Pre-ordered some time ago, the KEKS M-Meter for meterless Leica M bodies arrived today. Looks just like the old M-Meters but this is rechargeable and gives digital readout. Adjusting shutter speed feels smooth. Display is wonderful (brightness can be adjusted)! We will see how accurate the meter is but I've had other KEKS light meters and they work great.
rji2goleez wrote:
Pre-ordered some time ago, the KEKS M-Meter for meterless Leica M bodies arrived today. Looks just like the old M-Meters but this is rechargeable and gives digital readout. Adjusting shutter speed feels smooth. Display is wonderful (brightness can be adjusted)! We will see how accurate the meter is but I've had other KEKS light meters and they work great.
Looks good!
I'll probably pick one up once B&H get some in stock. Customer service is pretty much non-existent (in a practical way) with these companies, so I would rather wait until I have a dealer that will take care of issues and/or return if the unit is defective.
Does this meter align with the groove made for the original Leica M3 meter on the exposure dial? Meaning when you rotate the dial, does the exposure change directly on the new Keks meter? Or does the new meter just sit on top of the dial but is not connected to it?
Oldwino wrote:
Looks good!
I'll probably pick one up once B&H get some in stock. Customer service is pretty much non-existent (in a practical way) with these companies, so I would rather wait until I have a dealer that will take care of issues and/or return if the unit is defective.
KEKS has been responsive to my inquiries so far but I hear you!
retrofocus wrote:
Does this meter align with the groove made for the original Leica M3 meter on the exposure dial? Meaning when you rotate the dial, does the exposure change directly on the new Keks meter? Or does the new meter just sit on top of the dial but is not connected to it?
That's exactly how it works! Just like the Leica R/MR meter. The rotating knob fits right in the groove. Movement is very good on my copy. The shutter speed on the display is calibrated to the shutter speed on the M3 dial. If not, there is a way to calibrate the shutter speed to match the dial.
rji2goleez wrote:
That's exactly how it works! Just like the Leica R/MR meter. The rotating knob fits right in the groove. Movement is very good on my copy. The shutter speed on the display is calibrated to the shutter speed on the M3 dial. If not, there is a way to calibrate the shutter speed to match the dial.
This is very interesting then! Especially since lots of the original M3 based external Leica meters are broken (mine, too). Hefty price tag for this meter though.
Good to see that orders are being fulfilled. My order has been in for a few weeks and I expected to wait for a couple of months. So, still meeting expectations…still waiting.
Contemplating if that would help me with my M4P. Got a Keks KM01C at the moment. Not sure if I understand the advantage of the M Meter of that. I still need to dial in the F-Stop, right?
Ineound wrote:
Contemplating if that would help me with my M4P. Got a Keks KM01C at the moment. Not sure if I understand the advantage of the M Meter of that. I still need to dial in the F-Stop, right?
Because it’s mechanically indexed to the shutter speed dial, like the Leicameter, it essentially turns an M body into an aperture priority auto exposure camera. Sort of. So, quite a bit handier than a non-indexed meter sitting atop the body. IMO.
But, yes, like any aperture priority auto exposure camera you’ll be wanting to choose and set your aperture yourself.
Patiently waiting for mine, ordered months ago, to arrive, as my Leicameter stopped working shortly after I ordered this one.
Ineound wrote:
Contemplating if that would help me with my M4P. Got a Keks KM01C at the moment. Not sure if I understand the advantage of the M Meter of that. I still need to dial in the F-Stop, right?
The way this works (I've only had 1 day with the meter) is that as you dial in SS you see the aperture that needs to be set on the lens. With other lightmeters, you get your settings on the meter and then have to match it on the camera. So, with this meter, it feels quicker because SS is already set and you only have to set aperture on the lens. It feels faster.
I see, but if I work in aperture prio I set the aperture on my lightmeter and dial in the SS from the reading.... sounds like the current setup is closer to my ways of working thanks for the clarification and saving me a 120 bucks
Ineound wrote:
I see, but if I work in aperture prio I set the aperture on my lightmeter and dial in the SS from the reading.... sounds like the current setup is closer to my ways of working thanks for the clarification and saving me a 120 bucks
With the Leicameter, and this KEKS meter apparently, because it is mechanically coupled to the SS dial, the action of finding the "correct exposure" on the meter means that the shutter speed is dialed in concert with the action of finding the correct exposure on the meter, you don't have to see the shutter speed recommended by the meter for the aperture you have set, and then take your hand and move the dial yourself. Small difference, I guess, but it does save a "step". I know I am not explaining this clearly, but the process is a bit more automated than using the meter you already have. First time I used a Leicameter I thought, "Well, that's pretty slick." Then again, there is the $120 difference as you already noted.
Edward Teller wrote:
With the Leicameter, and this KEKS meter apparently, because it is mechanically coupled to the SS dial, the action of finding the "correct exposure" on the meter means that the shutter speed is dialed in concert with the action of finding the correct exposure on the meter, you don't have to see the shutter speed recommended by the meter for the aperture you have set, and then take your hand and move the dial yourself. Small difference, I guess, but it does save a "step". I know I am not explaining this clearly, but the process is a bit more automated than using the meter you already have. First time I used a Leicameter I thought, "Well, that's pretty slick." Then again, there is the $120 difference as you already noted....Show more →
Agreed! The SS dial is covered by the KEKS meter so you are in fact relying on the SS shown on the meter. Not a problem as it is calibrated with the SS dial. And yes. you do save a step. Almost done with a roll using the meter so I'll find out soon re proper exposure.
I posted some of these elsewhere but exposure seems to be spot on with this meter. I'm pretty happy with the whole use of it and it will be a permanent fixture on my M3.
I just received my Keks meter for Leica M - decided to give it a try. I ordered the chrome version because I will predominantly use it on my M3, too. So far I really like it - the OLED display is very clear. Nice that it comes with USB-C charging option - it arrives uncharged, full charging takes about an hour. A bit tricky to attach the meter to the correct position - both meter and camera reel need to be set to B positions as shown in the manual. It took me three attempts to make the meter's center pin and the small ridge fitting into the corresponding slots on the camera reel. But after it was aligned, it works all perfectly.
I also had to calibrate for the correct exposure stops aligning the camera's reel with the meter dial. Two steps on the meter were not needed with my M3 DS based reel - for 1/15 (set to jump directly to 1/30 from 1/8) and for 1/60 (set to jump directly to 1/125 from 1/50). Will test it with film, too but I don't think there is an issue getting great photos using this meter.
One little thing to mention: After calibration, when the meter is turned to the exposure which was adjusted/calibrated, it will still quickly show on the display the interval which is now ignored before displaying the correct calibrated value. In my example when I move to 1/30 sec, it will briefly display 1/15 sec even it is excluded by calibration.
andrewd01 wrote:
Looks great. Hopefully the tolerances are sufficiently accurate so it doesn’t scratch the top plate.
No scratching on the top plate from my experience with it. The meter sits a tiny bit above the plate surface after attaching it to the hot or cold shoe.
thanks for the clarification and saving me a 120 bucks 
