The CM-1 featured a battery-powered through-the-lens light metering system that utilized a red-above, green-middle, and red-below to indicate whether the shutter speed/aperture setting was over/ok/under exposing the picture.

The CM-1 was sold through discount retailers such as K-Mart during the 1980s and proved to be very durable and reliable.

Chinon branded products were sold in the UK through the Dixons high-street chain in the same period.

This helped to expand the range of lens offerings for both Chinon and Pentax cameras.

The CS had TTL metering and the Memotron had auto exposure with a handy system which allowed the user to take and retain a meter reading and save the exposure for a shot taken where the subject matter had been reframed.