il-tii-6?

sEKOrrtrc
VIE\nI
METER
L'?OG
moder
INSTRUCTION
BOOKLET

ii- e5-4

Mii
SEKoNICVTIWIUIETER L-206,
The SEKONIC VIEWMETER L-206 is an exposure meter
with a viewfinder of the acceptanceangle of about 10",using
a highly sensitive CdS.
'Ihe
exposure of the subject can be accurately measured
by just aiming at the subject through the viewfinder. A
built-in needleclamp eliminates any error in reading the scale.

Specificotio ns
Meosurlng Syrtem Highly sensitive,completely mois-
ture-proof CdS used; with view-
finder; reflective,doubleconversion
system.
Meosurlng Ronge 3 High brightness . IiV l0-18/low
brightness . EV 4-12 (ASA 100)
Acceptonce Angle 3 10'
EV Scole 3 L-20
ASA Scole B I2-3,200
DIN Scole 3 12-36
Aperture Scole 3 F1-45
Shutter Speed Scole 3 8-1 12,000sec.
Movle Scole r 8-64 fps
Meosurlng Accurocy 3 +/, EV
Rectlflcotlon Constont : K-1.3
Dlmenslon r 85x58x25mm
Welght t 160g.
Others r With needle clamp and battery
checker.

L
Flndcr-Reccptoclc Wlndow

Nccdle Indlcotlon Scolc

( H l g h : r e d f r g u r c ; L o w : D l o c k Ogure)

Hlgh/Low Polntcr (rcd mcrk)

Botlery Checklng tlork

Shutter Specd Scole
Aperture Scolc
ASA Seillng Knob
ASA Indcx Wlndow

EY Scolc

DIN Indcx Wlndow

Hlgh/[ow Converrlon Slgnol

Hlgh/low Converrlon Knob

Flnder Eyeplecc
Dlol Index (yellow mork)
Dlql Indlcotlon Scole
Swlrch lutton
lndlcotlon Needlc

Bottery Chombcr CoP

Chort @

2
 OI PARTS
NAMES

Nomc Plotc on thc Bock

Zcro Adlu*lng Scrcw
Ncck Strop Holdcr

I
 Y O U RM E T E R
B E F O RUES I N G
1. ZERO ADJUSTMENT
Unless the needle indicates
the zero position '*'hen light
is conlpletely shut off, the
meter cannot functiotr cor-
'l'herefore,
rectly. make sure
of this before yoll use the
meter, that is to s?y, hold
the meter upright, press the
Srvitch Button without load-
ing the mercury battery and
see if the Needle rests at the
zero posttlon.
If not, slowly turn and adjust
the Zero Adjusting Screrv on
the back of the meter rvith
a screw driver, keeping the
Su'itch Button pressed, so as Phoro @
to bring the Needle to the
zero position. photo 5 ,

. t
/(;
2. M E R G U R YB A T T E R Yr u ' -le '''! ''' 1l Y'-c
6-- ['se a 1.3\' ntercury baftery.
/' t'nscre\r'the Ilattery Chamber
Cap u'ith a coin and load the
battery, keeping its (D side
outward as shown in photo,,.
While the battery lasts about
4 years olt the average, it is
a d v i s a b l et o k e e p i t o u t o f t h e
nreter in case the exposure
nreter is tro[ used for a long
period irt order to prevent
I any damage which might be
1 caused by corrosion of the
r batterv.

t, Phoro @
8. B A T T E R YC H E C K T N G
If battery decays below the
prescribed voltage, the ex-
posure meter cannot indicate
'fherefore,
the correct value.
check the battery voltage be-
fore you use th6 metei, viz,
turn the Finder Iiye-Piece
and set the "FJC" on it with
the Conversion Index (red
mark V) and push the Switch
'l'hen,
Button. rphoto @). if
the Needle does not swing up
to the point marked with red
square on the meter scale it
means that the batterv has
decayed and to be replaced
with new one.
Phoro @

D
G E T T I NR
GE A D Y
1 . S E T T I N GT H E F IL M 5 P E E D( A 5 A D IN )
Turn the ASA ConversionKnob and set the ASA ror DINI
number to the silver line of the ASA rDIN r Window.
The intermediatevaluesof the filnr speedscaleare as shown
in chart O.

