RE: [Leica] M6 metering calibration

[Jim Laurel <jplaurel@microsoft.com>]

Jim,
Interesting that you mention Velvia is a iso 40 film.  I wonder if it's much
the same story with Provia.  I've had better results by exposing it at iso
80.  Got any inside info on this?

- --Jim Laurel

- -----Original Message-----
From: Jim Brick [mailto:jim@brick.org]
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 1998 8:08 AM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] M6 metering calibration


I do not believe that Leica alters the meter in favor of either over or
under exposure. This would be a disaster with Velvia. Velvia is really an
EI 40 film. Meters are usually set to 50 for Velvia already giving a
"skinny" exposure. Velvia does not do well with underexposure. I use tons
of velvia in my Leicas and if they were underexposing, I would be in
trouble.

Remember, TTL meters are "reflected" meters and it's what you point them at
that creates the apparent over or under exposure. Take a small (4"x5") 18%
gray card and after metering the scene, hold up the gray card directly in
front of the lens (filling the viewfinder frame), in the same plane as the
film, and re-meter. Chances are that the scene has stuff that is too light
and giving you a false reading. It's easy to check your meter with a gray
card. If it is off, either make appropriate adjustments in your methods, or
get it fixed.

Jim

At 10:06 AM 7/14/98 +0200, you wrote:
>Feeling really quite stupid in the face of the recent "MESS" posts, I'd
>like to come back to something a little nearer my field of
>preoccupations. 
>
>I shoot mainly slides with my M system. With my previous systems (from
>other brands) I had the habit of keying in a slight underexposure ratio
>(between 1/3 and 1/2 stop)when I wanted to accentuate colour saturation.
>I've done this a few times with my M system but even 1/3 stop seems to
>be too much. So I stopped doing it altogether. 
>
>My question is: does Leica systematically induce underexposure through
>their calibration settings or is my meter not behaving the way it should
>? And if this is Leica calibration, has it been defined once and for all
>? I would say that for a given ISO setting, my M6 underexposes by 1/3
>stop at least.
>
>Again, if this is Leica policy, would it not explain at least part of
>the "Leica difference" when slides are the media and non informed users
>the viewers ?  ;-)
>
>Alan
>Brussels-Belgium
>