c1951 Leica Meter by Metraphot with Weston, DIN, and ASA film sensitivity settings
Toronto. Pre WW2, standalone meters began to appear. The more expensive ones used a selenium cell. In 1951, camera-mounted meters came along, often with a means to attach a booster cell. Selenium meters (and older) were okay in sunlight but not as dusk began to fall, or indoors when a meter would be of real use.
Initially, the meters attached to the camera hot shoe but were not linked to the shutter or aperture. Leitz farmed out the meter manufacture to Metraphot and Metrawatt.
Typical of the “post war and pre CdS” meters is the Leica Meter shown here which was offered c1951. It has a leather case and a booster cell with its own case.The booster cell is attached to a special hot shoe on the short flat side of the meter (next to the leather case in the above photo).
While we can’t say for sure you will find a Leica Meter at our May 24, 2026 fair, you WILL find many items suitable to expand your collection and user gear. The poster for the fair, plus other information will be pinned to this site closer to the fair date.
Note: This post title is inspired by a Beetles song on the Sgt Pepper album (I have the album in Vinyl and CD).
