Metering For Monochrome

[Keith Tapscott.]

I am wondering how you folks here on Photrio (APUG) go about exposing your monochrome films? Do you use TTL, Sunny 16, Hand Meters either incident or reflective/spot etc?

I thought that this might be both a fun and an educative discussion for us all to enjoy.

 

[Anon Ymous]

It depends on the camera too, but I mostly use TTL metering. I also use incident metering with a handheld meter to a smaller extent.

 

[logan2z]

I always use incident metering with a handheld meter.

 

[Rolleiflexible]

Incident metering always with a Sekonic Studio Deluxe L-28c2.

 

[Paul Howell]

I use all three, with most of my meterless cameras I use either a spot meter or incident meter, LF a spot meter as I use the zone system, but admit that that times I use a 35mm with matrix metering, MF depending on the lighting, if backlite or heavy side light will use an incident meter. When shooting my old Argus C3 in bright desert light no clouds Sunny 16, other wise an average meter. Nikon F, average meter, With metered 35mm I use the built in meter. Newer cameras Nikon F4 or Minolta A mount, I use Matrix metering or spot depending on the lighting. When using a spot meter with roll film cameras I meter the shadows for Zone III and develop for Zone 7. If backlighting is in play I will switch to incident metering.

 

[Alan9940]

I use matrix metering in my 35mm cameras, spot metering (Zone System) with MF and LF, and my iPhone (Pinhole Assist app) when shooting pinhole.

 

[grahamp]

Depends on the camera. If I use the built-in meter with the rangefinder, it is reflective. With non-metering medium format it is either reflective or incident with a hand meter, or I use a spot meter. With view cameras I usually use a spotmeter for shadow/highlight determination. Flash (rare) is done either with tables or a flash meter.

No matter what method you use, you have to recognize the strengths and weaknesses involved.

 

[chriscrawfordphoto]

Handheld spot meter with the zone system most of the time. Incident meter sometimes. I never use built in camera meters.

 

[GregY]

Sometimes a Pentax 1° spotmeter, sometimes an incident meter.

 

[Pieter12]

Why monochrome?

 

[Saganich]

I use in camera meter for 35mm (Leica MP is 13%) like a large spot meter much of the time to gauge shadows. Handheld spot meter with the zone system when I have the pockets or with medium format.

 

[DREW WILEY]

100% of the time, for both black and white and color film, Pentax 1-degree spot meter, handheld. It's a lot more accurate and consistent than TTL in-camera metering. Besides, I work with multiple formats, 35mm clear up to 8x10, and want something consistent for all of them.

 

[Rayt]

I use the in camera meter. If there’s no meter I use a handheld incident meter. For large format I use both a spot and incident meter. In a pinch I have used the smartphone reflective meter app and it’s good enough.

 

[Mick Fagan]

Almost exclusively incident metering with a handheld light meter. Whether for 35mm or 4x5" photography.

Around 40 years ago I was heavily shooting 400 ASA B&W negative film, once in the groove and with constant rolls of film going through camera bodies, I stopped using a light meter as one just knew the correct exposure off by heart for most lighting scenarios one was presented with.

In the late 80's or early 90's I met up with two APUG members in Germany, we did some walking around a couple of villages exposing film. They became aware that I wasn't using a light meter and was pre-setting the camera when we walked into a venue with fluorescent lighting and they were wondering what settings to use. I just rattled off some appropriate settings for their B&W negative films. We started to check how good or bad I was during a meal stop, I remember that I surprised myself at how reasonably accurate my suggestions were when checked with a 7.5º reflected light meter that one of them had.

These days I only remember a few of those numbers and for the last 25 or so years have used a Gossen Profi-Six lightmeter, until it started to die earlier this year. Very recently I purchased a Sekonic L-308X Flashmate lightmeter. So far I'm extremely pleased with it, small, reasonably priced, and according to my negatives, as accurate as I require for exposing film.

 

[mshchem]

Incident. The only film in camera meter I use is my Nikon F5, auto bracketing 1/2 stop when shooting slides.

