Vintage exposure meter in leather case, likely Dejur Autocritic Model 50A

Light meters became essential photographic tools in the mid-20th century, helping photographers determine proper exposure settings before the advent of built-in camera meters. The Dejur company, active from the 1940s through the 1960s, produced affordable exposure meters for amateur and professional photographers. These handheld selenium cell meters required no batteries and were valued for their reliability and portability. Vintage exposure meters appeal to photography collectors, film photography enthusiasts, and those interested in mid-century photographic technology. They represent an important era in photography history when manual exposure calculation was standard practice, and many collectors appreciate them both as functional tools and as nostalgic reminders of traditional film photography techniques.