Manual exposure mode - when do you use it?

[Laurent]

Short answer: always. I got rid of all my automatic exposure cameras (the AE1-P does not count as it is no longer used) so that I could manage exposure on my own, and succeed or fail on my own decisions... In the end I have more images that serve my intent, and if they fail I usually learn something new.

 

[tomfrh]

Let's say your meter reads 125th sec at f5.6. How do you manually set your film camera to one and two-thirds of a stop underexposed?

Adjust shutter and aperture until the meter says -1 2/3.

but the 'correct exposure' is UNCHANGING

Yep, exactly. There's something quite satisfying about setting the exposure off of something and then leaving it be. I often shoot slide film this way when I know the camera will likely botch it, e.g. at the beach or at the pool. Using exposure compensation is NOT the same as dialling in manually.

 

[blockend]

Incidentally, the one and two-thirds example underexposed I gave earlier was based on dappled light under a tree in full daylight, with slower films. These shots are a compromise when people enter the picture. Minus one stop requires burning in faces during printing, minus two risks general underexposure and higher print grades to increase separation. Negative film doesn't require such precision to be printable, but there is an exact exposure to make an easy print.

 

[Bill Burk]

I have a minolta spotmeter,a weston euromaster, a phone app, and 4 cameras with meters by 3 different companies but i have no idea how any of those meters are calibrated - 18% 14% 12% ?

Well you know they are calibrated to a light source, not a reflectance. I like to think they all intend to put 10 times the speed point on the film. (BW neg) Where they differ is that meters have different sensors and were calibrated to different color temperatures over the years. They may also substitute different values for the factors that play a role in how much of the measured light will reach the film. Not sure phone apps are calibrated at all, but it is interesting that they can estimate a light source color temperature.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Why manual mode? Well, think of this situation...Bright sunny cloudless day, 11 players on one team wearing white jerseys, 11 players on the other team wearing black jerseys. As you tightly frame certain key players/action for different shots...

1. sometimes you have predominantly white jerseys in the frame
2. sometimes you have predominantly black jerseys in the frame
3. sometimes you have an even mix of white jerseys and black jersitys in the frame

...so

• the suggested camera meter reading is sometimes ISO 100 1/100 f/16 (situation 3),
• sometimes the camera meter suggests ISO 100 1/100 f/22 (situation 1), and
• sometimes the camera meter suggests ISO 100 1/100 f/11 (situation 2).

...but the 'correct exposure' is UNCHANGING -- an incident meter reads ISO 100 1/100 f/16 all afternoon -- because the sun is always out and never hiding behind clouds! So youj set a manual controlled camera to ISO 100 1/100 f/16 at the beginning of the game and leave it there -- for hours -- unchanged.

A good time to use and incidence meter.

 

[Craig75]

Well you know they are calibrated to a light source, not a reflectance. I like to think they all intend to put 10 times the speed point on the film. (BW neg) Where they differ is that meters have different sensors and were calibrated to different color temperatures over the years. They may also substitute different values for the factors that play a role in how much of the measured light will reach the film. Not sure phone apps are calibrated at all, but it is interesting that they can estimate a light source color temperature.

haha yes that was expressed in a very higgedly way!

I was trying to say that 2 cameras or 2 different meters are going to give me two different settings (and some of my cameras arent even telling me what they are doing) and by the time that info has gone through aperture and shutters of different cameras I wouldnt be surprised to see a stop difference but it all seems to come out in the wash.

 

[John_Nikon_F]

Whenever I'm shooting film. Both of my film bodies are manual cameras. So, not like I have an option, really. When I had an F3, I'd shoot it in aperture-priority auto. Meter readout leaves a lot to be desired in manual mode, and the meter usually provided good exposure results on A.

-J

 

[faberryman]

Adjust shutter and aperture until the meter says -1 2/3.

Shutter speeds are in generally in one stop increments, and apertures are generally in one stop or half-stop increments. For most manual film camera/lens combinations (I know there are exceptions) it is impossible to adjust exposure in one-third stop increments.

 

[Bill Burk]

Let's say your meter reads 125th sec at f5.6. How do you manually set your film camera to one and two-thirds of a stop underexposed?

For situations where I want to use manual and want 1/3 stop precision, I have 0.1 and 0.2 neutral density filters. I would do that to check camera / meter calibration, it's not the kind of precision I need every day.

 

[tomfrh]

Shutter speeds are in generally in one stop increments, and apertures are generally in one stop or half-stop increments.

1/3 stop increments theoretically provides 1/12 stop more accuracy than 1/2 stop increment.

I suppose if you simply had to shoot +1 2/3 and not +1 1/2 and had a camera that allows 1/2-stop manual adjustments and 1/3-stop EC adjustments then this is a reason to use EC and not manual mode, but it's a fairly farcical example in my opinion.

All my cameras use the same increments for manual settings and EC settings (1/2 stop or 1/3 stop). Personally I'd find that really annoying if one dial worked in half stops and the other in third stops.

 

[Bill Burk]

Of course you may evaluate the correct exposure to the nearest third-stop then choose which of the nearest full stop choice is appropriate.

Or at that point you might decide automatic is best. I've done that too (on the same test roll where I used my third-stop filters).

The results I got were interesting and worth the trouble.

 

[cooltouch]

I don't think I own any interchangeable lens cameras that don't have a manual exposure mode. I have no use for a camera for which I don't have this basic control.