l'2 2ir 5tt lrli l(l(r lttl i{11} 16(){) l'){lrl

ASA

DtN

Chort O

2 . A I M I N G A T T O - IS
EU B J E C T
Aim the meter at main part of
your subjectlooking through
the viewfinder rphoto rir.
The light acceptance angle
of L-206 is about 10' and it
covers exactly the same field
you can look in the view-
finder. As this angle is nar-
rower than that of a standard
lens of a still camera, the
measuredareais a part of the
photographedarea in case a
standard lens is used. So,
in actual photography, it is
necessaryto first decide main
part of a subject to be
measured.
Photo @

6
Ref. 1. Acceptance angles and focal distancesof a lens.

Focal Distance P i c tu re An g l e

f- 50mm 46"
100m m 24"
1 3 5m m 19.
200mnr 12"
250mm 10"

R ef 2 . Re l at ion bet ween angle of lens and I--206.

lThe shadowedareas are the nreasuringranges of L-206t

50mm lens. 100mm lens. 0 0mm

200
2 m m lens.
lens.

3. i . : ' :,i . .. ' , . . , , :; , Photogroph inrlde the vicwflnder.

First, set the "ll" or "l-" on

t h e V i e w f i n d e r E y e - P i e c ew i t h
the red triangle V. when
you rneasLrrea bright subject,
or a dark one, respectively.
P r e s st h e S w i t c h l l u t t o n , a n d
the Indication Needle is freed
fronr the needle clamp and
the battery circuit is on. At
t h i s t i n - r e ,r v h e n t h e S w i t c h
Flutton is pressed, "blue
color" you see inside the Switch on
view-linder, disappears and
t h i s r t r e a n st h a t t h e i n d i c a t i o n Blue
n e e d l ei s u n h o o k e d , . p h o t o , s , , .
After a nloment interval, re- Swltch oi

7
lease the Switch Button and the "blue color" appears again
inside the viewfinder. Thus, the Needle is clamped so that
you can read the Scale indicated by thg Needle.
However, note that the "blue color" will not appear inside
the viewfinder if the Needle stays beyond the scale limit.
In such case, convert to "H" and press the Switch Button
again for measurement.

4. DECIDTNGTHE EXPOSUR,E
The Needle Indication Scale consists of two rows of Expo-sure
index Numbdr, one printed in black under the scale from
o to to and th'e other printed in red above the scale from
10 to 16. And there is a tiny Square
- Window in the upper
irght corner of the Scale Plhte. The Window shows red
co'ior if you set the Finder Eye-Piece at "H" but if you set
it at "L" the red color disapPears.
So, this tells you that when tne-Eye-Pigceilt"t, at "H" in
ftre tigl-tt placb you have to read the Red Number as the
NeedlE indicates, and with the Eye-Pieceset at "L" read the
Black Number. The tiny window thus works as a reminder.
'(H" the
itt cu." of photo @, as the Fye-Piece is set at
Needle is indicating f f in red, instead of 5, and accordingly,
vou have to rotate and set the dial at 11 on the Exposure
index Numbers around the Dial.
e.g. See photo @: F8, IlI25 sec.: F16, 1/30 sec.
Intermediate values on the Dials: The Shutter Speed and
Aperture Cials have intermediate graduations, as shown in
the chart below.

t$

(fpr)

Shutter SPeed Dlol Chorr O

Aperlurc
 ASA: IOO Needle: ll A mork: lndex : I I

Phoro (o;

A s c o l o r f i l 1 t h a s v e r y'iss l l l a l l e r l a t i t u c l e i n i t s s e n s i t i v i t y t h a r t
lton<lchroltte film, it very difficult to reprgduce true lleau-
tifulpess 1;f cglor i1 the p|gtography, if ygu make even a
slight error itr detertnining the righ.t exposure.
-o?r."qu"lltly, it is a cgmritoli practice irt colgr photography
tg make the bright part of the subject the basis ft;r exposure

or reflectrlr.

I
 Photo (t'l

I t i s ; r t l r i s : r l l l t ' l o r t l r c t l t t ' l ) : u ' t r i r i t l l l r o t o r - t t ' i t l l l rt_l rvz r t v o u l { o

