What is your Light Metering Routine with Meterless Leicas?

[Lilserenity]

My head.

Negative film has enough latitude that if you can remember a few key exposures in your head, you can usually work it out from there. The exceptions are the likes of fast colour negative (ISO 800+) or Ektar which has a quite small exposure latitude.

So in all, experience.

When I got the M2, I was worried about not having a built in meter. Now I don't even think about it and I have an MR meter should I be shooting slides.

 

[nrb]

To those that usually meter and then shoot the rest of the roll so long the light has not changed; do you use an incident, reflective or spot meter?

Incident meter.

 

[Sparrow]

Incident meter.

Oh yes ...

 

[DGA]

I used to have a light meter with me when I was shooting with old, meterless body, but then I figured out that for TRI-X400, Sunny 16 is good enough.
Now I have a metered body, so I worry less.
But still have the habit of pre-assigning the exposure before shooting.
(and, stupidly, confirming it after taking the photos)

 

[Frontman]

I used to carry a meter with me regularly, but in time I began to be able to read the light very well. It became normal that I would guess the light and use the meter only to verify my guess. It's now been a long time since I last bothered to carry a meter with me. On the rare occasion when I feel any doubt, I simply bracket.

Recently I picked up an M6 TTL for a good price (I chose it not because it had a meter, but because the price was too good to pass up). The meter in the camera is used much like my old hand-held meter, to verify the reading I have already taken with my eyes. I'm always pleased when the meter agrees with me.

 

[typhillips]

Shooting outdoors in midday I usually don't bother taking a reading because it's so easy to guess the correct exposure.

But later in the day when the sun is lower the proper exposure depends quite a bit on the direction you are shooting in relation to the sun, so I'll take incident meter readings when the light conditions change.

Indoors I always take an incident meter reading if I can.

But still have the habit of pre-assigning the exposure before shooting.
(and, stupidly, confirming it after taking the photos)

That made me chuckle... I can't count how many times I've taken a grab shot at a hastily guessed exposure (because I didn't have time to meter) and then double checked with my meter AFTER the shot. 80% of the time I'm close enough and when I'm not... well, as it was said by a previous poster, Tri-X is very forgiving!

When I shoot medium format I always meter if possible because my crummy flatbed doesn't handle underexposed negatives nearly as well as my 35mm Minolta film scanner. Not to mention the fact that each frame costs a lot more.

 

[Nokton48]

After thirty years of shooting, alot of situations are no-brainers. When cloud cover rolls in, or I move inside, I tend to bracket, to give myself a choice of negatives. M5, Pentax Digital, Minolta Autometer, and Leica MR are all available, and work well for me in more difficult situations.

 

[pvdhaar]

With a meterless camera, I used to go by sunny-16. Or rather cloudy f8, which is more common over here. Even in the days that I had a separate meter, I seldom carried it.

When I take the RF with the built-in meter along, I measure once, then keep shooting until the light changes.

 

[cnphoto]

i carry an incident meter, i meter once usually then just keep shooting. if i notice small changes i'll open up or stop down by a guessed amount (usually close enough). if it's a 'critical' image i'll sometimes meter quickly just to be sure.

lately though, i have an EV table and corresponding shutter/aperture table stored on my iPhone that i've been using.

ahead of time, i'll take a look at the table and get settings for the 2 or 3 situations i'll find myself in and go from there. i'm starting to remember the settings too, it feels good to not be encumbered with another device or piece of gear to fill a pocket - 1 lens, 1 camera, phone, wallet and keys - no meter 🙂

 

[Ronald M]

I use a variety of methods, as all have value. Incident is the best reguardless of camera.

Second is a spot meter where I measure highlight and shadow and center the exposure.

Wide angle reflected such as M6 to MP are overrated, but can be made to work good enough with some experience.


I carry a Weston + invercone with nonmetered cameras. All studio work is with an incident meter and is a can`t miss solution unless there is a very broad range of highlights and shadows, a situation I don`t set up often and avoid outside.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I use a variety of methods, as all have value. Incident is the best reguardless of camera.

