Doing without....(estimating exposure with chart)

[Hamster]

A question about practical aide to estimating exposure without meter.

I lost my lightmeter the other day and I can't afford one just yet... my last one was a flea market special and really the only thing that was useful for me was the mechanical dial.

What I would like to know is if there is a sliderule type device that is easily available for estimating exposure?

Or are there pocket cheat sheets I can use to estimate EV setting?

Alternatively, is the chart on the back of my Rolleiflex mx-evs good enough for estimating indoor lighting?

All wacky ideas welcome.

 

[2F/2F]

I would just go with the chart on the Rollei! Nice feature, eh? Should work just fine as long as you know the ASAs of the films listed on it.

 

[Ian Grant]

When I was teenager when ever one of my uncles used to visit he'd joke "what's the exposure now" and we'd guess then check with a light meter. After a while it became possible to estimate the exposure with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

I've always used a meter, but on the odd occasion when a battery's failed, or I forgot a meter I've guessed and been OK. As theprevious poster says there is that chart on the Rollei, it'll get you reasonable exposures they may not be perfect but you'll get an image.

Ian

 

[Steve Smith]

Try this: http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm



Steve.

 

[votrepear]

Ever photographer should know the "Sunny 16 Rule" it's one of the first things I learned years ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_16

 

[nze]

I use my exposuremat when I work with my pinhole or other toy camera
http://expomat.tripod.com/pdf/ExposureMat.pdf
It works fine and it is easy carry

 

[KenS]

exposure

A question about practical aide to estimating exposure without meter. (snip) All wacky ideas welcome.

Well... I have (somewhere safe?) a rather ageing copy of the Ilford exposure
tables that was recommended by my mentor about 50 years ago. You have to 'know' the speed of the film, month of the year, approximate hour of the day, approximate lat/long etc., then...being able to add and subtract 'values' from the provided "Tables of Truth", you should get as close as I got to best guess estimate that would, on most occasions, be somewhat 'modified' by my meterless mentor and 'his' 50 years under the darkcloth.

Ken

 

[removed account4]

i missplaced my light meter as well, its been missing for
maybe 6 months?
but i just use the sunny 16 rule anyways and get pretty good results ..

have fun!
(and good luck!)
john

 

[Claire Senft]

I believe that a person who works almost entirely with 1 film and developer and has had a good deal of experience in working with it will be able to more accurately estimate the exposure better than some of the auto-exposure systems. A good chart that is inexpensive might be a reall worthwhile addition to the camera bag.

 

[jolefler]

Pick up a copy of a "Kodak Master Photoguide", a pocket sized guide to every exposure situation.

 

[Anscojohn]

Some of the older guys would compute exposure on the ground glass by stopping down until a certain dark threshhold. I don't remember the exact way of doing it; but they seemed to get pretty good negs. IIRC, Sussman, in his book, which had been in print since the early 1940s, told how to do it. And didn't the early Mamiya C TLR have a diapram on the viewing lens for just depth of field evaluation and exposure estimation through the stop-down method?

 

[Sirius Glass]

From another thread that I posted on. That thread was dealing with exposures for photographing on snow at night. The plastic slide covers day light photography too.

Originally Posted by Sirius Glass (there was a url link here which no longer exists)
I have found that the Calculator for Night Light Exposures(author S.P. Martin) published in Popular Photography in 1964. It has provided proper exposures for night photography for me for years. A copy of one is available at http://www.southbristolviews.com/pic.../JiffyCalc.pdf
Steve
​

Improved version in plastic which is called "Day & Night Exposure Guide" at www.fotosharp.com 800 361 6341

 

[Hamster]

Thanks for all the fantastic hint, think I will get a regular slide rule from the flea market and tape the scales on the pdfs on the sliding parts. Lets see how that one will work out.

 

[uwphotoer]

Ever photographer should know the "Sunny 16 Rule" it's one of the first things I learned years ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_16

I can't agree more...... helps me all the time.

 

[Brandon D.]

You could use the light meter(s) that are between your ears.

 

[katphood]

I threw together a chart on my web site. Not exactly all that useful in the field. Feel free to copy it:

http://home.comcast.net/~kurt.thompson/EV.html