Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/08/31
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The last comment on the 13 or 23% thread was a statement that bothering with the subject matter was not going to bring anything, it would be better just to shoot away with your M6, or alternatively get a spot meter and/or a LF. I have been through all that and must disagree. I had a Minolta spot meter for a year and then sold it. It took up a lot of space in my camera bag, took too long to use and did not make a single picture better than it would have been with just the M6 meter. For me the way to go is to learn how the M6 meter reacts. All you need to that end is to invest in a roll of film and meter for the shadows and then make an exposure, and then some more exposures of exactly the same subject in exactly the same light closing down the aperture one stop at a time. Or go the other way and measure the highlights and then expose a few frames with the aperture opened up a stop at a time. And then a frame exposed exactly as metered without any adjustment. But make notes of what you measured and how you measured. Then study the negatives, provided you know what to look for, and see what adjustments you need to make to the meter values in order to obtain esxcellent negatives. If you wish you can then repeat the whole exercise in one or more different and more difficult light situations. Large format? I got myself one of those folding 6 by 9 cm ones, OK that is perhaps more MF, with an 105 mm f/2.8 Voigtländer Color Skopar. Not only did my Leica negatives shot with the ASPH lenses look much better, even the Leica prints looked much better than the MF ones when both were blown up to the same size. And MF gave me all that bulk, and only a few frames on each roll, and it was difficult to load the developing tank reel. - -- Christer Almqvist D 20255 Hamburg and / or F 50590 Regnéville sur Mer please look at my b+w pictures at: http://www.almqvist.net/chris/new - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html