Tri-X gives wonderful results IMO in a wide range: EI200 to EI800, depending on light and developer.A few rolls ago I ran across a thread here on 'PUG, and someone mentioned that they shoot Tri-X at 200 and develop in HC-110 for 6 minutes. (900ml water to 18.5ml developer) So I started trying it. I've developed a few rolls now, but most were just shoot at the hip stuff. This is the first roll that I shot in the RB67, and attempted to actually meter for 200 and place the shadows down in zone 3.
I'll have to post them, and then come back around to looking at them in a few days before I can get an idea if I like the results or not. (near straight scans)
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None of us* meter in a scientifically reproduceable way, under controlled conditions.
*Stephen Benskin and Bill Burk being two potential exceptions.
Be cautious though - what you think you like better may actually be giving you prints that you like that are only obtained through darkroom or other manipulations.
If you could see the way I take pictures and my contact prints. My exposures are all over the place because I am careless (care-free?) "in the field".
I get very few underexposures though.
Are you using reflective or incident readings with the Sekonic?
I have suggested (probably more than once) that you follow Dr Martin King's method of metering for a 'white with texture' and opening up 3+1/3 of an f-stop to 'place' that reading in 'zone VIII+1/3', and provide 'Normal' develop-ment to retain the 'texture' in the 'highlights while letting the 'shadows' fall where they may. (The viewer's eye tends to seek 'information' or 'detail' in the lighter areas of the image more so than detail in the 'low' end. For many years I have carried a piece of white UN-BLEACHED towelling and take a spot meter reading from that (in the same 'light' as the main 'subject'..) and develop the film for YOUR 'normal'. You WILL find the results to be within 1/3 of an f-stop of an incident meter reading of the same subject (in the same 'light')
Ken
Over exposures only look bad on contact prints. I don't know about scanning but with analog printing, this greater exposure leads to better prints for me. So keep at it. You can set the meter on your TTL cameras at 2/3 stop over exposure and walk about in auto. (Or set film to the rated speed and compensation dial to +2/3). I often do that, and then when the sun goes down I know I can easily set compensation dial back to zero (or even -2/3 if I can risk a slight underexposure and am looking for record shots).The weird thing that I'm finding is that I'm getting significantly more over exposures than under. They're only overexposed by a half a stop up to maybe a full stop, but they're still coming out much brighter than stuff in the past. I used to consistently get half a stop to a full stop under using TTL meters. Since I've started using this Sekonic hand held meter, and controlling things myself it's gone completely opposite of what I'm use to. It's definitely a learning curve.
What do you mean by offset?
Well, the Dr. Martin King referenced earlier in the thread recommended basing your metering decisions off highlight rendition, and determined that the white, textured subject was 3 1/3 Zones/stops away from Zone 5. If you use your hand, instead of it having an offset of 3 1/3 Zones/stops, it might require an offset of 2.5 Zones/stops instead. It will depend on how light or dark your skin tone is.What do you mean by offset?
....I get very few underexposures though.
... or to hear how different the adjusted exposure was from a general-coverage reflected reading. And, perhaps, to see an image taken with the general-coverage reflected metering at both 200 and 400. Or images taken with incident metering.What might have been instructive for all of us would have been to see the same two pictures as prints from negatives shot at 200 and box speed.
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