EXPOSURE METER 8 Operating Instructions SAFETY PRECAUTIONS This manual uses the following safety labels fork WARNING andA CAUTION that you must follow. &, WARNING Indicates hazards or unsafe practices that can result in severe personal injury or death. Indicates hazards or unsafe practices that can result in the personal injury or a damage to your L-408 exposure meter. Indicates an operation note or limitation you must use. Please read the notes to avoid an incorrect L-408 operation. Provides the reference information and related functions that are useful for your L-408 operations. + Store your L-408 in a safe place so that a little child cannot take 8 it and not to wind the strap around his/her neck. Q) Never drop dry cells in a fire. Also, do not jumper, disassemble, or overheat the dry cells. If done, the cells may explode and you may be injured or the ambient may be contaminated. n CAUTION A CAUTION I 0 To avoid injury to your eyes, never look at the sun through the viewfinder. 8 To avoid an electrical shock, never plug in or remove the syncro cord when water drops, the moisture is too high, or your hands are wet. i FEATURES Thank you for your purchase of the Sekonic Multimaster L-408. It features: 1. 0 Built-in viewfinder eliminates parallax error caused by separate viewfinders. l Built-in design eliminates troublesome viewfinder mounting and removal in the field. Built-in non-parallax viewfinder with 5 degree acceptance angle. 2. Unique, new combination of Lumisphere and Lumidisc. l l All operations directly on meter body. Reduces workload, speeds operation and removes risk of losing accessories. Fast and accurate light balancing reading because the unit features an exclusive, retracting Lumisphere which allows fast, accurate light balancing readings, while eliminating the need for additional accessories. 3. Water-resistant. l The first photographic apparatus that has the water-resistant construction. Stands up to dirty, sooty, damp industrial locations and wet weather, outdoors. 4. Aperture or shutter speed priority. ID Aperture or shutter speed priority can be selected according to choice. Both modes are available for ambient light reading. 5. Memory function is useful for subject contrast measurement, 0 The three memory values are displayed on the LCD analog scale to provide simple balancing of light and subject contrasts. 6. Multiple flash measurement. 0 When a single flash is insufficient to illuminate a subject, repeated flash exposures on the same film frame or sheet of film will build exposure to the correct level and the cumulative effect of these exposures can be accurately measured by the meter. ii CONTENTS i SAFETY PRECAUTIONS .......................................................... ii FEATURES ................................................................................ 1 Parts Designations .............................................................. 2 :: Display ............................................................................... 2 2-1 LCD panel ............................................................................... 4 2-2 Light-receiving indicator .......................................................... 4 .................... 2-3 Viewfinder information ........................................ 5 3 . Mode Selection ................................................................... 5 3-1 Switching between lumisphere UP and DOWN positions ...... 5 3-2 Switching between incident and reflected light metering ........ 6 4 . Light-receiving Method ........................................................ 4-1 Incident light metering (with eyepiece cover closed) ............ 6 6 4-2 Reflected light metering (with eyepiece cover open) ............... 7 5 . Preparation for Measurement ............................................. 7 5-1 Mounting a type-AA battery ................................................... .......... 7 5-2 Battery check ................................................................ 8 5-3 Auto Power OFF ...................................................................... 8 5-4 ISO film speed setup ............................................................... 8 .......................... 5-5 Light-receiving method setup ...................... 9 5-6 Measurement mode setup ...................................................... 10 5-7 Shutter speed priority setup ................................................... 10 5-8 Aperture priority setup ........................................................... 11 6 . Ambient Light Measurement .............................................. 11 6-1 Mode selection ...................................................................... 11 6-2 Measuring switch ................................................................... 11 6-3 Shutter speed priority setup ................................................... 11 6-4 Measurement ......................................................................... 12 6-5 Data memory ......................................................................... 13 6-6 Contrast measurement .......................................................... 7. Flash Measurement with Cord ................................................... 14 14 7-1 Single flash measurement ..................................................... 15 7-2 Data memory ......................................................................... 15 7-3 Cumulative flash measurement ............................................. 16 7-4 Contrast measurement .......................................................... 17 8. Flash Measurement without Cord .............................................. 17 8-1 Single flash metering ............................................................. 18 8-2 Data memory ......................................................................... 18 8-3 Cumulative measurement ...................................................... 19 8-4 Contrast measurement .......................................................... 20 9 . Other Metering Operations ................................................ 20 9-1 Exposure index correction .................................................... 21 9-2 Using your L-408 as an illumination meter ........................... 21 9-3 Using your L-408 as a luminance meter ................................ 22 Specifications .................................................................... 