Light meter in M6

mrtoml

mrtoml

Mancunian
Local time
12:30 AM
Joined
Dec 9, 2006
Messages
1,270
Location
Sheffield, UK
View My Gallery
I'm trying to get used to my new M6 .85 and finding that, compared with my Bessa R, the majority of shots seem underexposed by about a stop.

I remember reading that the lightmeter in the M6 takes a bit of getting used to. Is this really the case? Does anyone have any tips about how to meter properly? Is it for instance that the M6 is much tighter centre weighted - like a big spot meter - than the Bessa R which I believe is sensitive across a vertical field across the frame?

I also checked with my Canon 5D (set to matrix metering) and this seems to meter somewhere inbetween the M6 and the Bessa.

Of course I could just switch the ISO dial 1 stop slower and see how it goes.

Thoughts anyone?
 
Remove lens and look at the white spot, the meter area is the image of the spot. It is a spot meter...

Back of the hand for incident style reading...

Noel
 
Circles of Exposure

Circles of Exposure

Roughly they are:
21mm lens: just encompassing the red LEDs in the viewfinder.
24-28 mm lens: just inside the red LEDs.
35mm lens: just outside the 90mm brightline.
50mm lens: to the 90mm brightline.
75mm lens: to the 135mm brightline.
90mm lens: just out side the focus patch.
135mm lens: equal to the focus patch.

On an old Leica MR meter it's the 90mm brightline.

I find my M6 metering highly accurate and plenty good for Kodachrome.
 
Hi mrtoml,
I use the M6 mainly with a 50mm lens. A method that I have found useful is to point the camera at a neutral grey part of the scene (or equivalent, eg the pavement), adjust the aperture and speed until both diodes light up, then recompose and shoot. Even on slides, the exposure seems right on most occasions using this method.
--
Monz
 
Last edited:
mrtoml said:
Thanks.

Is there any way of estimating in the viewfinder the area covered by the spot? Eg using a particular frameline etc?
Click to expand...

I seem to recall that it's about 2/3 of the height of the frameline for the lens in use. I think I read this in Herr Osterloh's book.
 
According to teh manual of my M6 Classic, the round metering area (kind of large spot) is centered around the viewfinder center (i.e. center of the focusing patch) and in diameter is 2/3 of the height of the respective frame lines (according to the lens attached).
Just like Monz said - figure a middle-gray (what is called 18% gray) tone in your surrounding that is lit by the same brightenss as your subject (or your desired scene) - this is easy in open spaces or outside in even ambient lighting), recompose and shot. If there is no any mid-gray tonality around or at least something close enough to that - zone system evaluation will be your best friend. Find, say white tone, meter off it and open up by 2 stops (or down the shutter speed by 2 stops). Alternatively, meter of black surface, then close down or raise up the shutter speed by 2 stops. With a bit of experience you will be able to figure the right exposure (with manual compensation) with absence of mid-gray, white and black - just metering off in-between tones and compoensating accordingly.

Buy a good, yet simple Zone metering book, learn the theory (which is quite plain and simple) and a bit practice - you'll find it to be easy and nearly foolproof.

Alex
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom