SUPERPILOT SBC - INSTRUCTIONS

Congratulations...
. ' . o n b e c o m i n gt h e o w n e r o f a S U P E R P I L O T S B C e x p o s u r e m e t e r ! Y o u r n e w
m e t e r i s a p r o d u c t o f G O S S E NG M B H , D - 8 5 2 0E r l a n g e n ,G e r m a n y( W e s t )- m a n u -
f a c t u r e so f p r e c i s i o ne l e c t r i c a li n s t r u m e n t ss i n c e 1 9 1 9 ,a n d o n e o f t h e o u t s t a n d i n g
pioneersin the design of exposure meters.
M a n y m i l l i o n s o f G O S S E Ne x p o s u r e m e t e r s a r e i n u s e a l l o v e r t h e w o r l d , g i v i n g
their owners reliable service year after year.
W e k n o w y o u w i l l b e p l e a s e dw i t h y o u r S U P E R P I L O T S B C a n d t h a t i t w i l l g i v e
y o u f a i t h f u ls e r v i c ef o r a l o n g t i m e t o c o m e . P r e c i s e l yb u i l t a n d c a r e f u l l yc a l i b r a t e d ,
i t s a d v a n c e dd e s i g n i n c o r p o r a t e st h e a d v a n t a g e so f a S i l i c o n B l u e C e l l ( s i l i c o n
p h o t o d i o d e ) f o r s p e e d y m e a s u r e m e n tw i t h e x c e l l e n t c o l o r c o r r e c t i o n .
P l e a s ea c q u a i n ty o u r s e l fw i t h t h i s f i n e i n s t r u m e n tb y r e a d i n gt h e f o l l o w i n g p a g e s
c a r e f u l l yw i t h y o u r S U P E R P I L O T S B C a t h a n d , t h u s g e t t i n g o f f to a good start
f o r c o n s i s t e n t l yg o o d r e s u l t s .

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 S l i d i n gs p h e r i c a d
l iffuser
f o r i n c i d e n tl i g h t
measurement

C i n e f - S t o ps c a l e
(lens apertures)
On-offswitch/needlelock 2 1 0 C i n e f r a m e sp e r s e c o n d
scale
1 1 H i g h - l o ws e l e c t o rs w i t c h

Computer ing (coupled 1 2 F i l m s p e e d s e t t i n gk n o b

to follow-pointer)

f-Stop Scale 13 ASA scalewindow

(lens apertures)
E x p o s u r et i m e s c a l e
(shutterspeeds) 14 Batterytest mark
Large red range signal 6 1 5 S m a l l r e d r a n g es i g n a l
Mechanical Zero 7
s e t t i n gm a r k 1 6 F o l l o wp o i n t e r
1 7 M e t e r n e e dl e

Eyeletfor neck strap I

Keep this page folded out when reading instructions, so that you
identify the various parts and scales.
 Mit tliffusor bei I8 tltHltt_ 18 Table of lux values and
$et ASA 50/ tB and lncident Light f o o t c a n dl e e q u i v a l e n s ( a p p r o x . )

&* o7
,2 7,ffi s5
LfiT t4 ,4 1{00 130
2n 2fi ,8 t8{f
'ts 269
lra 5S
'30 s5@ 50$
g! l1 fim0 tg06
15 27. '60 ?u000 ?m
I LL
'uE uffi0 4lx!0
4 fi8
'2W 8S000 8m0
2 r75 's0 r75066 F0$s
T 380 'filsg 35S@S 3e000

1 9 7 . e r oa d j u s t m e n t s c r e w

20 Batterychamber'
( B o t t o mo f m e t e r )

P u s h b u t t o nf o r b a t t e r yt e s t i n g

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 Readingthe Scales

Still Gameras
'2, '4, '8 etc. are fractions of seconds:
1 l z ,1 l r ,r / s s e c . e t c .
U n m a r k e dn u m e r a l s1 , 2 , 4 e t c . a r e f u l l
seconds.
' 1 m , 2 m ,4 m e t c . a r e m i n u t e s .
th, 2h are hours.
Cine Cameras
Cine frames per second and inter-
m e d i a t e m a r k i n s t o r ' 1 2 ,3 6 , 4 8 , a n d
72 t.p.s.
N o t e : O n c e r t a i n c i n e c a m e r a s ,t h e e x -
p o s u r e a t 1 8 f . p . s . i s n o t r / g os e c o n d .
Effective exposure time for f.p.s. can
be read at corresponding f-stop on
lower (still camera) scale. Check in-
structions for correct exposure time
for your camera!
BASIC SETTING

Determinethe ASA film speed rating of

the film in use - from the film box or
f i l m i n s t r u c t i o ns h e e t - a n d t u r n t h e
film speed setting knob (12) with your
t h u m b ( a s s h o w n ) ,o r w i t h a c o i n , u n t i l
t h e A S A n u m b e ro f y o u r f i l m i s l i n e d u p
w i t h t h e s i l v e r t r i a n g l ea t t h e A S A s c a l e
window (13).

