Re: [Leica] Consistent underexposure problem

["Anthony Atkielski" <anthony@atkielski.com>]

From: Godfrey DiGiorgi <ramarren@bayarea.net>
Sent: Sunday, September 19, 1999 00:48
Subject: Re: [Leica] Consistent underexposure problem


> Minolta meters are excellent: well made, reliable,
> good features, very accurate.

Good.  I recognized the other names in connection with meters, but I had never
associated Minolta with meters.  I got a Minolta anyway because it was the only
spot meter.  I'm pleased to see that they have a good reputation in this domain.

> Personally, I'd return it. Both your F5 and the M6
> have reflective, selective area "spot" meters in them.

The F5 has a true spot meter (1% of the image or so); the M6 does not.  A lot of
the time, the M6 meter area will cover a large area of what I want to
photograph, and it's difficult to know how it is averaging that area.  A spot
meter will let me actually pick tiny parts of the image and see how they should
be exposed, and then arrive at a general exposure.  Once I see how this relates
to the M6 meter, I can use mostly the M6.  However, it's always nice to have a
meter around in case I ever need it for something.

> It's the same thing only the reading is
> constrained to a smaller spot.

The size of the spot might make a difference!  If the M6 spot covers both bright
sunlight and shadow, or, worse yet, some specular highlights, it might be handy
to use a spot meter to see how the M6 is treating these different areas.

> An incident meter is less expensive and meters in a
> way which is different from the spot meter, which makes it
> more valuable as an addition to your photographic toolkit.

I dunno.  Sunlight and shade are pretty constant; it isn't necessarily required
that they be metered.  And most of my subjects are lit in different ways at
different points; just knowing what kind of light is falling nearby won't help
me, nor will it account for very high or low reflectance in the subject.  I
figured that the spot meter would help me to understand situations like this.
With practice, I'll be able to wing it myself with the M6, but I imagine I'll
still keep the meter, just in case.

I might eventually buy an incident meter, however, just for the sake of
completeness (only after I win the lottery, however, at the rate things are
going now).

> True. However, I find I keep using the incident meter
> for flash setups and for tricky lighting when it's difficult
> to find the correct exposure.

Indoors or outdoors?

> And for testing equipment.

You really like to test equipment, don't you?

  -- Anthony