t ) t , i u ' t l r e s t t l r j r . ' r ' st ( ) t l r i t t \ ' o r . t ( ' i u l l o o l i , o t t l v i t t t l r e r r r : r i r r ; l i r r L
o l ' t l r e s r r l , r j c c t t l r r o u g l r r i c u l i r r r l e r i r r r c l I l r e : r s L l r ei t s c x l x ) s L l l ' c
itccLlratcl\'('rt'ltt<lirrg irtllut'nct:ol' liglrt lt-ottt its sLlrr'ourrclirrg
s r t c h : I S s l i r ' - l i g l r t i r r r < l r - t ' l l t ' t 'ito n i t r o t t t t r l t l t t ' s u l r j r - r c t .
In case it is difficult to take a direct measurement of the
subject, you may measure a standard reflector, or your own
hand from a distance of about 30crn by keeping it in the
sa me l i g h t c ondit ion.
When taking a photograph of an extensive landscape or
distant mountains,reducethe measuredexposureby one half,
so that a dark part of the subject become clearer and the
contrast on the subject surface is lowered, under the influence
of dispersedlight.
e.g. In case of Fl1 and 11250sec., Fl1 and 1/500sec.
will be the proper exposure.(l1250xI12:1/500 sec.)
S NAPSH O T S
As the subject is usually in motion in snapshots,take meas-
urement at the camera position in the same manner as in
landscape photography. When you cannot approach the
subject, substitutive measurement is a good method. You
can measureby aiming at another object which has a similar
color tone to the subject.
In case of the substitutive measurement,be sure to take the
measurement under the same light condition as that of the
subject. When you snap a figure in a place full of diffused
reflections such as on the sea shore or in the snow, etc., take
measurementsby aiming at the subject from the camera
position and open the measured aperture by one-half stop.
For example, when the exposure is F LL, 11250sec., make it
the intermediate aperture between F 11 and F8, and 11250
sec. This is to compensatefor stronger light which is caused
by the diffused reflection fron snow or water surrounding
the subject.

MEASU RI NG I N CO U N T E R L IGI{ T
There are three main exposure measuring methods.
A To make the subject silhouetted in counterlight.
Measure a brighter background and take a photograph com-
plying with the indicated exposure. As the exposureconcurs
with a bright backfround light, the main subject is under-
exposedto become a black silhouette.
t2
 B To photograph the
subject in counterlight.
'lake
a measurement,
aiming at a dark part of
the subject or keeping a
standard reflector in the
same light condition as
that of the subject. It is
necessary in this case to q *i"J
take care never to let the r L - ,t rr. I rr,

background light rcount- Nor molly oimed ot Silhouetted

erlight r enter into the Photo @
finder of your meter.
C To photograph both
the subject and the back-
ground in counterlight.
Take two reading, first
aiming at a dark part of
the subject and then a
bright part of the back-
ground.
Shoot at the inter-
mediate value of these Bockgr ound ovoi.Gr posed
two readings. l{owever,
in case the exposure
difference is more than
I :6 ratio between the
subject and the back-
ground, it is difficult to
take a photograph of
lxrth objectives.

Bor h photogr ophed Photo Ct

13
A / T E A S U R I NAGT A N E X T R E M E L D
YARK PLACE
When it is too dark to measurethe exposureof your subject,
then, take the reading of the exposureof light source itself
for the 'subjectand increasethe exposurethus obtained by
ten times, for example, when F4, li 2 sec., is .obtained from
the light source a proper exposurefor the subjectwould be
F4 5 sec.
MOVIE
The measurementprocess is completely the same as still
cameras. After setting to the dial index, read the aperture
scale against the filming speed,frames per secound,you use.
In case of 8 mm cine camera, the standard filming speedis
16 fps (approx. U35 sec.)
for the conventional
double-width films and
18fps for the Single 8 and
Super 8 films, but the
differencebetween them
is negligible. There are
filming speedsof 8, 16 ror o
18t, 24, 32, and 64 fps.
Phoro @

E X P O S U R EV A L U E ( E V )
In case your camera is equipped with the It.V. or L.V. scale
on the shutter, take the reading of the exposure value which
appears in the window marked I1V on the dial of tne meter.
Other use of the meter such as setting of the dial, reading
of the needle etc. is exactly same as described in the pre-
ceeding pages.

L4
 E XPOSU REW I I E N USIN G A F IT T E R
As the L-206has no filter multiple scale,multiply the meas-
ured exposure by the filter multiple. For example, when
using filter other than U.V. on your camera do not forget
to multiply the exposureobtained by the meter, in accordance
with the filter factor.

*i

*
PREC AU T I O NSF O R P R E SE R V AT ION
C Do not leave the meter in a damp and/or hot place for
a long time.
@ Protect it from shock.
@ When not using it for a long time, take the meter out
of the case and preserve it in a box with moisture-proof
material. Keep the mercury battery out of the meter.

15