Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/03/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]You will NEVER see a professional photographer, someone who makes their living at "real" photography and has to "deliver the goods" to the customer, NOT use a meter. The key to the highest quality photographic image IS, exact exposure followed by exact development, producing a transparency or negative that will be perfect for the job or produce a perfect print for the job. You screw up a job, you won't get a second chance. Even with a meter, most professional photographers bracket (when possible) just because there are no second chances. A meter is of utmost importance. In many many situations, all of the experience in the world, will not be enough. After doing this photography thing for 50 years, many as a commercial/illustrative photographer, I still religiously use a meter AND I cannot tell you how many times I take readings at/of a scene and think "is my meter broken?" Only to realize that my eye/brain is seeing differently than what the light value reality is. Also, learning how to interpret what your meter is telling you is just as important as having and using a meter. Jim At 02:27 AM 3/6/01 +0000, Dan States wrote: >Mark, I am surprised to hear that YOU of all people are one of the poor >"meter slaves" of photography! Cast off your chains man! > >Nikon/Canon etc are making a small fortune on the fallacy that light needs >to be 'interpreted'. That tasty F5 with it's mega processor super light >do-jangy still tells me F6.3 at 500 in the sun...F4 at 125 in the shade. >Hey, what gives? With all that great technology I was hoping for some new >kind of readings! F22 at 1000 indoors! F1.4 at 60 in the sun! > >The fact is that you just don't have THAT many variations in light intensity >in the real world (thank you to the film latitude gods). Unless the sun >starts to supernova in our life times I think we can count on it to keep >kickin out the rays as before. Shine on baby! > >Best wishes >Dan States > > >> >>The effete amateur esthetic!! >>Out guessing or ignoring a meter!! >>That's baloney!!!!! >>We've had a few others on the list who had this attitude. >>We pummeled them into submission and they slunked off to the dark rocks >>they >>crawled out of!! :) >> >>I've used a lot of meters since 1965 and never thought for a second i knew >>more >>about how much light was hitting it than it did. With the exception of >>Selenium >>meters i add a stop to in low light. >> >>I don't think it benefits people to mistrust their meters. >>I know lots of excellent photographers many of them pros. I cant think of >>any of >>them who would use a meter which was less adequate in measuring light then >>they were. >>Many of them use meters which not only MEASURE the light but interpret it >>(matrix whatever) >>But the top people i know know how to use the (acurate) information the >>meter >>gives them. >>If they are metering highlights. The then know how much to open up to place >>thier highlights there. >> >>Mark Rabiner >>Portland, Oregon >>USA >> >>http://www.rabiner.cncoffice.com/ > >_________________________________________________________________ >Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com