Re: [Leica] Guestimating exposure?

["Dan S" <dstate1@hotmail.com>]

Hi Hans, I try to meter once and forget it for the rest of the day.
If the conditions are relatively constant you should only have to meter for 
the highlights once, and the shadows once.

If I don't have a meter with me I go with the old stand by...
On sunny days you can be pretty sure of f8 at 1000 for Tri-x, or f8 at 
250-500 for 100 speed. (some 100's are on the slow side of that rating I.E. 
Tmax).  I tend to slightly overexpose and under develope to keep highlights 
under control when printing.

For shadows on a sunny day I drop down 3 stops.  That gives me f4 at 60-125 
for 100 and f 5.6 at 250 for 400.  I have never had exposure problems using 
the method above.

For me the hardest days to measure are the "bright but cloudy" ones, that 
are lighter than you think!  Luckily the light is also nicely diffused and 
even, so once you meter you should not have to second guess yourself too 
much.

For indoors I go by the "whatever you can" rule.  If it seems pretty dark I 
set the lens at full aperture, and the shutter at 1/15-1/30.  Many pubs are 
hard to meter, so your eyes can be a better judge!

I have found my estimates are generally better than a meter when shooting 
subjects with bright highlights like white buildings, clothes etc.  In these 
situations meters can get fooled easily.

hope this helps
Dan



>From: Hans-Peter.Lammerich@t-online.de (Hans-Peter.Lammerich)
>Reply-To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>Subject: [Leica] Guestimating exposure?
>Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 20:45:24 +0100
>
>Hello,
>
>I always admired those guys who are confident in reliably estimating 
>exposure
>without using a meter, at least with negative film. Moreover, I consider 
>this
>ability as a precondition to actually enjoy using a M2, M3 or M4. Of course 
>I
>looked at the little tables that come with most films or that are shown in 
>older
>books on photography, but looking up tables is more annoying than using a
>handheld meter. Also, a have my fair share of experience in using the M6's
>coupled meter. As a result I am now quite confident in guestimating 
>exposure
>indoor under artificial light and under the open sky.
>
>Apparently the architects of public buildings, department stores, offices,
>underground stations etc. follow certain engineering standards in lighting 
>which
>usually result to something like a 1/60, f=1/2 with 400 ASA. Smaller 
>offices
>with lower ceiling and bright lights. are rather in the 1/60, F=1/4 range. 
>A
>living room or a pub may go down to 1/30 or 1/15 with f=1/1,4.
>
>Under open sky conditions I apply the "sunny 16" rule (1/500" with f=1/11, 
>ASA
>400). Depending on the clouds I may open the aperture by up to 4 stops. 1 
>or 2
>hours after sunrise or until sunset, an additional correction by minus 1 or 
>2
>stops seems to be necessary.
>
>But I have problems to estimate exposure in narrow, shady streets and for
>shadows in general. For a time I thought that a correction by minus 2 
>stops, in
>addition to the above, of course, would be the right approach, but to often 
>this
>resulted in underexposure. Apparently, the indirect light depends to much 
>on
>facade colour, height of buildings.
>
>I would therefore appreciate if I could share the experience of other 
>LUGgers,
>particularly if there is someone who has a more systematic approach.
>
>Hans-Peter
>
>
>

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