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 A f t e r t h i s b a s i c s e t t i n g , y o u r S U P E R P I L O T S B C i s r e a d y f o r o p e r a t i o n .N o
further setting is necessary as long as you continue to use the same type
of film, or film havingthe same ASA number.

The ASA scale number (13) shows the values shown below in bold type. The '
i n t e r m e d i a t eA S A v a l u e s a r e i n d i c a t e d b y t h i n l i n e s o n t h e s c a l e .
6 25 -.100 400 1600 6400
8 32 < 125 500 2000 8000
10 40 160 640 2500 10000
12 50 200 800 3200 12s00
16 64 250 1000 4000
20 80 320 1250 5oOO
25 100 400 1600 6400
Testing The Zerc Position
T o t e s t t h e z e r o p o s i t i o n o f t h e i n d i c a t o r n e e d l e ,h o l d t h e S U P E R P I L O T S B C
level, without activat!ng the On-Off Switch ( 2 1 ,a n d l o o k v e r t i c a l l y d o w n o n t h e
n e e d l e ( 1 7 ) .l t s h o u l d l i n e u p w i t h t h e z e r o s e t t i n g m a r k ( 7 ) . T o a d j u s t t h e n e e d l e
position,turn the zero adjustmentscrew (19) on the underside of the meter.

r - , "- l
Batteries Battery Test L' r
T h e S U P E R P I L O T S B C o p e r a t e s w i t h t w o 1. 3 5V
M a l l o r y P X 1 3 o r P X 6 2 5 b a t t e r i e s .T h e l i f e o f t h e
b a t t e r i e s d e p e n d s o n y o ur u s e o f t h e m e t e r .
I t i s a d v i s a b l et o c h e c k t h e c o n d i t i o n o f t h e b a t t e r i e sf r o m t i m e t o t i m e : P r e s s
t h e s m a l l b u t t o n ( 2 1 1u n d e r t h e e y e l e t f o r t h e n e c k s t r a p( 8 ) w h i l e o b s e r v i n g t h e
i n d i c a t o rn e e d l e ( 1 7 ) . D u r i n g t h e b a t t e r y t e s t , t h e n e e d l e s h o u l d m o v e t o w i t h i n
t h e b a t t e r y t e s t m a r k ( 1 4 ) . O t h e r w i s e ,f r e s h b a t t e r i e s m u s t b e u s e d .
T o r e p l a c e t h e b a t t e r i e s ,o p e n t h e b a t t e r y c h a m b e r ( 2 0 ) b y t u r n i n g i t s c o v e r
f r o m " Z U l L O C K " t o " A U F / O P E N " ; r e m o v e t h e c o v e r a n d b a t t e r i e s .I n s e r t f r e s h
b a t t e r i e s i n c o r r e c t p o s i t i o n , € l s s h o w n i n d i a gr a m o n b a c k o f m e t e r . R e p l a c e
c o v e r w i t h a r r o w p o i n t i n g t o w a r d , , A U F/ O P E N " a n d t u r n t o " Z U I L O C K " .
After inserting fresh batteries, immediately make the battery test described
above.
4

