Hot show based lightmeters are nothing new, one of the first accessories I got for my Barnack Leica was a Voitlander VCII and even before that Leitz released their own dedicated shoe mounted meter for the M-Series of rangefinders. But ever since the release of the Reveni Labs LM-1, there has been a massive upsurge of similar OLED based shoe meters. So when I was contacted by AstriHori if I wanted to review their newest shoe meter, the Lightmeter II or XH-2 I jumped at the chance. I had heard of AstriHori in passing mostly through ads on my social media feeds but also with an article over on 35mmc about their first shoe based meter. But the XH-2 is a far cry at least in looks from the original offering which drew me into the product.
Meter Specifications
Make: AsterHori
Model: XH-2
Meter Cell: SPD Cell, 30° angle of view
Display: 16.7mm OLED Screen
Shutter Speed Range: 32s – 1/8000s
Aperture Range: f/1 – f/32
EI Range: ASA-5 – ASA-6400
Dimensions: 43x27x23mm
Weight: 63g
Power Source: 80 mAh Lithium Battery
The first thing that drew me into the meter was the look of the meter. AsterHori’s first light meter has a similar look and feel to the DOOMO Meter S, the XH-2 takes the traditional and flips it 90° so that it is longer than it is wide. The top plate is filled with the single control dial and the small OLED screen, the single button is located on the rear of the lens and the sensor window is at the front. Once I got the meter in my hand, it is a lot bigger than I expected, it is fairly tall and has a lot of weight, a lot more weight than I expected. The one thing that I was concerned about after seeing the meter was how it would behave and interfere with using the viewfinder of an SLR. The concern was warranted because the meter is longer than it is wide. Thankfully after mounting it on my Nikkormat FT2, the meter does not interfere with holding and using the camera.
Out in the field the XH-2 is a good fit for any camera you choose to mount it on, based on the design it may look more at home on a rangefinder, but don’t limit yourself to only that formfactor. I had no issues mounting this meter on my Mamiya m645 with the prism finder, and even getting it onto my Nikkormat and of course a couple of rangefinders, the Contax IIIa and Century 35. The one thing I do recommend is getting it all setup first before going out so you have some time to get used to the control, especially the length of the double-click to adjust your film rating. From there, the meter does its job without complaint, it takes the reading quickly and the screen is bright allowing for both low and hard light. The 30° offers up a good average reading of the scene. You will have to watch where you’re aiming the meter, so you don’t catch areas that you don’t want to be in the meter. I saw this in a couple of frames where I caught more of the sky than I was intending. Adjusting the settings is easy, the scroll wheel has some feedback and friction so it doesn’t spin freely, and the click button responds with good feedback also. The meter is fast on the reading and powering on from either a full turned-off state to the hibernation mode.
Like any light meter the proof is in the pudding and that is results. While I’ve only shot three rolls of film with this meter on the camera and more in the works, I can honestly say that the meter does a good job. The meter is accurate when compared to a similarly specked meter, I compared the XH-2 to my Gossen Lunasix F and the Reveni Labs Meter. All three delivered similar results each time. The one thing that I would say is that the XH-2 is almost too accurate for some of the cameras that people will mount the meter to, mainly because of that third stop adjustments for each setting. Thankfully you can lean into the latitude of your film, more with black & white, less so with slide film. But even slide film has enough latitude that if you’re careful in where you’re aiming the meter that a third of a stop won’t make your break your image.
Like any accessory shoe meter, this is a great way to add meter functionality to either a camera without a meter or a dead meter. In the case of the cameras that I used, one had a meter in need of adjustment, another had no meter, and the third has a dead metering head. The meter itself will work well on SLRs, without interference with the use of the eye level finder. If you can add a hand grip to the camera with an accessory shoe you can use the waist level finder and with the top mounted screen, it would make life easier. It also looks good on most rangefinders as well with the clean and sleek design. The XH-2 is aimed at the average photographer, the ones who head out with older mechanical cameras, you can see that with the range of film speeds and exposure settings. If you use pinhole and large format cameras the meter will not give you the full experience with these two formats. Also if you love working with super fast or ultra-low film speeds, you’re also going to be hampered with the meter. It’s another great piece of kit to help improve the usability of a camera and not have to carry around a large clunky meter when you want to keep your kit count low.
If you’re in the market for a new accessory shoe meter you have a tonne of options available to you these days, but I honestly feel the XH-2 fits into the niche nicely. It presents a different look and feel to other meters and is ready to use right out of the box. The cost point is competitive, clocking in at 79$, which given the excellent build quality is a good price for what you get. The XH-2 is a good meter for the average photographer, someone who doesn’t go to extremes in either their gear or film speeds, and for anyone with a SLR or Rangefinder in need of a new meter. I honestly think that once I get an accessory adapter for my Mamiya, this will be the go to meter for that camera on a regular basis, especially with the top screen and using the waist level finder. I highly recommend this meter.
Further Reading
Don’t take only my word on the XH-2, check out these other reviews.
35mmc – Astrhori XH-2 Shoe Mount Lightmeter Mini Review
Vintage Camera Digest – AstrHori XH-2 – Is it an Upgrade over the AH-M1