Re: M6 metering

["Jeff Segawa" <segawa@netone.com>]

On Wed, Apr 30, 1997 11:18 PM, Ian Stanley wrote: 
>To keep this in line with Leica - I was using my new M6!  For a
>change I was also shooting Velvia as the shots are for a brochure for the
>Dhulikhel Municipality.  It has taken some time but I am starting to trust
>the meter in the M6 and did not resort to my best guess or Pentax spot
meter
>quite as often.  I am finding that usually the three readings agree as
long
>as I point the M6 meter at the right thing.  I have been pleased with the
>results I have been getting so far other than some problems with the
>processing and mounting. 

I would very much like to know how you use meters of this sort
(centerweighted) for precise exposure. I too have a Pentax meter, and I am
very fond of it, because using it, I can accurately determine the contrast
range of the scene, and manipulate my exposure accordingly, with a minimum
of bracketing (a nice word for "guessing")

So far, the best I've been able to do with a centerweighted or
averaging-type meter is to know it's sensitivity pattern fairly well, and
try to meter off a scene of average brightness (a slice of sky, grass,
etc), calculating in my head that a late-afternoon sky might be +4 stops in
brightness above sunlit grass, and open shade, maybe -1 stop below that.
And of course, the relationships change when filtration is used!

Yes, the thought has occurred to me that I may not be using the Leica in
the most appropriate manner, and that, if I'm going to be putting the thing
on a tripod, and fussing with Zone System calculations, that maybe the
compactness and ease of handling are going to waste. Thoughts on the
appropriateness of using a small camera like a big one are welcomed.

Jeff