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 O P E R A T I N GC O N T R O L S
I On-Off Switch/Needle Lock (21 - This control turns the meter on to make a
reading when depressed part way until resistance is felt. After the needle has
s e t t l e d ,p u s h i n gt h e s w i t c hf u l l y l o c k st h e n e e d l e i n t o p l a c e s o t h a t a m e a s u r e m e n t
c a n b e m a d e e v e n w h e r e t h e s c a l e .i s n o t r e a d i l yv i s i b l e b e c a u s e o f t h e p o s i t i o n
of the meter or due to dim light. While the scale is locked in place, you can
c o n v e n i e n t l ya d j u s t t h e c o m p u t e r d i a l t o g e t t h e p r o p e r r e a d i n g .
High-Low Selector Switch (11) - Selection of two sensitivity ranges of the light
i n t e n s i t yi s a c c o m p l i s h e db y m o v i n g t h e h i g h - l o w s e l e c t o r s w i t c h . W h e n p u s h e d
towards the bottom of the meter, the meter will be in its most sensitive mode,
i.e.,it will read its lowest level of light. When pushed up towards the front of
t h e m e t e r , t h e s e n s i t i v i t yo f t h e m e t e r i s a d j u s t e d t o r e a d h i g h l i g h t i n t e n s i t i e s .
l f i n d o u b t a s t o t h e r a n g e t o u s e , a l w a y ss i a r t w i t h t h e h i g h r a n g e .
Spherical Diffuser (1) - The spherical diffuser allows instantaneouschange from
i n c i d e n t t o r e f l e c t e d r e a d i n g s .F o r r e f l e c t e d r e a d i n g st h e d i f f u s e r i s s l i d a l l t h e
w a y t o t h e r i g h t s i d e o f t h e m e t e r , f u l l y e x p o s i n g t h e m e a s u r i n gw i n d o w . F o r
i n c i d e n t r e a d i n g st h e d i f f u s e r i s s l i d t o t h e c e n t e r p o r t i o n ( w h e r e i t ' s h e l d b y
a c l i c k s t o p ) c o v e r i n g t h e m e a s u r i n gw i n d o w . T h e m e t e r i s r e a d d i r e c t l y w h e n
m e a s u r i n g e i t h e r i n c i d e n t o r r e fl e c t e d l i g h t , w i t h n o a d j u s t m e n t s o f m e t e r
sensitivitynecessary.
AIMINGTHE METER
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Reflected Light Measurement Incident Light Measurement

T o m e a s u r e ,h o l d t h e m e t e r a s i n d i c a t e df o r r e f l e c t e do r i n c i d e n t l i g h t m e a s u r e -
m e n t a n d p r e s s t h e O n - O f f S w i t c h ( 2 ) u n t i l y o u f e e l r e s i s t a n c e .W h e n t h e m e t e r
needle (17) stops moving,turn the computer ring (3) until the needle (17) is
l i n e d u p t h r o u g ht h e c e n t e r o f t h e c i r c l e o f t h e y e l l o w f o l l o w p o i n t e r( 1 6 ) .
T h e f o l l o w p o i n t e r i s c o u p l e d w i t h t h e c o m p u t e rw h i c h n o w g i v e s y o u c o m p l e t e
e x p o s u r e i n f o r m a t i o ni n c o m b i n a t i o n so f f - s t o p s a n d e x p o s u r e t i m e s ( 4 a n d 5 )
f o r s t i l l c a m e r a s ,o r f - s t o p sa n d f r a m e s p e r s e c o n d ( 9 a n d 1 0 ) f o r c i n e c a m e r a s .

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M E A S U R I N GA N D R E A D I N G ;
Your SUPER PILOT SBC offers you the advantage of easily measuring either
t h e l i g h t r e f l e c t e df r o m t h e s c e n e ,o r t h e i n c i d e n t l i g h t t h a t i l l u m i n a t e st h e s c e n e .
T h u s , y o u r m e t e r c a n g i v e y o u r e l i a b l e e x p o s u r e i n f o r m a t i o nu n d e r a l l k i n d s
o f p i c t u r e - t a k i n gc o n d i t i o n s - . o n e o f t h e s p e c i a l a d v a n t a g e so f a h a n d - h e l d
exposure meter! With either method of measurement,the SUPER PILOT SBC
allows you to take continuous readings or to lock a particular reading as
desired.

Red Signals (6 and 15) mean "off limits"!

