Sunny 16.. very accurate

[sbjornda]

Bracket, dude. Just bracket the h**l out of it. One of them is bound to work for you, probably.

 

[benjiboy]

I think Sunny 16 is a really good tool. It IS accurate. Nobody can argue that.

But at the same time - it doesn't really matter. If you have a way of shooting that works, whether it's with a meter or without - why would it matter, as long as you get what you want? And I'm a strong believer in repeatedly using the same thing, because practice makes perfect, not gadgets and gizmos, or the lack thereof.

Thomas, your a very wise man.

 

[baachitraka]

Incident meter with ISO 100 and see where the value falls on Sunny 16 calculator...

 

[Vaughn]

Bracket, dude. Just bracket the h**l out of it. One of them is bound to work for you, probably.

Not a fun idea for those of us using $7+ sheets of film! LOL!

But then, by the time one graduates to such film (11x14 B&W in my case), metering is usually no longer an issue...

 

[pbromaghin]

2 years ago was kind of a photographic crisis point for me. It was either go whole hog in digital or whole hog in analog. At that point the realization came that I just hate the digital work flow. The answer was to get a mid-century folding 6x6 with zone focusing and 2 little pop-up squares to frame the scene, leaving the meter at home, and shooting entirely sunny 16 outdoors. It meant ruining a lot of film, but now I have hardly any use for a meter outdoors, and will oftentimes override the reflective meter in my 35mm. It really opened the doors to starting to understand light.

 

[nwilkins]

I use the sunny 16 rule (or an adjusted version if it's not sunny) when I don't have a meter with me (infrequent) or I need to get a shot quickly (semi frequent). I have found it to give perfectly useable exposures with black and white negative film. In an ideal situation I would use my incident meter or a spot meter but sometimes that's not always possible. So I find sunny 16 to be very helpful. One other trick I don't think has been mentioned makes it a little easier to calculate "sunny 16" quickly with larger apertures. Add a zero to the film speed at F5.6, ie 100ISO film is 1/1000, 400ISO is 1/4000.

 

[Yashinoff]

I only see sunny 16 as a guide point for exposure, generally don't use f16. But it's all simple math, ASA 100 = f16+1/125 or f11+1/250 or f8+1/500. If overcast f8+1/125 or f11+1/60 or f16+1/30, and so on. I call it all "sunny 16" because the starting point is ASA=shutter speed + f16 for mid day sun. If you really just stick to f16 and sunny days, then yes it is rather limiting.

 

[MattKing]

I use sunny 16 as my "anchor" point. When I am working in daylight conditions, I estimate exposure using sunny 16, and then take a meter reading to either confirm it, or refine it.

 

[pbromaghin]

I really think it is the most important and first thing that a person needs to learn in order to understand photography. Everything else grows out of it.

 

[Diapositivo]

Another advantage is that when you use it you begin pre-calculating exposure and using the light meter to refine it as Matt says. This has the advantage that if the ISO value is improperly set one can notice it immediately because the light meter gives values that don't fit with the mental calculation. People who shoot an entire roll and then realize the ISO was improperly set are not the people who use sunny 16.

 

[Steve Smith]

or an adjusted version if it's not sunny.

You don't need to adjust if it isn't sunny, it gives settings for all conditions.


Steve.

 

[benjiboy]

I use sunny 16 as my "anchor" point. When I am working in daylight conditions, I estimate exposure using sunny 16, and then take a meter reading to either confirm it, or refine it.

I learned sunny 16 more than fifty years ago as a teenager at the same time I learned to judge distance in the days before light meters and range finders were common, and almost do both without thinking , as you write Matt I always take a meter reading, and think about it before setting my exposures.

 

[nwilkins]

You don't need to adjust if it isn't sunny, it gives settings for all conditions.


Steve.

I'm sure you know what I mean so I don't understand why you would post this. If it is not sunny I adjust the EV, just like everyone else who uses the rule as a guideline for exposure. I realize that "knowing the sunny F16 rule" also means "knowing overcast F8" but I was just referring to any alteration of EV based on conditions as an adjustment.

