KEKS KM02 Light Meter Review
Advanced technology for vintage cameras
The KM02 light meter from KEKS is a neat little device that, apart from the small alpha-numeric LED display on the back, looks perfectly at home on most of my vintage cameras. Sure a Voigtlander meter with the cool dials might look a little more stylish, but it would have cost me a sizable chunk more as well.
I ordered this unit ($112 plus shipping) and it took forever to get here. I wanted it for an event I was going to and ordered it directly from the KEKS site because they said it was in stock. But, although the initial ordering screen said it was in stock it didn’t ship. When I enquired about shipping status the company told me it was due back in stock any day. This happened twice. Finally, after ordering the device on March 6, 2023, it shipped on April 25, 2023 - a full month and a half later. No, I was not happy but I wanted the meter.
After the unit finally arrived, I must admit that it works quite well and I have become quite fond of it. I have only had two problems, and they have more to do with my use of the device than the device itself. The first is that it is hard for me to remember which button combinations change certain settings. The up and down to select the aperture is fine (or speed depending on your setup), but remembering how to change the ISO sends me back to the manual. That could be because I almost always shoot ISO 400 film, so I rarely need to change that setting.
The second glitch happened the first time I went to charge the unit - it simply would not charge. I plugged the meter into the USB-C cable at my desk and nothing happened. I pushed buttons, I wiggled cords, I tested power, but nothing. I contacted the company and got a fairly quick response back asking if I was using their USB-C cord or a different one. Huh. I unplugged my USB-C cable, plugged in theirs and the meter proceeded to charge right up. Since then I have been successful with a few other third-party cables, but the warning still holds that you may need to be careful what cable you use to charge the unit. That could be a problem on the road if I haven’t made sure to bring not only a USB-C cable but a verified compatible USB-C cable.
I guess a third minor quibble would be that in bright sunlight I find the display a bit hard to read. Again, this may just be me with my aging eyes, and shielding the display with my hand helps me read it, but it may be a problem for others too.
There are many options other than the KEKS meter, including the new and slightly simpler sugar-cube-shaped KEKS KMQ and also the simple Reflex Lab light meter. Another similar but different device I may invest in soon is a distance meter (digital rangefinder?) for my range focus cameras like the Voigtlander Vito B.
Thoroughly reviewed and nicely written. Well done! :)