l f , d u r i n g m e a s u r e m e n tt,h e m e t e r n e e d l e ( 1 7 ) s t o p s u n d e r o n e o f t h e s e s i g n a l s ,
s i m p l y s w i t c h t o t h e o t h e r m e a s u r i n gr a n g e . l f t h e n e e d l e s t o p s u n d e r t h e s m a l l
r e d s i g n a l ( 1 5 ) ,s l i d e t h e s e l e c t o rs w i t c h ( 1 1 ) U P , a n d m e a s u r ei n t h e h i g h r a n g e ;
if the needle stops under the large red signal (6), slide the selectorswitch (11)
DOWN, and measure in the low range.
 HELPFUL FACTS ABOUT LIGHT MEASUREMENT
Reflected Light Measurement.When you point your SUPER PILOT SBC (with
uncovered measuring cell window) from the camera position towarcj the subject,
it measuresthe light reflected by all parts of the scene, averages it and indicates
a s u i t a b l e e x p o s u r e .A n d , f o r m o s t s u b j e c t s ,t h e e x p o s u r e i n d i c a t e d b y s u c h a n
overall reflected light reading is perfectly correct. (When large sky areas are
included in a scene, direct the meter slightly downward to exclude light from
the sky which would result in too high a reading.)
l f t h e s c e n e c o n t a i n s s t r o n g c o n t r a s t si n b r i g h t n e s so r c o l o r , i t i s p r e f e r a b l et o
measure that part of the scene which requires the most accurate exposure. For
n e g a t i v ef i l m s , t h i s i s u s u a l l y a d a r k e r a r e a w h i c h i s t o s h o w d e t a i l i n t h e f i n a l
p r i n t ; f o r c o l o r s l i d e s o r m o v i e f i l m s t h e l i g h t e r a r e a s a r e u s u a l l y f a v o r e d .T o
m e a s u r es u c h i m p o r t a n t a r e a s , g e t c l o s e r t o t h e s u b j e c t b u t n o t s o c l o s e t h a t
your own shadow or that of the SUPER PILOT SBC falls on the subject. Such
close-up readings are especially appropriate if an important darker subject is I
I
b a c k l i g h t e do r w h e n a n i m p o r t a n tb r i g h t e r s u b j e c t i s a g a i n s t a d a r k b a c k g r o u n d . lr
l
I

O r , i n s t e a d o f t a k i n g a c l o s e - u p r e a d i n g ,i f t h e s u b j e c t i s i n a c c e s s i b l ey, o u m a y -t
take a substitutereading by pointing the meter at a nearby subject which receives
t h e s a m e i l l u m i n a t i o na s t h e a c t u a l s c e n e , a n d w h i c h i s s i m i l a r t o t h e s u b j e c t .
(Your own ski parka or a nearbyflower,for instance.)

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Incident Light Measurement.The most convenient way to determine exposure
f o r s c e n e s c o n t a i n i n ge x t e n s i v eb r i g h t o r d a r k a r e a s , i . e . c o n t r a s t y s u b j e c t s , i s
b y m e a n s o f a n i n c i d e n t l i g h t m e a s u r e m e n tS. i m p l y s l i d e t h e d i f f u s e r( 1 ) o v e r t h e
m e a s u r i n gc e l l w i n d o w a n d p o i n t t h e m e t e r , f r o m t h e s u b j e c t p o s i t i o n , t o w a r d
t h e c a m e r a . T h u s , y o u m e a s u r e a l l t h e l i g h t w h i c h i l l u m i n a t e st h a t p a r t o f t h e
subject which faces the camera.lf the subject is too far away, point the meter
t o w a r d t h e c a m e r a f r o m a n o t h e r p o s i t i o n w h i c h r e c e i v e st h e s a m e l i g h t .

Setting Your Own "standards"

A l t h o u g h g e n e r a l s t a n d a r d s h a v e b e e n e s t a b l i s h e df o r fi l m s p e e d s , c a m e r a
s h u t t e r s ,l e n s a p e r t u r e s ,e t c . , i t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t - f o r o n e r e a s o n o r a n o t h e r -
t h e r e s u l t s y o u g e t b y u s i n g a l l t h e s e s t a n d a r d s ,d o n o t p l e a s e y o u . C r i t i c a l
p h o t o g r a p h e r su s u a l l y m a k e a c t u a l p e r f o r m a n c e t e s t s o f a l l t h e i r e q u i p m e n t
t o e s t a b l i s h t h e i r o w n s t a n d a r d o f f i l m s p e e d r a t i n g s t o h a r m o n i z ew i t h t h e i r
particular camera, lenses, projector,etc. lf your color slides are consistently
too light, simply set your SUPERPILOT SBC for a higher ASA number; if they
are too dark, use a lower ASA number.
 F O O T C A N D L EE Q U I V A L E N T S .
T h e t a b l e o n t h e b a c k o f t h e S U P E R P I L O T S B C s h o w s a p p r o x i m a t ef o o t c a n d l e
a n d l u x v a l u e s ( 1 f c : 1 1 l u x ) c o r r e s p o n d i n gt o t h e s c a l e r e a d i n g s o b t a i n e d
by incident light measurement.(For fc equivalents,set the ASA scale at 50 and
r e a d t h e e x p o s u r et i m e a t f / 8 . ) H o w e v e r ,t h e S U P E R P I L O T S B C c a n n o t b e u s e d
f o r a c c u r a t ef o o t c a n d l em e a s u r e m e n t sb e c a u s et h i s w o u l d r e q u i r e a f l a t d i f f u s i n g
s c r e e n ,w h e r e a s t h e s p h e r i c a l d i f f u s e r o f t h e S U P E R P I L O T S B C i s s p e c i f i c a l l y
d e s i g n e d t o a c h i e v e s u p e r i o r c o l l e c t i o n o f t h e p h o t o g r a p h i c a l l ye f f e c t i v e
i l l u m i n a t i o n :P h o t o g r a p h i cs u b j e c t s a r e u s u a l l y t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n aal n d t h e y a r e
i l l u m i n a t e df r o m m a n y d i f f e r n t d i r e c t i o n s ( s u n , s k y , r e f l e c t i o n sf r o m b u i l d i n g s ,
t r e e s , g r o u n d e t c . ) . H o w e v e r ,t h e f o o t c a n d l e t a b l e c a n b e o f p r a c t i c a l v a l u e f o r F
m e a s u r i n gd i r e c t l i g h t b e a m s , e . g . a r c l i g h t s , s p o t s .

