Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/07/02

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Subject: [Leica] I started it all... Tina's Excellent Pictures
From: "Frank Filippone" <red735i@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 21:04:35 -0700

I started all the hullabaloo on the M7 by asking how she did such an
excellent job with that picture and AE....

Taking off on that tangent, I wanted to remind all in non-Zonie land that
your best friend is an INTELLIGENTLY used meter.  If it is in the camera or
in your hand, spot meter or averaging/wide angle makes little to no
difference... It is the intelligent use of the meter that counts.

Tina determined from her experience that metering in the area on the floor,
which was about at Zone V, that the entire picture would be in the correct
dynamic range to bag a really nice exposure.  All zones would be useable.
It was NOT the camera that did this, it was Tina.  An M7 is a fine camera
with a really nice meter built in.  But if Tina had just pointed the camera
at the scene and pushed the shutter button, she would have gotten terribly
underexposed faces, and correctly exposed outside areas.  Not what she had
in mind.  Where am I going?

I recommend highly that if you do not know, have no experience with,. or
generally want to improve your exposure settings. that you taks a course in
basic photography at your local JC.  They will teach you what to meter, how
to meter, and when your scene is too hot ( bright) or too flat ( too dull)
to gegt all the zones to be present....  It is NOT an issue of a M6 being
better than an M5, or a M7 AE that is better than a hand held Sekonic or a
ZOne VI modified Pentax Digital SPot meter.  .  It is knowing how to meter
to get the output you want.  YOu do not learn this on your own.. You need
some form of instruction and feedback.  I highly recommend a formal or short
course.  Your hit rate of properly exposed pictures will improve.

Ted has stated how much better his shots are with the M7....  I suspect it
is because he, as a real time action photographer, is now spending more of
his time working composition and less time fiddling dials.  It is NOT the M7
that is better, it is the time that TYed spends concentrating that is
improving his shots.

All of this is not an endorsement against the M7,  rather it is an
opportunity to point out what seems really obvious to me.... work, feedback,
and experience are the best tools at your disposal.  A specific camera will
not, in itself, do anything for you.

YMMV

Frank Filippone
red735i@earthlink.net


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