I've used, mostly Minolta, Incident meters for 40 years.

 

[Sergey Ko]

Shooting modern cameras with TTL matrix meter no need to correct exposure in 90% of cases.
With old cameras I use spot meter Minolta & a little bit wider soviet Sverdlovsk-4.
Also "Sunny16" is good. I used my own rule from old 70-th: for ISO64 normal cloudy day is f8+1/60.
But there is one note for shooting my old Polaroid Pathfinder, upgraded to Fuji Instax Wide:
I prefer to use original Polaroid Selen meter, NOT SPOT. It gives the average weighted exporsure for the frame & result is looking much better, even if some details are lost.
In very difficult condition I even used to take photo with my Sony-A900 to contol the result.
It's funny, because in 50 years Polaroid was used to control the result
Cantabria #2 by Sergey Kozlov, on Flickr

 

[Dustin McAmera]

If I'm using film, it's probably in a camera without a meter, just because I do old cameras for fun. For those times, I use a Sekonic L-308 for incident light. Even if I'm using my Mamiya 645 Pro, which has a meter in the prism finder, I may still use my hand-held meter.
With cameras that were built for rapid, eye-level use, like my Canon A-1, I often use the TTL meter if there is one; but you have to use it with some judgement. I often meter a 'normal' scene and keep the reading for the odd shadowy scene I want to photograph.
My mirrorless digital has plenty of modes of TTL metering, and I think I have probably used all of them, and hand-held incident-light metering too. Something I can only do with the digital is leave the camera in manual, and rely on the exposure-simulation in the VF, which I find isn't bad: take the photo when it looks right.
'Sunny 16' doesn't serve the UK very well. There are at least 50 shades of overcast. Right now, it's half-past nine in the morning, and I have the house lights on, the cloud is that thick. Rainy f/2.8 out there, maybe.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Pentax Digital Spotmeter most of the time, but I'll also use in-camera metering for 35mm. My two 6x6 SLR cameras (Bronica SQ-B) don't have built-in meters.

 

[guangong]

Depending upon camera (most of my cameras are meterless), I use whatever meter is suitable for the occasion.
NOTE: B&H has battery adapter for Gossen Luna Pro meters. I bought two for my Luna Pro meters. Much pleased because I found my Luna Pro F too bulky. I prefer small. Hence prefer Pentax spot to the shillelagh-size Gossen spot meter.
I use incident meter, Sekonic, mostly for movies and LF.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Lately for 4x5, I've been using my micro 4/3 digital camera that provides blinkies and histogram set on center or matrix exposure. I could use its spot, but I don;t bother.

 

[cerber0s]

I use all of those methods depending on what camera I use, and what I photograph.

 

[Jim Jones]

At first I relied on the instructions that came with film. That was good enough for a 100-year-old folding Kodak. 71 years ago I upgraded to new cameras and a selenium reflective light meter. Spot meters were great for zone system photographers, but analyzing a scene and adjusting the recommendation of a reflective selenium meter usually worked well enough then and later. Sunny 16 (with a few adjustments) was still fine in appropriate surroundings. Now, my digital camera's meter (with an occasional check of the histogram) gives my most consistent exposures ever.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Hand held spot metre.

 

[DWThomas]

Hmmmm ...

My Canon A-1's built-in meter with some occasional intuitive adjustment in unusual circumstances generally covers that camera.
After a visit to Mark Hama the meter in my Yashica Mat 124G TLR works well enough for casual outdoor snapshots.
For this year's Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day, Pinhole Assistant on my iPhone 13 Pro did a decent job.

Using my Argus C-3, Bronica SQ-A, Perkeo II and Ercona II, etc. I use a Gossen Digi-six, generally in incident mode, when traveling light.
When getting really anal about measurements I have a Sekonic L508 which I admit to not using a lot.

 

[jk0592]

Only Pentax digital spotmeter, wether MF or LF. Works great, but it is not a fast process.