Found out my light meter was off by 2 stops this whole time

I was scratching my head over 6 rolls of Portra 400 that all came back way too dark. Kept blaming the lab, the scanner, even the weather. Then I dug out my old Sekonic meter and compared it to a friend's newer one on the same scene in Golden Gate Park. Mine was reading 2 full stops slower than it should've. Turns out the battery was low but not dead, and these older meters just drift when they're on their last legs. Replaced it with a fresh A76 for like 4 bucks and suddenly my exposures look perfect. Anyone else ever trust gear that was quietly failing on them?

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jason11219d ago

Ngl, I had the exact same thing happen with a beat up old Minolta that I inherited from my uncle. I kept shooting a whole wedding on it and the photos came back looking like they were shot through a muddy window. I blamed the film for months, thought maybe I got a bad batch or something. Then I finally checked the meter against my phone app and it was off by like 1.5 stops, low battery too. Swapped the battery for a couple bucks and it was a whole different camera, sharp and bright again. Honestly it made me question every roll I shot before that, makes you wonder how many keepers you missed just because you trusted the gear.

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