Selenium Light Meter

Chrome, glass, celluloid
factory: FED, Kharkov/USSR

year:1938

serial number: E-3828
notes:

This light meter is just 1 1/8" tall, with a diameter of 2".

It weighs just under 8 oz.

It has a selenium cell, covered with glass on one side and a curved celluloid window to view the meter.

Engraved guides for:

Film speeds of 100 to 1600 (old Х&Д - it stands for H&D, Hurter and Driffield - exposure system speeds)

Times of 8 minutes to 1/1000 second

Aperture settings of f:1.5 to f:18.

This meter has its factory original, fabric-covered, felt-lined inner box and outer box. The outer box has Cyrillic writing in pen on the inside lid, which reads: "Exposuremeter 1222/300". This light meter was bought during World War II, along with a FED camera, by American photographer, C. L. Sands, and bears his name on the top lid of the outer box. The meter reacts only slightly to strong light due to a worn out selenium cell.

Three series seem to exist with body in bakelite, aluminium or chromed brass.
In the known serial numbers below, the prefix "3" which sometimes appears seems to be an "E" in cyrillic (probably for Exposure). (info Jacques M.).

The light meter in Nathan Dayton's cased FED set has no serial number and the meter scale is hand written and colored.

#3-2311 has a clamshell type brown leather case with a snap.

Known serial numbers:

3-82_________ ebay

3-134 ________ S.Pseunok, Russia

3-454 ________ PYC

3-681 ________ Alexander K.

3-721 ________ eBay

3-750 ________ Yves Gaitanakis

3-1128 ________ web

1392 _________ Molotok _________________ without '3'

3-1533 _______ Soviet Camera store

1687 _________ Westlicht auction#29 lot#257

3-1691 ________ ebay

3-1794 ________ web

3-1976 ________ web ___________________ leather case

3-2000 _______ Alain Berry

3-2311 _______ Nathan Dayton

3-2336 ________ web

2429 _________ ebay ___________________ without '3'