The light from the sun is not constant. Ever heard of summer, autumn, winter, spring?
clive,
as i said, you have experience your eyes are perfect for the task
but to an inexperienced person they might over expose or under expose grossly ...
john
I think my Father used to mention a princess by that name.... Ever heard of summer, autumn, winter, spring?
It would be too costly to do trial and error with LF. Consult charts, guides etc... there are many available.
To try out the method without having a disc, I have converted it to a series of adding and subtracting sequences as shown below:
Start with a number depending on ISO used:
ISO 25 +8
ISO 50 +9
ISO 100 +10
ISO 200 +11
ISO 400 +12
ISO 800 +13
ISO 1600 +14
Add a number depending on the light conditions:
Strong sun with white clouds +4
Strong Sun +3
Weak, hazy sun +2
Dull +1
Very dull 0
Add a number depending on the time and date:
May to August, 10 am to 3 pm +4
May to August, 8-10 am, 3-6 pm +3
May to August, 7-8 am, 6-7 pm +2
September, October, March & April, 10 am to 3 pm +3
September, October, March & April, 8-10 am, 3-6 pm +2
September, October, March & April, 7-8 am, 6-7 pm +2
November to February, 10 am to 3 pm +2
November to February, 9 to 10 am +1
And finally, subtract a number depending on the scene:
Open sea and sky and scenes from the air 0
Distant landscapes and beach and snow scenes -1
Open landscapes and scenes with light foreground -2
Groups in the open and near views of houses and trees -3
Distant buildings and wide streets -4
Scenes with heavy foreground and near landscapes -5
Close up portraits in the shade and scenes in heavy shade -6
Bright interiors -7
Dull interiors -14 (disc says rotate twice)
As a test, put in some standard sunny 16 settings:
ISO 100, start with 10
Bright sunny day, use strong sun setting adding 3 = 13
For mid day in June, add 4 = 17
For an open landscape, subtract 2 = 15
The numbers are EV or Exposure value numbers. EV 15 is 1/125 at f16 which is what sunny 16 recommends for these conditions.
I do it regularly - and then verify the conclusion with a meter.
It is a very useful way to work.
I think my Father used to mention a princess by that name.
If the human eyes and brain were such good instruments for judging light intensity, why did anyone ever bother inventing a lightmeter ?
If the human eyes and brain were such good instruments for judging light intensity, why did anyone ever bother inventing a lightmeter ?
If the human eyes and brain were such good instruments for judging light intensity, why did anyone ever bother inventing a lightmeter ?
Experience I have, I have been a photographer for more than 60 years and was familiar with sunny 16 in the early 1950's before light meters were generally available and many of the the members of this forum were born, I have no objection to considering your light meter reading in light of your experience, which you have done in the instance that you quote that with respect was your error and not cogent to this discussion , but without a light meter to base your judgment on especially if you're shooting large format reversal film would be a very costly exercise.Maybe you missed the posts above that cited experience.
I had 6 U.S. Governors and a gaggle of secret service guys over my shoulder in a scene today, being fairly tired at this point, I decided to meter for a shot with my M3. Well I got the reading and thought, no way that is right, wtf? I set the camera for what I thought it should be and sure as heck, when I checked it later, I had it it set to ISO 100 instead of 400.
Experience pays Mr.....
. . . GE's booklet has a diagram as prominent as the spectral response chart... which touts their point-bearing horizontally-oriented needle's superiority to the obviously Weston Master inferior conical-bearing vertically-oriented needle which suffers from much greater friction...
Experience I have, I have been a photographer for more than 60 years and was familiar with sunny 16 in the early 1950's before light meters were generally available and many of the the members of this forum were born, I have no objection to considering your light meter reading in light of your experience, which you have done in the instance that you quote that with respect was your error and not cogent to this discussion , but without a light meter to base your judgment on especially if you're shooting large format reversal film would be a very costly exercise.
... the obviously Weston Master inferior conical-bearing vertically-oriented needle which suffers from much greater friction...
When you figure "how hard" it seems to be to use a light meter, I keep asking myself the same question...
It is fun reading about the invention... GE's booklet has a diagram as prominent as the spectral response chart... which touts their point-bearing horizontally-oriented needle's superiority to the obviously Weston Master inferior conical-bearing vertically-oriented needle which suffers from much greater friction...
I sold my Luna Pro SBC and Western Euromaster last year and replaced them with a couple of modern digital meters a Kenko KFM 2100 ( Minolta Auto Meter V1) and a Sekonic L358 with the optional 1° spot attachment and I wouldn't want to go back to the old ones.
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