L O N G E X P O S U R E S- R E C I P R O C I T YF A I L U R E Bu{/Os- ut
I
F i l m m a n u f a c t u r e r sb a s e t h e p u b l i s h e d" s p e e d r a t i n g s "o f p h o t o g r a p h i ce m u l s i o n s
o n a v e r a g e c o n d i t i o n s o f e x p o s u r e t i m e s a n d i l l u m i n a t i o nu n d e r w h i c h s u c h
e m u l s i o n sa r e " n o r m a l l y " i n t e n d e dt o b e u s e d . H o w e v e r ,p h o t o g r a p h yu n d e r p o o r
tI
l i g h t c o n d i t i o n sm a y c a l l f o r " a b n o r m a l l y "l o n g e x p o s u r e sw h i c h m a y c a u s e s o m e
films not only to lose "speed", but to changetheir color balance as well. This
$
b e h a v i o ro f p h o t o g r a p h i ce m u l s i o n si s d u e t o a p h e n o m e n o nc a l l e d " r e c i p r o c i t y
f a i l u r e " . S i n c e v a r i o u s t y p e s a n d m a k e s o f f i l m s r e a c t d i f f e r e n t l yt o e x t e n d e d
e x p o s u r et i m e s , i t i s i m p r a c t i c a lt o i n c o r p o r a t et h e m a n y p o s s i b l e v a r i a t i o n s i n
the SUPERPILOT SBC scales.

10

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 It is advisable to write to the lilm manufacturer for information concerning the
necessary exposure correction and filtering for color correction of the specillc
film whicfi you plan to use with extended exposure times

YOUR GOSSEN SUPER PILOT SBC

i s a v a l u a b l ep r e c i s i o ni n s t r u m e n t m
, a d e w i t h g r e a t c a r e a n d a c c u r a t e l yc a l i b r a t e d .
It deservesyour good care!
The battery and zero position tests described on page 4 enable you to check
t h e p r o p e r f u n c t i o n i n go f y o u r S U P E R P I L O T S B C .
M e a s u r i n g c o m p a r i s o n so f y o u r S U P E R P I L O T S B C w i t h s i m i l a r o r o t h e r W p e s
of exposure meters cannot be made properly without special laboratory eduip-
ment (optical bench).
Do not attempt to open or repair your SUPER PILOT SBC. See Service information
on the following page.

$
11
SERVICE
Should your GOSSEN SUPER PILOT SBC require service, send the meter
( d i r e c t l y o r t h r o u g h a n a u t h o r i z e dd e a l e r ) , i n t h e o r i g i n a l p a c k i n g , i f p o s s i b l e ,
prepaidand insuredto:

Gossen Service Center Gossen Service Center

Berkey Marketing Companies B e r k e yM a r k e t i n gC o m p a n i e s
25-20 Brooklyn Queens Expwy. West 1 0 1 1C h e s t n u tS t r e e t
Woodside,New York 11377 B u r b a n k ,C a l i f o r n i a9 15 0 6

A brief description of the reason for sending the m e t e r s h o u l d a c c o m p a n y t h e

package.

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GOSSEN SIXTICOLOR

Color Temperature Meter

and Filter Indicator

Eliminates costiy trial exposures and

"offcolor" results. At a glance, this
compact instrument shows the color
t e m p e r a t u r e o f t h e l i g h t s o u r c e ( 2 , 6 0 0t o
2 0 , 0 0 0 K ) a n d , s i m u l t a n e o u s l y ,i n d i c a t e s
the correction filter required for correct
color balance with any type of color
film. The GOSSEN SIXTICOLOR is an
important aid for every user of color
film in still or motion picture photo-
g raphy.
Ask your dealer for a demonstration!