Estimating Exposure

[Vaughn]

That's confusing.

Not really -- the camera can be set at whatever "EV" you want (the numbers on the table on the back of the camera), lock it in and as one changes the f/stop, the shutter speed changes to keep the same EV (or visa versa). It is the MX-EVS model. I also have an earlier Rolleiflex MX model that has a similar table on the back (but without the neat pictures), but gives the recommendations in f/stops and shutter speeds.

For example, using the Rollei MX-EVS model, photographing with open sky (but not at the beach or with snow) at ASA 50 gives me an EV of 13 on the table. It is late in the afternoon (long shadows), so I subtract 2. 13-2=11, so I move the f/stop and shutter speed so that the mark on the dial is at an EV of 11, lock it in and move the dials to the f/stop and shutter speed combo I want to use.

While I actually never used that feature, I use about the same system now with my Pentax Digital Spot -- I read the "EV" numbers from the deepest shadow I want detail in (say, 4 read in the meter) and then take the reading in the brightest highlight (say, 10), then I figure where I want the shadows.

If I exposed at 4, those shadows would be middle gray, so I decide to expose at 6 (shadows at 4 are now placed in Zone III). I set 6 on the meter's dial and then the last thing I do is decide which combo of f/stop and shutter speed on the dial I will use (granted, the image itself and its need as far as DoF and/or shutter speed is in my head before I even start to meter). Where I metered 10 in the scene now falls on Zone 9 if developed normally.

Vaughn

 

[cjbecker]

There’s lots of times that I don’t use a meter, If it’s convenient then I will use one. Normally when i’m traveling I will rarely use them. I hate carrying one.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

There’s lots of times that I don’t use a meter, If it’s convenient then I will use one. Normally when i’m traveling I will rarely use them. I hate carrying one.

Me too but mostly just for b&w. I'll count back some estimate of what I think the day represents as to how much off of sunny-16 it might be, since I rarely shoot under sunny-16 conditions. Usually amounts to 2-4 stops less than sunny-16 depending on time of year, time of day and just how cloudy it might be. Remarkably this works out most of the time just fine.

 

[Roger Hicks]

The penalties for modest overexposure (1-2 stops) with negative films are small: reduced sharpness, and (with silver B+W) bigger grain. Neither really matters much, once you're using anything bigger than 35mm, and even with 35mm, they're hardly disastrous.

It really isn't difficult to learn to give more than adequate exposures for negatives, using just guesswork, especially if you err always on the side of over-exposure. But if you have time to take a reading, or if it's a difficult subject, why not use a meter?

There's a distressing tendency towards absolutism among photographers: MY WAY IS THE ONLY WAY. No, it isn't. Use what works, and what you're comfortable with. But don't try to impose it on everyone else, especially if you are shaky on the underlying theory (as most absolutists are).

Cheers,

R.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

The penalties for modest overexposure (1-2 stops) with negative films are small: reduced sharpness, and (with silver B+W) bigger grain. Neither really matters much, once you're using anything bigger than 35mm, and even with 35mm, they're hardly disastrous.

It really isn't difficult to learn to give more than adequate exposures for negatives, using just guesswork, especially if you err always on the side of over-exposure. But if you have time to take a reading, or if it's a difficult subject, why not use a meter?

There's a distressing tendency towards absolutism among photographers: MY WAY IS THE ONLY WAY. No, it isn't. Use what works, and what you're comfortable with. But don't try to impose it on everyone else, especially if you are shaky on the underlying theory (as most absolutists are).

Cheers,

R.

Well said. The American Indians made canoes out of available materials; if epoxy and fiberglass had been available to them they'd have used it.
Being able to estimate exposure is a good skill to have, for when you've forgotten the meter, broken the meter, or the meter has dead batteries. It is not a substitute for a meter, any more than birchbark is a substitute for fiberglass.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

There’s lots of times that I don’t use a meter, If it’s convenient then I will use one. Normally when i’m traveling I will rarely use them. I hate carrying one.

Yeah, I used to find it inconvenient to set the range/function switches on the VTVM, back when I repaired electronics. So for low voltages, I just licked whatever I wanted to measure, high voltages I could guesstimate by measuring how far I was thrown. Never worked well for resistance, though......


You find it convenient to carry a large camera that lacks a built in meter, but inconvenient to carry and use a meter. Interesting.:confused:

 

[Chan Tran]

I found the web page information useful in the top part of the page. The bottom part of the page involving exposure calculation is available in many other places.
I do own and use the meter and I am able to estimate exposure quite well without the meter. Sometimes I do not carry the meter when I use camera without meter or with bad meter (selenium cell meter, meter that requires mercury battery etc.) then I would estimate exposure. With that said, I do use my meters very often but I rather estimate the exposure without a meter than using a questionable meter.

 

[Diapositivo]

Learning to measure light without instrument is useful also because creates "expectations" about the reading of the light meter. If the result of the light meter is far from expectation, one might realize that the ISO setting on the camera is wrong or, if the camera only shows the shutter speed in the viewfinder, one might realize that the aperture is not set to the desired value.

Also, in a "high contrast" situation (part of the frame in full sun, part in shade) the "manual correction" which one has to apply to the suggested camera reading is better evaluated if one is "trained" in estimating exposure. It's a "skill" that never goes wasted, even if one always uses a light meter.