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Old 19th Nov 2021, 11:43 am   #21
The Philpott
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Default Re: AVO Light Meters

From 55 shillings to 67/6...? - ie hovering around the £3 mark. Expensive, but not expensive to the point of profiteering. I haven't seen one of these before.

Paul Adams, incidentally, is the guy who at the second attempt performed mould-based 'plastic surgery' on (one of the two known) examples of the AVO military OY/Type 107 Testmeter. This was a meter fascia that many of us, me included, would have given up on.

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Old 19th Nov 2021, 12:07 pm   #22
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Default Re: AVO Light Meters

I have an old AVO expousure meter. It still responds to light, but I doubt it's calibrated! It measures approx 50 x 50 x 33mm deep.
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Old 19th Nov 2021, 12:50 pm   #23
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Default Re: AVO Light Meters

Hi Martin,

That's a Metrovick meter, made by the Manchester based Metropolitan Vickers Company.
Nice little Meter though.





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Old 19th Nov 2021, 1:04 pm   #24
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Default Re: AVO Light Meters

You are right Ian, must go to Specsavers (other opticians are available)!
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Old 19th Nov 2021, 1:08 pm   #25
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Default Re: AVO Light Meters

Every time you dig in and research the Avo Company, it always gets
more complicated than expected.

Just been checking out the Exposure Meter Patents.

Philip Charles Smethurst has one listed Uk Patent, applied for on 15th June 1936
which directly relates to the Meter in the Photo on my previous post.

However, Hugh Sutherland McCadie on the other Hand, has at least Three Uk
Patents relating to Exposure Meters dating from 1934, 1936 & 1947.

So, on second thoughts, the Smethurst Meter probably wasn't Avo's first after all.

Still a very nice and very Rare Light Meter though.


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Old 19th Nov 2021, 5:03 pm   #26
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Default Re: AVO Light Meters

Smethurst wrote many articles about his highlight method before the war, it seems to have faded away post war. Possibly improved emulsions made it less critical, or it may have just inspired the incident measurement method which AVO and others certainly made use of.
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Old 19th Nov 2021, 6:18 pm   #27
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Default Re: AVO Light Meters

That looks remarkably like photo one in the original post.
 
Old 19th Nov 2021, 8:35 pm   #28
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Default Re: AVO Light Meters

The one I have has no reference to Smethurst on the front panel but is otherwise very similar to the ones which appear above. The Serial number is 15489-578 and the Patent No. (458546) is also marked on the front. From the Patent and Serial numbers it would seem a reasonable guess that this one is from 1938.

The Science Museum also seems to have one.

https://collection.sciencemuseumgrou...exposure-meter

PMM
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Old 20th Nov 2021, 2:07 am   #29
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Default Re: AVO Light Meters

I've got a (quite) modern AVO LM4 meter which I used to sort out some domestic lighting probs. I got it from our favourite auction site for about £30 or so.

It's industrial rather than photographic - scaled 0-500 and 0-2000 LUX. I guess it's a bought-in and badged item, because it's got "Made in France" on the bottom. It's got a threaded socket on the underside, so probably used on a fixed tripod as well as hand held. It's designation as the "LM4" suggests that there were also LM1 - 3 in earlier times.
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Old 21st Nov 2021, 9:33 am   #30
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Default Re: AVO Light Meters

Here's a couple of period adverts from 1937. The Smethurst version carries a one guinea premium over the standard model!
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Old 21st Nov 2021, 10:24 am   #31
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Default Re: AVO Light Meters

wd40addict,

Do you know which Publications those Adverts came from ?



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Old 21st Nov 2021, 12:35 pm   #32
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They're from my 'Amateur Cine World' collection.
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Old 28th Nov 2021, 9:46 am   #33
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Default Re: AVO Light Meters

Here is a little more information on the AVO Exposure Meter - a sales leaflet, presumably from the 1930s.

PMM
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