Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/10/03

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Subject: [Leica] Auto ISO
From: kanner at acm.org (Herbert Kanner)
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2013 10:06:13 -0700
References: <D081BEA2-0FD5-4700-95E9-F125B060C7E1@acm.org> <CAAsXt4OyjVt4N5Cx4fgjYkbSN5Lo37iVPXC=O_3FppC62BFBCA@mail.gmail.com> <80F9701439F20347874CE5E4E03C22E9CDE2ACC3@WhizzMAIL01.whizz.org> <0171C3C9-D25D-4852-BBAA-03695B57B4B6@acm.org> <CAFfkXxtu5PQd7fwSWE9Pmij-CgfwL0-1EpU+wygd64HmZ=N4EQ@mail.gmail.com>

I like the shot. I guess I like all cat shots; I'm a cat nut. Obviously the 
exposure value was determined by the books. What was the argument?

Herbert Kanner
kanner at acm.org
650-326-8204

Question authority and the authorities will question you.




On Oct 3, 2013, at 4:25 AM, Sonny Carter <sonc.hegr at gmail.com> wrote:

> First argument I ever got into in the LUG was over the black cat thing.  At
> the time, I think I was the only person with a black cat.  It depends on
> the circumstances.
> 
> http://www.sonc.com/belinna_guards.htm
> 
> 
> On Thu, Oct 3, 2013 at 1:34 AM, Herbert Kanner <kanner at acm.org> wrote:
> 
>> That's where you use exposure compensation. Shoot a white swan: increase
>> exposure by compensation or any automatic system will want it to be gray.
>> Shoot a black cat and decrease exposure for same reason.
>> 
>> Herbert Kanner
>> kanner at acm.org
>> 650-326-8204
>> 
>> Question authority and the authorities will question you.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Oct 2, 2013, at 12:00 PM, John McMaster <john at mcmaster.co.nz> wrote:
>> 
>>> I cannot see how it would? There I am putting an exposure in for a
>> silhouette and the camera thinks "that's underexposed" so ups the ASA 3 or
>> 4 stops....
>>> 
>>> john
>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> 
>>>> I'll have to read again, but I don't think AutoISO works on pure manual
>>>> mode...
>>>> Would you double check also?
>>>> Thanks Herb,
>>>> Bob
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 9:30 PM, Herbert Kanner <kanner at acm.org> 
>>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> I thought a few words about how this function operates on Leica, at
>>>>> least on the M9, might be useful to y'all, since the Leica Manual is
>>>>> not the clearest on this subject.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Let's start with an understanding of the relationship between the
>>>>> three
>>>>> parameters: ISO, f-number, and shutter speed. We are used to thinking
>>>>> of exposure having one degree of freedom for a correct exposure. That
>>>>> is because we are used, from years of experience with film, of
>>>>> thinking of ISO being a constant. You can't change ISO in the middle
>>>>> of a roll of film. So, for any situation, there is one degree of
>> freedom for a
>>>> "correct" exposure:
>>>>> you change shutter speed, you have to change aperture, and vice versa.
>>>>> Hence, for the little all-electronic cameras where both the aperture
>>>>> and shutter are under computer control, you can choose the aperture
>>>>> (aperture preferred), or you can chose the shutter speed (shutter
>>>>> speed preferred) and the camera choses the one you didn't chose. You
>>>>> all know this; I'm just being pedantic.  Oh, then these idiot cameras
>>>>> have "programmed" mode where the camera chooses both based on
>>>> some arcane set of rules. That's for bozos.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Now, lets look at the Leica. The camera can control the shutter, but
>>>>> it can't control the aperture. So the only automatic mode would appear
>>>>> to be aperture preferred. Ah, but the ISO is under the control of the
>>>>> camera's computer. It is now a third variable: it can be changed at
>>>>> any time. So, Leica in its wisdom invented Auto ISO. Now we have two
>>>> degrees of freedom.
>>>>> That is, we can pick the values of any two: say ISO and aperture, and
>>>>> now the shutter speed is determined. Thus, on the Leica, we now have a
>>>>> way of doing shutter speed preferred: set the shutter to the speed you
>>>>> want, set the aperture to the f-number you want, and the camera will
>>>>> pick an ISO that gives the correct exposure. So, what happens if you
>>>>> set Auto ISO and aperture preferred on the M9? You will be in s
>>>>> situation similar to program mode in a point and shoot. The camera
>>>>> will chose both the shutter speed and the ISO value. I took a few
>>>>> shots at three consecutive stops on the dial, and the shutter speed
>>>>> sat at 1  /150, perhaps not what I would want with a 90mm.
>>>>> 
>>>>> If you set a shutter speed and an f stop with Auto ISO, everything
>>>>> works fine as long as the ISO that gives "correct" exposure is in the
>>>>> available ISO range. And you can use exposure compensation. What you
>>>>> lose is any information about exposure in the viewfinder. What
>>>>> information could that be? The ISO the camera selects, of course.
>>>>> 
>>>>> One warning: the little dot and triangles used for manual exposure
>>>>> setting seem to be meaningless with Auto ISO: just ignore them.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Herbert Kanner
>>>>> kanner at acm.org
>>>>> 650-326-8204
>>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Leica Users Group.
>>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Regards,
> 
> Sonny
> http://sonc.com/look/
> Natchitoches, Louisiana
> 1714
> Oldest Permanent Settlement in the Louisiana Purchase
> 
> USA
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information



Replies: Reply from sonc.hegr at gmail.com (Sonny Carter) ([Leica] Auto ISO)
In reply to: Message from kanner at acm.org (Herbert Kanner) ([Leica] Auto ISO)
Message from rgacpa at gmail.com (Robert Adler) ([Leica] Auto ISO)
Message from john at mcmaster.co.nz (John McMaster) ([Leica] Auto ISO)
Message from kanner at acm.org (Herbert Kanner) ([Leica] Auto ISO)
Message from sonc.hegr at gmail.com (Sonny Carter) ([Leica] Auto ISO)