Hey whats up people. i'm new to photography and need some help. i have an old pentax asahi and i need help with my aperture. i don't know how to set it according to the amount of outside light. i also have a flash and need to know how to the aperture properly when i use my flash. can somebody please help me!!!! my e-mail is duo_311@yahoo.com thanks for any help you can give me!!!!!!!!
Aperture settings
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I hope I don't sound mean but it's probably easier to go down to the libary and check out a book on basic photography than it is to get advice online.
Some things are just easier with the camera in one hand and a book with photos in the other.
Good luck,
Ian
Some things are just easier with the camera in one hand and a book with photos in the other.
Good luck,
Ian
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kshane:
if you have a camera with a light meter, the first thing you need to do is go to a drugstore, department store or camera store and put a new battery in the camera. the battery can be removed by unscrewing the 'plug" under the camera. look at the # on the battery and get the same one of the one tha "replaces it"
with the lenscap off, take the camera, put the shutter speed on something like 60 (dial ontop of the camera) point the lens at a bright light or the sun and move the aperature ring to both sides ( larger numbers and smaller numbers) .. you should see the needle inside the camera ( sometimes on the right sometimes on the left) or red/ green lights on the bottom of your viewer chaning color. if they don't, your light meter might not be working. if that is the case, you might need to go to your local yellow pages and see if you can find a repair guy to take the camera to. if the needle is mooving, and the led lights inside the eyepiece are changing colors, you are in business.
you want to adjust the shutter speed and the fstop to the needle is in the middle, or maybe a little towards the "+" or "-" depending on what you want to do. led lights, i think the 2 lights turn into 1?? not sure. play with the camera a little bit you'll see that the fstops shutter speeds and asa ( film speed ) are all interconnected...
as for the flash ..
the "sync" speed is either 60, 125 or 250, there might be an "X" next to the # or it might be a different color ( red instead of white like the rest of the #'s ) not sure what kind of a flash you have ... there might be a 'scale' on the side of the flash that tells you what aperature to set it at depending on the distance away from your subject. experiment a little bit ... depending on the flash at about 10 -12 feet you can set your fstop at anywhere from f4 - f8....
take what i wrote with a big grain of salt, since i have no idea what your camera & flash have. buy a roll or 3 of film - shoot it and see what your results are before doing anything important with your camera
ian gave some good advice - if all else fails, go the library and look for a book
-have fun -
-john
if you have a camera with a light meter, the first thing you need to do is go to a drugstore, department store or camera store and put a new battery in the camera. the battery can be removed by unscrewing the 'plug" under the camera. look at the # on the battery and get the same one of the one tha "replaces it"
with the lenscap off, take the camera, put the shutter speed on something like 60 (dial ontop of the camera) point the lens at a bright light or the sun and move the aperature ring to both sides ( larger numbers and smaller numbers) .. you should see the needle inside the camera ( sometimes on the right sometimes on the left) or red/ green lights on the bottom of your viewer chaning color. if they don't, your light meter might not be working. if that is the case, you might need to go to your local yellow pages and see if you can find a repair guy to take the camera to. if the needle is mooving, and the led lights inside the eyepiece are changing colors, you are in business.
you want to adjust the shutter speed and the fstop to the needle is in the middle, or maybe a little towards the "+" or "-" depending on what you want to do. led lights, i think the 2 lights turn into 1?? not sure. play with the camera a little bit you'll see that the fstops shutter speeds and asa ( film speed ) are all interconnected...
as for the flash ..
the "sync" speed is either 60, 125 or 250, there might be an "X" next to the # or it might be a different color ( red instead of white like the rest of the #'s ) not sure what kind of a flash you have ... there might be a 'scale' on the side of the flash that tells you what aperature to set it at depending on the distance away from your subject. experiment a little bit ... depending on the flash at about 10 -12 feet you can set your fstop at anywhere from f4 - f8....
take what i wrote with a big grain of salt, since i have no idea what your camera & flash have. buy a roll or 3 of film - shoot it and see what your results are before doing anything important with your camera
ian gave some good advice - if all else fails, go the library and look for a book
-have fun -
-john
kshane, don't aim the camera directly at the sun, you may end up going blind or at least seriously damaging your eyes. Ait it at the sky. I can send you a list of books if you like. I've read just about all the current photography books myself. a few stand out as simple non technical guides for people in your position.
Brian
Brian
Kshane
I believe I'm the (self nominated) resident old Pentax expert.
Which is your camera's model?
Jorge O
I believe I'm the (self nominated) resident old Pentax expert.
Which is your camera's model?
Jorge O
Probably not the answers you want to hear, but:
With existing light (no flash, your "outside light"), the aperture setting depends on shutter speed and film ISO rating (speed).
With flash, the aperture depends on the "guide number" of the flash (a rating of the output power) and the film ISO rating. The shutter speed is set to the "sync speed" or slower (usually 1/60 or 1/125 depending on the camera).
They're simple questions but they have complicated answers. A basic photography book will help a lot, some of these concepts are easier to explain with drawings and images.
With existing light (no flash, your "outside light"), the aperture setting depends on shutter speed and film ISO rating (speed).
With flash, the aperture depends on the "guide number" of the flash (a rating of the output power) and the film ISO rating. The shutter speed is set to the "sync speed" or slower (usually 1/60 or 1/125 depending on the camera).
They're simple questions but they have complicated answers. A basic photography book will help a lot, some of these concepts are easier to explain with drawings and images.
Jorge Oliveira said:
I have one of these too. Mine uses a mercury battery which is now obsolete, however it is my contention that it may be replaced with a silver/zinc of similar physical size. The Spotmatic employs a needle match system which normally consists of a bridge-circuite. These circuits only need a source of current. The exact voltage may not be absolutely required. A few tests could be in order. I base this on a long-time familiarity with similar instrumentation utilizing Wheatstone bridge circuitry and some recent experiments with other meters using similar technology.
Truly, dr bob.
P.S. You do not _have_ to have a meter to use this camera (and many others). The Pentax Asahi Spotmatic is a very good camera. I still us mine.
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