 

[MattKing]

Thinking further on this, I think the other advantage of using "sunny 16" regularly is that it fits really well in a workflow that pays very close attention to the light itself - and it is the character of the light that makes most of the difference in the photographs I am most happy with.

 

[Hatchetman]

I just ordered a Rolleicord from KEH to give me another option for my frequent business trips. I'm not planning on bringing a meter along, but we'll see how it goes.

 

[Steve Smith]

I'm sure you know what I mean so I don't understand why you would post this.

No, I didn't understand what you meant. I do now. What you are actually doing is using the sunny sixteen series of exposure values without adjustment.


Steve.

 

[nwilkins]

No, I didn't understand what you meant. I do now. What you are actually doing is using the sunny sixteen series of exposure values without adjustment.


Steve.

yes you could say that. You could also say I am ADJUSTING the EV I would use on a sunny day. To argue otherwise (as you have been doing) is just pedantics. It is totally irrelevant to the thread to argue over the wording I chose (given that you agree with the method). So again I'm not sure why you would bother posting about this.

 

[NedL]

I've been using my great grandfather's Weston Master for about a year now. When I first got it I compared it to my F3 and to my other unmentionable here camera and it was very close. Even though the dial is in Weston Emulsion speeds, I've enjoyed using it and have gotten used to it, and even "think" and make my notes in its units. I almost always do a "sunny 16 guess" before I meter and I'm usually within one stop and more often than not right on the money. Shady forest or evening is much harder and I'm really not very good at those situations. I almost always think there is more available light than there really is in those situations.

Well, last week the meter suddenly stopped working... everything reads really low. I shot my last roll in my 120 folder using sunny 16 as a whim, but now it's not going to be by choice until I get a new meter or fix this one. Honestly, I'd be happier if my meter was still working. It has real sentimental value too... there's a sort of continuity to using a meter that was given to my dad by his grandfather.

But I'm certainly not planning to stop just because I don't have a meter. I never had one when I was a teenager, and even though I worried about exposure a lot back then, most of my photos came out OK.

The difference between then and now is that now I can actually afford to buy a meter if I want one. So I'll just be grateful for that option and keep on having fun!

 

[Steve Smith]

So again I'm not sure why you would bother posting about this.

Because some people do use an adjusted version. You often see people write something like "It's more like sunny f11 where I live".

In which case, their version gives a stop more EV throughout the range to compensate for a lower light level in e.g. the very northern or southern areas.


Steve.

 

[Vaughn]

Why am I reminded of the Zen/Taoist story "Three in the Morning, Four in the Evening"? LOL!

http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History1039.html

 

[nwilkins]

Why am I reminded of the Zen/Taoist story "Three in the Morning, Four in the Evening"? LOL!

http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History1039.html

That's exactly what this feels like to me!

 

[Richard Jepsen]

Works great as a reality check for your meter. Also, it is based on the latitude of Rochester, NY. Set shutter speed of 250 with Tri-X and develop per box time. Using the technique and preseting the F-stop frees the mind to see the decisive moment.

 

[John Koehrer]

Even Adams could do it.


See the description of making "Moonrise over Hernandez"

 

[michaelbsc]

I've been using my great grandfather's Weston Master for about a year now.
[...]
Well, last week the meter suddenly stopped working... everything reads really low. I shot my last roll in my 120 folder using sunny 16 as a whim, but now it's not going to be by choice until I get a new meter or fix this one. Honestly, I'd be happier if my meter was still working. It has real sentimental value too... there's a sort of continuity to using a meter that was given to my dad by his grandfather....

See if Quality Light Metrics can still fix it. If so it will come home with a calibration sticker guaranteed accurate.

 

[removed account4]

Why am I reminded of the Zen/Taoist story "Three in the Morning, Four in the Evening"? LOL!

http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History1039.html

vaughn

you always have a way of putting it all into perspective