Can I rely on My K1000's Centre Weighted Metering?

[Andrew O'Neill]

 

[film4Me]

Interesting. I have the same meter in my Pentax KM. I've often walked up to the subject and taken a reading and mostly ignored the surrounds. This video explains the situation clearly for achieving extra shadow detail. In the past I've also taken two readings of a contrasty scene and averaged the readings, which I found works pretty well too.

Thanks.

 

[mshchem]

My first real 35mm camera was a Pentax SP 500. Eventually added a Pentax ES, screw mount cameras. I made great pictures with these cameras. Just matched up the needle, or with the ES set to auto. I had to be cool so I traded these in for Nikon F2S, this camera is more center weighted. I bet my color slide success rate dropped by 75%. I rarely use in camera meters unless it's something like a Nikon F5 with matrix metering on auto pilot. I'm better off guessing. I'm actually pretty good at guessing. I use an incident meter. Pretty boring approach

 

[RalphLambrecht]

My first real 35mm camera was a Pentax SP 500. Eventually added a Pentax ES, screw mount cameras. I made great pictures with these cameras. Just matched up the needle, or with the ES set to auto. I had to be cool so I traded these in for Nikon F2S, this camera is more center weighted. I bet my color slide success rate dropped by 75%. I rarely use in camera meters unless it's something like a Nikon F5 with matrix metering on auto pilot. I'm better off guessing. I'm actually pretty good at guessing. I use an incident meter. Pretty boring approach

As far as reflective meters go(which measure lumination) and not illumination, as incident meters do, matrix metering is by far the best, followed by center-weighted systems. Average metering is only reliable with average scenes. Incident metering is great with scenes that are well illuminated but have objects of large contrast distribution (white in front of black or visa versa). Nevertheless, the results are similar to 'sunny 16', which often works just fine. A center-weighted reflected system is a good choice and with some experience, a pretty robust way to go.

 

[loccdor]

With shade that isn't deep on a broadly sunny day on negative film I found the shady f/4 rule works with no metering required. If there are sunny spots in the image you go up some amount toward sunny f/16 or hazy f/11 depending on the overexposure latitude of your film and the importance of the highlight vs. shadow parts to the image.

 

[pentaxuser]

I thought Andy weighted was marginally better in most of the shots but preferred centre weighted in the shot with a lot of highlights. It's probably a matter of taste in most occasions where darker shadows look better to some users and lighter is preferred by others.

pentaxuser

 

[cliveh]

Doesn't it depend on what is in the centre of the frame when you take the meter reading?

 

[DREW WILEY]

My first camera was an early Honeywell Pentax with an externally coupled averaging 45-dgree CDs meter. Rather primitive. But I soon got accustomed to it, and never botched even fussy Kodachrome exposures. But for the past 55 years, I've standardized on handheld Pentax 1 degree spot meters with silicon cells, for all my cameras.

Relying on film "latitude" is like betting that every "hail Mary" football pass will be caught. But I have worked from memory based previous analogous shots or scenes which were metered.

One can get away with way more using a consumer color neg film like Kodacolor Gold designed for careless variables, rather than a highly tuned high contrast color neg film like Ektar (which I'm about to print again soon - looks more like chrome work than traditional color neg).

 

[Melvin J Bramley]

When using my Nikon FE in difficult lighting , I meter from something that is close to 18% grey.
The results can be taken care of with either film development or the use of split grade printing.

 

[Kilgallb]

I have owned a K1000 for years. I think Pentax optimized the meter to work outside on a sunny day with Kodak asa 80 film they sold in those days.

 

[warden]

Perhaps something is wrong with mine but the meter seems to change if light enters from behind the camera through the eyepiece. The problem is corrected when my eye is close to the eyepiece shielding it from light. Anyone else notice this?

 

[film4Me]

Yes, I've known about it for years. But since I've had cataract surgery in both eyes recently, I don't need glasses any longer, and the problem went away.

 

[mshchem]

I just use an old Kodak Photoguide. Never fails. Pentax Spotmatic meter always gave me good Kodachrome slides, Nikon center weighted was tricky. But that was then!

 

[koraks]

the meter seems to change if light enters from behind the camera through the eyepiece

I think that's a common trait between many cameras. Many cameras come with some kind of feature to block out stray light from entering the camera through the viewfinder. E.g. the Canon T90 has a small window blind that can be engaged with a lever, and later EOS cameras came with a neck strap that had a rubber piece that would slot over the viewfinder. The use case here is to avoid spurious exposure when doing times exposures on a tripod, but the stray light entering through the eyepiece can also affect meter readings.

 

[warden]

I think that's a common trait between many cameras. Many cameras come with some kind of feature to block out stray light from entering the camera through the viewfinder. E.g. the Canon T90 has a small window blind that can be engaged with a lever, and later EOS cameras came with a neck strap that had a rubber piece that would slot over the viewfinder. The use case here is to avoid spurious exposure when doing times exposures on a tripod, but the stray light entering through the eyepiece can also affect meter readings.

Got it - thanks!

 

[warden]

Thanks for making these videos @Andrew O'Neill I really enjoy them.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

@warden that makes me happy! Thank you!

 

[Ben 4]

Crocuses under those trees?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Crocuses under those trees?

They are indeed! I nice touch added by the grounds crew.

 

[Chan Tran]

Most of what Andy did was to give more exposure for better shadow details something the Matrix metering system won't do. This is why I don't use the Matrix metering for negative film.

 

[wiltw]

Doesn't it depend on what is in the centre of the frame when you take the meter reading?

All meters assume that the area being within the meter's sensititive area will AVERAGE to 18% midtone! All reflected light meters aimed at a totally white area will suggest a reading which will expose that area to be midtone gray! All reflected light meters aimed at a totally black area will suggest a reading which will expose that area to be midtone gray!
If you put anything in front of a reflected light meter that is NOT 'average brightness', the meter will suggest a reading to expose that area to midtone gray brightness average.

 

[snusmumriken]

IMHO, centre-weighted meter systems were a flawed tool, because you never knew exactly what weight was given to the peripheral part of the image. I find a centre spot with a sharp edge, like on the M6, much more straightforward to work with.

 

[wiltw]

IMHO, centre-weighted meter systems were a flawed tool, because you never knew exactly what weight was given to the peripheral part of the image.

I find a centre spot with a sharp edge, like on the M6, much more straightforward to work with.

Unfortunately we have to work with the technology built into the device in our hands and try to work around its shortcomings, unless we buy a separate meter with the technology of our choosing

 

[Paul Howell]

All meters assume that the area being within the meter's sensititive area will AVERAGE to 18% midtone! All reflected light meters aimed at a totally white area will suggest a reading which will expose that area to be midtone gray! All reflected light meters aimed at a totally black area will suggest a reading which will expose that area to be midtone gray!
If you put anything in front of a reflected light meter that is NOT 'average brightness', the meter will suggest a reading to expose that area to midtone gray brightness average.

The thinking behind center weighted is to limited the amount of exposure given to sky. Some makers such Miranda Sensormate used bottom weighted in which the metering pattern was etched into the mirror with heavy strip on the bottom of the horizontal orientation with a spike in the middle to catch the sky. I found bottom weighted to work quite well for landscapes but used a hand held meter for portraits Nikon center weighted metering was good enough that most pro Nikon users relied on it in most lighting without issues. But just as with spot metering, matrix metering there is tricky lighting when a hand held incid;ent meter is best.

 

[cliveh]

Unless you are shooting slide film, I don't see any problem with a centre weighted meter. You just point it so the centre area of the viewfinder meters what you want to meter, set the camera and then compose the picture.