If I'm taking my time, I prefer using manual exposure. But if I'm in a situation where I might have to react rapidly to suddenly changing conditions, often I prefer using an auto mode, and typically I prefer Aperture Priority mode. There are some situations where I prefer Shutter Priority, such as air shows and auto races, where I want to blur the propellers on prop-driven aircraft, or blur the wheels on race cars (or motorcycles).

I must state, however, that my comfort level when running a camera in an auto mode depends on which camera I'm using. There are some that I don't trust and others that I trust much more. For example, I don't trust the way Canon A-series FD cameras often react to light conditions, but with other FD Canons, such as the T70 and T90, and the New F-1, they can be set to be more tolerant of changing lighting. For the most part, I trust the metering system that Nikon employed with many of its cameras like the FE and FE2 (known as 60/40) and I trust even more the tighter method used with the F3 (80/20). Pentax and Oly metering patterns, for the most part, fall somewhere between Canon's A-series metering pattern and Nikon's 60/40 pattern. Contax and Yashica, Leica R, Minolta's MC and MD cameras -- I'm not familiar with these cameras' metering patterns. In general, just plain old centerweighted averaging can be problematic if the centerweighting isn't strong enough.

So, when in doubt, if I'm shooting outdoors and the lighting is remaining relatively constant, I'll just set the camera to a correct exposure value and just leave it there, then go about my business. In other words, I'm back to manual exposure again.

 

[dynachrome]

When I use a Minolta X700 I don't usually change to manual settings. The most common situation I run into when I need to change the exposure is backlighting. I will either use the exposure compensation dial or I will tilt the camera down, lock the reading with my middle finger, tilt back up and then shoot. If I'm at 1/500 for a given f/stop and I need an extra stop of exposure (using Aperture Priority) I tilt the camera down until I see 1/250 and then lock the reading. This is a quick and easy way to add some exposure. I rarely use the Program setting. If I want to switch between Aperture Priority and another mode I will use an XD-11.

 

[Sirius Glass]

When I am using the automatic exposure control [shooting 35mm Nikon cameras] I let the camera choose the settings and have not had problems with that. For serious work I use the Hasselblad and the PME exposure reading which I almost always follow and I have not had problems with that. With all cameras and light meters I take readings of the subject and do not take light readings of the sky; hence I set the light reading spot for the Nikons on the subject, depress the shutter half way and then take the photograph.

 

[Wallendo]

I have manual and automatic 35mm cameras. Frequently I choose the camera I will use based on whether or not I want to shoot aperture priority mode. Most of my photography is somewhat opportunistic. I am not lugging heavy LF cameras up a mountain taking Ansel Adams style photographs. I often don't have a light meter, and when I do, I am not spending long periods of time making calculations. I rarely shoot rapidly moving subjects. When carrying an automatic camera, I generally shoot aperture priority since I want to control depth of field but have little need to control shutter speed (within limits of course). I will often use "spot metering" mode. I switch to manual in situations where I know from personal experience that camera metering will likely be wrong. When shooting with a DSLR, I switch to manual when I don't like the outcome of the preview.

I have found over the last year or so that I am shooting manual more often. I don't really know if the quality of my exposures has improved, but I find I get more enjoyment making the camera settings myself.

 

[DF]

'Been using nothing but manual mode all Summer long in bright mid-afternoon sun, by way of "Sunny F16 rule" -
and it's PERFECT with Ilford FP4 - F16 @ 125 sec. every shot, no need to bracket, just one of each.
Try it....

 

[Sirius Glass]

I have only used aperture priority once or twice to see how it worked. If I use any priority it is shutter speed priority.

 

[ac12]

When the internal meter gives inconsistent results.
Example

• The the local high school gym, if the electronic scoreboard is any place in the frame, the frame is significantly underexposed. Easier to determine the exposure once, because the lighting is constant, then set it on M. Can't use EC because it is only when the electronic scoreboard in in the frame that the camera meter underexposes.
  
• The local high school tennis court. Shooting court 1 has consistently been problematic because of the DARK green wind screen attached to the fence, fooling the meter to over expose the players. Can't use EC because I am shooting players in all the courts, in full sun (lighting is constant) with different backgrounds.

When I shoot flash I use M, because it is easy to adjust exposure +/- by changing the aperture.

When I want to do something totally different with a wild exposure such as, very under exposed, or a LONG time exposure.

When I shot slides a lot, it was with an incident meter, and manual setting of the camera.
I did not use the camera's meter except for tele shots into different lighting than where I was standing.

 

[ac12]

I have only used aperture priority once or twice to see how it worked. If I use any priority it is shutter speed priority.

The one time that I use Ap was when I was shooting my niece's wedding in a dark church.
Locked the lens wide open with Ap, and let the shutter speed go up and down.

 

[Ces1um]

'Been using nothing but manual mode all Summer long in bright mid-afternoon sun, by way of "Sunny F16 rule" -
and it's PERFECT with Ilford FP4 - F16 @ 125 sec. every shot, no need to bracket, just one of each.
Try it....

It's surprising how well that works, but the minute you walk into the woods for a photo sunny 16 isn't of much help. It's fantastic for open areas though.

 

[Chan Tran]

Craig75 Said:
"I have a minolta spotmeter,a weston euromaster, a phone app, and 4 cameras with meters by 3 different companies but i have no idea how any of those meters are calibrated - 18% 14% 12% ?"
I don't know about others but I know the Minolta Spotmeter is calibrated to display EV0 @ ISO 100 when the luminance is 0.14 Candela/ meter ^2