Second is a spot meter where I measure highlight and shadow and center the exposure.

Wide angle reflected such as M6 to MP are overrated, but can be made to work good enough with some experience.


I carry a Weston + invercone with nonmetered cameras. All studio work is with an incident meter and is a can`t miss solution unless there is a very broad range of highlights and shadows, a situation I don`t set up often and avoid outside.

Dear Ronald,

Highlighted portion: True only for slides and digital. If you are shooting negative and want guaranteed shadow detail in a high-contrast subject, incident light readings will only work for subject brightness ranges of under about 6-7 stops. Incident can never guarantee shadow detail as it doesn't 'know' (= read) what the shadow reading is.

Nor is averaging the spot readings for highlight and shadow a good idea, except insofar as it biases exposure slightly towards the shadows or the highlights (which you can do by guesswork from an incident reading or broad-area reflected reading). For neg film, exposure is keyed to the shadows, and the shadows only. The only reason to read the highlights as well is to see whether you need to vary the development time. For transparency, the exposure is keyed to the highlights, and the highlights only, so you might as well take an incident reading.

Cheers,

R.

 

[varjag]

If I have a light meter with me and can't guess exposure, I meter.

 

[canonetc]

Hi Haziz,

I do a lot of shooting in low light, so I use a Sekonic 308 meter, and I usually slide the white dome open to meter reflectively. Then, I will close my aperture down about 1 stop, or half a stop. If my meter says "f/4", I usually set my aperture to f/5.6. Or, if it says f/2.8, sometimes I set aperture to f/3.5. I find this gives me good contrast, no overblown whites and good exposures, especially when using color neg film. You have to evaluate visually your brightest object in your frame of view and its relationship in brightness to other objects. My Sekonic tries to give me a reading where the brightest object will be "18% grey". I have found this is usually makes colors slightly washed out, depending on your lighting conditions or time of day. So, I close the aperture down a bit from whatever my meter tells me.

Lastly, the photo lab is going to be a huge factor in how your prints come out. I have developed a good client relationship with my lab techs, and when I say "Print for true black", they do it, and the prints come out the way I want them.

Good luck,

Chris

PS: I use a Petri 35 meterless RF.

 

[john battaglia]

i look at the light, i think about the light, i set the exposure and shoot. never had any issues on my m2.

 

[anu L ogy]

I shoot 400 speed film, usually walk around with my ambient worn like a necklace, and use it if i have a question. I know most of the time I am shooting at 1/1000 at f/8. Any cloud coverage and i switch to 500. Inside window lit room 125 f/2 or 2.8.

 

[johnnygulliver]

with my M2, and MP I am used to shooting reversal film, so I (usually - if I have time) meter incident light every shot if it involves change of motif or light. I value every shot and don't take chances, some times I need more light on face etc, sometimes on b/ground, you can't reliably guess this degree of control in tricky light all the time, every time w/out a meter I don't care what you say - Gossen Digiflash, or Weston Euromaster sometimes Gossen ProfiSix

 

[Paul Luscher]

I strap on the old Voightlander VC meter to the camera, point at a midtone. get a reading, make settings on camera, and shoot.

 

[Yashi]

Meter is with me in my pocket. Gossen Variosix 5. See the scene, messure the light, take the shot.... Always the same, never a wrong exposure...

 

[merciless49]

I use sunny 16, but lately have also used a Panasonic GF1 as a "light meter" to estimate exposure. Once the exposure is set, I don't change it until the light has changed significantly.

 

[johannielscom]

I'll give my answer, even though I no longer own an M.

With a meterless camera, I will take one reading, and if the lighting doesn't change, I'll continue to shoot. If the light changes or the location changes, then I take another reading.

I tend not to meter every shot with b/w and color print film.

With slide film, I tend to meter every shot or will do quick and frequent checks. You just don't have as much room for metering mistakes with transparency film.

Apart from the 'not owning an M anymore' bit, this is me too.