• Welcome to Photrio!
    Registration is fast and free. Join today to unlock search, see fewer ads, and access all forum features.
    Click here to sign up

stability of 'sunny 16'

14.91
 
I've always have been suspicious of "sunny f/16" because of my own experiences. I had a LOT of underexposed slides using it. I also would be surprised when my metered camera would indicate f/8 on a sunny day - and that would actually give me a good slide (I grew up in a neighborhood of dark brick houses and 100' trees with dark green leaves)

However, even in open areas, I found that "sunny f/14" gave better exposure than f/16 on my Realist - despite the fact that my shutter tested a little slow. (BTW, in Michigan, 42°N at home, 46°N on vacation).

Need to get back to the "10:00 am - 2:00 pm" comment. Of course, that would vary with season and latitude. More importantly, that would also assume everyone is using solar time -that is, the sun being highest at 12:00 noon. Through Daylight Savings Time (aka Summer Time or War Time), that is rarely the case. Michigan, for example, is effectively on Daylight time in the late fall to mid-winter, and on DOUBLE Daylight Savings time from late winter to mid-fall, so 10 am-2 pm becomes 11:35 am - 3:35 pm in the summer in Detroit and Noon - 4 pm at Houghton. In the most extreme cases, there are people on quintuple Daylight Savings Time - making the "window" from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm!
 
1L6E6VHF said:
I've always have been suspicious of "sunny f/16" because of my own experiences. I had a LOT of underexposed slides using it.
Click to expand...

Yes, one must remember that it is appropriate for front-lit-subjects. For back-lit subject sunny f/5.6 is a better choice, cross lit sunny f/11.
 
1L6E6VHF said:
. In the most extreme cases, there are people on quintuple Daylight Savings Time - making the "window" from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm!
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity where are these areas, when do theses DSTs apply and if they revert to GMT is this done in stages?

Thanks

pentaxuser
 
pentaxuser said:
Just out of curiosity where are these areas, when do theses DSTs apply and if they revert to GMT is this done in stages?

Thanks

pentaxuser
Click to expand...

Since "noon" is defined as the time the sun reaches it's zenith, simply find your longitude and calculate thusly - 15 degrees east of Greenwich means you are one hour ahead of GMT, 15 degrees west means you are one hour behind. I am at about 74 degrees west, so local noon here is 4hrs 56min behind GMT - meaning 13:56 local daylight saving time.
 
hi ralph

just now ri 12:30
i waited for the sun to come out of a cloud
EV 15
 
jnanian said:


using the meter for this exercise was the first time i have used a light meter and not sunny 16 in about 7 years
i hate being bogged down with a meter !
Click to expand...

I understand that, one of the reasons I worked hard to "calibrate" myself and my various cameras to match incident meter readings.

There are times though that I kick myself for leaving the incident meter at home.

Last night I was out working at about midnight and wanted to take a shot of the scene lit by my headlights, it would have been much easier to set exposure with the incident meter.
 
updated! I made the measurement yesterday at around 2:00 PM and pointing the dome directly at the sun gave me 15.0. Pointing it horizontally like making an incident reading for an object it read 14.7.
 
At 4 minutes past solar noon, incident meter pointing directly at the sun I get EV14. Latitude 51N, long 114W.
 
Craig said:
At 4 minutes past solar noon, incident meter pointing directly at the sun I get EV14. Latitude 51N, long 114W.
Click to expand...

EV is also dependent on the ISO film setting and the design ISO. For example the Pentax Digital Spot Meter is designed assuming ISO as the basis and then the film ISO is set for the measurement. One takes the f/stop and shutter speed, then the EVs are adjusted fir filters on the camera, not the light meter. So without the design ISO and the film ISO setting, EV14 means nothing related to anything.
 
SchwinnParamount said:
8 year old post revived. Cool. Ralph is still around but is he still interested in this post?
Click to expand...
Normally, I wouldn't "tomb raid" a thread from the dead, but it was referenced this morning in a different thread, so I thought I'd add another data point just for the heck of it.
 
Chino Hills, CA (southern California, inland). Was cloudy yesterday, looks clear at this time.
34 N
1 PM, 2022JAN30

Luna Pro SBC 14.5
Luna Pro (my original ) 14 (EDIT: checked and zero set was good as was battery level).
Luna Pro (recent acquisition) 16* (EDIT- checked zero, it is off. Adjust, but no more working Wein cells...)

*I do not trust my recently acquired Luna Pro at this point... Need to see if I can adjust.
 
Last edited:
At best sun would have stable light power for maybe 2 hours and around its upper transit. It will change significantly with latitude AND time of year, and of course time of day. The hours after rise and hours before set its light is not only variable but has color cast.

The only stability is at the source not at earth’s end. These are reasons why sunny 16 works when it does and doesn’t when it doesn’t.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
markjwyatt said:
Luna Pro (recent acquisition) 16* (EDIT- checked zero, it is off. Adjust, but no more working Wein cells...)
Click to expand...

Look on Ebay for a PX625or RC-53 battery. They are Russian made mercury cells and work perfectly in the older Gossen meters that need the1.35 voltage batteries. Work well in old Canon F-1's as well. Seller's name is Elkhartsix in St Petersburg, Russia.
 
Why bother? Voltage reducing adapter is one time purchase, some 20 bucks, then off one goes to silver oxides.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register