Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/11/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]In contrasty situations you will have to decide what to keep and what to lose. Even a heavily pulled film is only going to show a 7-8 stop range compressed to 5 on the paper. I have had best results with a spotmeter that remembers previous readings and shows the spread of light. That way you can make an informed decision on what you want to keep. Of course, in bright light the sunny 16 rule applies and you can set accordingly. Traditionally, if you shoot slide film you meter the brightest part of the scene you want detail in and add two stops more exposure. For neg film you meter the darkest part of the scene you want detail in and subtract two stops. Or use a camera with TTL flash, stay within flash range, dial in a negative 1.3 to 1.7 stops on the flash and bang away with a average meter reading of the scene. Now you know why so many on this list want a wunder camera from Solms, they just don't realize the R8 does the trick. However, in your part of the world maybe the best time to photograph is early and late or when the sun is partially obscured by clouds to hold down on the contrast. Don Dory dorysrus@mindspring.com - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html