23 Instructions and Maintenance Notes ................................. 1. Parts Designations Light-receiving indicator- _ ____ Objective lens cover POWER switch receiving element) Measuring switch UP/DOWN button Mode selector display (LCD) panel F/EV/MULTI selector ' Synchro terminal Viewfinder Eye-piece cover Memory button Battery case cover lock 1 .~ 2. Display 2.1 LCD panel @ Mode selection m Ambient light measurement Flash measurement without cord Flash measurement with cord The mode symbols are switched in the following sequence: @ Aperture/EV/Battery/Others "b.c" Battery capacity 2`:"; and dots 2':`i ) See Page 7. Aperture value (Indicated by a number See Page 11. Aperture-priority measurement Exposure value (Indicated by a number and dots $:`$ ) See Page 11. Eu Under exposure Eo Over exposure - I - The mark flashes during Reflected Light Metering. See Page 6. One full stop is shown by 9 bars. A single bar indicates one tenth stop. 2 @ m Number of cumulative flashes When the flash is fired, this mark appears and the measurement times are acccumulated. More than 10 measurement causes the "E" (error) mark to appear. See Pages 15 and 18. IS0 film speed The film speed of IS0 3 to 8000 is shown. See Page 8. 0 Measuring-level adjustment This mark appears when the measuring-level adjustment is carried out. See Page 20. @ @ T Shutter speed or film frame count (F. P. S.) M Q m R~J Shutter speed in minutes Shutter speed in seconds Number of frames per second Shown during exposure index correction. See Page 20. (?J Analog display 2 Underexposure ; Overexposure e I. Aperture (A bar or dot indicates 0.5 stop.) The analog display can be switched to memory dot display using the memory function. See Page 12. 2.2 Light-receiving indicator Slide the eyepiece cover up or down to set metering to either incident light or reflected light (with 5-degree viewfinder metering). Light receiving indicator `... -1 Incident light metering Reflected light metering 2.3 Viewfinder information Circle e) indicates 5 degree spot measurement. Center spot @ is for positioning of spot measurement. Viewfinder information 4 3. Mode Selection Your L-408 can measure both incident and reflected light in both ambient light and flash (strobe or bulb) modes. You can switch the modes as follows: [LighM~fng [Llghk$\mg [Measured light) IMl See Page 11 speed priority measurement (Can be stored in memory)i ) Exposure priority measurement (Cannot be stored in memory) ` 1 3.1 Switching between incident metering and reflected light metering (with 5-degree viewfinder metering) Slide the eyepiece cover closed for incident light metering, or open the eyepiece cover for reflected light metering. Incident light metering (with cover closed) Reflected light metering (with cover open) Caution I Set the eyepiece cover at the top or button click position only. Otherwise, the LCD markings (entire display) will blink and you cannot start metering with the measuring switch. 3.2 Switching between lumisphere up and down positions Manually rotate the lumisphere UP/DOWN ring counterclockwise to move the lumisphere up. You can now start incident light metering. Rotate the ring clockwise to retract the lumisphere for balancing light metering. Lumisphere up position Lumisphere down position @6%$ L Set the lumisphere UP/DOWN ring to one of the dot marked positions. Any other position will result in incorrect metering. , 5 4. Light-receiving Method 4.1 Incident light metering (with eyepiece cover closed) Hold the L-408 close to the subject, point the lumisphere towards the camera, and measure the incident light intensity. .\; q Lumisphere in up position: For incident measurement Lumisphere in down position: For light balance and simple illuminance eflected light metering (with eyepiece cover open) Your L-408 has a built-in viewfinder. By sliding the eyepiece cover down to its open position, you can use it as a 5-degree spot meter for accurate spot metering. Hold the L-408 at your camera position, and place the circle in the viewfinder on the target subject. @@%I NOTE + Spot metering under 50 cm (20 inches) is not possible. * When you open the eyepiece cover, 141 appears in the light-receiving indicator and _ i _ flashes in the bar display area. r 5. Preparation for Measurement 5.1 Mounting a battery and strapping Use a 1.5volt, type-AA (UM3 dry, LR-6 or R-6) battery. Do not use a NiCd battery. @ Unlock the cover lock and remove the battery case cover. @ Insert the battery in the battery case aligning the polarities as indicated on the inside of the case. @ insert the claws of the cover into the holes of the , Pull down the strap ring. bodv. Lock the cover lock. Battery case cover Cover lock Attaching the strap Remove the battery case cover. (3 Move the cover lock toward the battery case (arrow a). a Pass the strap through strap eyelet 0. @ Pass the opposite side of the strap through a strap ring. To save your current setup, turn the POWER switch OFF first, then replace the battery. e If the LCD message is abnormal or if nothing occures when you press an operation button, remove the battery. Wait at least 10 seconds. Then, mount the battery (in the correct polarity) and try again. l Wipe and clean the rubber seal of battery cover. Sand and dust may cause water leakage, corrosion or other problems. ICAUTION 1 l 5.2 Battery check Turn the POWER switch on, and the LCD panel ("b.c" message and bar marking 2`:"; ) displays the current battery level. The battery level is indicated by a number of bars for one second. Then, the LCD panel automatically switches to the normal measurement mode. NOTES 0 You can sustain battery level display by holding down the Power switch. * When the battery capacity drops below the limit, the "b.c" display blinks and then goes out. * When the battery level is indicated by only two or three dots, replace the battery. 5.3 Auto Power-off To save battery capacity, the L-408 is automatically turned off (and all readings are erased) 10 minutes after your last operation. .~ NOTE @ When the L-408 is automatically turned off by Auto Power-off, settings (such as mode selection, exposure setup and measured values) are saved. They are displayed again when the POWER switch is turned on. - 5.4 IS0 film speed setup Hold down the IS0 button (@iJ) and press the UP or DOWN button (c=@) to set the IS0 film speed. The UP button is used to select higher film speed, and the DOWN button for more than o ...