTOH, I'll admit that if my life depended on a perfectly exposed photo, I'd use a conventional spot meter like the Pentax V or Digital model, a Minolta Spotmeter F, or a current Sekonic! ;)
💕💕💕💕💕
Thank you!! 😊
@@JessHobbs welcome Ma'am
hi jess. quick question- what backpack is that you're using? love the size and style of it. thanks!
Looked like a MindShift, I love mine too.
@@SteveMillerhuntingforfood thank you!
Yes, it's a Mindshift Gear 18L in Woodland Green! I love it, it's a perfect size for me! They also make them in 26L and 30L, but I'm tiny so the 18L is awesome!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
@@JessHobbs I have the 26L for my 4x5 and other kits
@Steve Miller awesome! I'm actually thinking about picking up a second one for my 4x5 kit too, unless something better comes along for my RB67 kit!
Isn’t the pouch the meter comes in useable as a grey card?
I did have that thought, and it would be genius if it is, but I can't confirm that. The fact that the fabric is a bit shiny kind of throws me off too, but it would definitely be handy if it did work like that!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
Can this be used at night, I.e. very low light?
Thank you
Honestly, I haven't tried that out yet. I would assume it works well because the screen is super bright, but I'll let you know if I ever try it out!
Thanks for watching!
If you ended up repairing your damaged spot meter, who repaired it for you?
Oh, I haven't had it repaired yet! Honestly, I haven't even looked into who could fix it. If I do ever get it fixed, I'll let you know!
Thanks for watching! ❤️
After all the issues I don’t think I’d bother with it. Sad to have wasted that much money
This really is not a "review", as it avoids exploring the detailed function of this meter. It also avoids discussing its defects and drawbacks of its use, perhaps because she doesn't seem to understand much about exposure metering for film photography. This "spot meter" was the launch product for a garage style Kickstarter project. It got a lot of YT buzz during that financing program. It got a fair number of "how to use" videos after it can out, by people who had not yet had any experience with it. After that, it got a few video by people who had actually used it, and who were generally less enthusiastic. Then, it pulled one video which just said straight out that its design is basically a piece of crap. After that, you only see these few, lame "me too" type videos. So, to summarize, its ability to actually selectively measure a 1 degree spot is so inaccurate as to be a;most useless as a spit meter. It exhausts its battery very quickly. (Which is why they sell an accessory battery pack for it.) It total dependence of on good binocular vision to work at all further limits its use. It may be smaller and a bit lighter than a conventional spot meter, but to be compared, it first has to function as a spot meter.
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