Bessa L and Heliar 15mm Exposure Questions

[Windwalker57]

I recently purchased a new VC 15mm lens and just won on *bay a black Bessa L. While I am waiting for the Bessa L to arrive, I thought I would ask if there was anything I need to know about setting the correct exposure with such a wide angle lens. Up until lately, I have been using SLR's with multi zone metering patterns, so I haven't experienced many problematic wide angle shots. Of course, with digital, I can chimp.

I am left-eyed, will I be able to see the LED's on the camera without pulling the camera down from my eye? Will I need to set any exposure compensation due to the angle of view of the lens, or does the metering pattern cover enough of the field to give good exposures?

Goes easy on me, this is my first new thread.

 

[pdx138]

I don't have the 15, but with the 25 on the L, I usually point the camer down a little to meter so I don't get too much sky. That said, I think the L with a wide is a great sunny 16 camera. Don't spend too much time chasing the needle, adjusting the exposure for every frame, just set it for the general leighting conditions and shoot away. Adjust if clouds roll in or if you are shooting in the shadows. I was just out shooting with my L and never changed the aperature or shutter speed in an hour. I love the external LEDs of the meter on the L because they fit this kind of shooting so well. It is almost like carrying an external meter that just happens to be part of the camera. Have fun!

 

[Windwalker57]

Thanks, that was helpful. Do you happen to know if the meter pattern is even, or is it an oval shape in the center, as a Leica does?

 

[Alan]

I've had the L before it was discontinued. I regret selling it cuz It's just perfect for what I want it for: superwide, discrete, carry with me everywhere in a weatherproof shoulder bag camera. I had it with the 25/4 but now I'm considering getting a used unit with the 15/4.5, which would be exactly the same combo you have right now.
By the way, I hope you enjoy your camera.

 

[Bryce]

I've used the combination extensively and been impressed with the meter.
It seems to be center weighted, and as mentioned above it is best to meter off the foreground, to deemphasize the sky.
That said, I've gotten consistently well exposed slides from the camera, even in very dim lighting.
Enjoy!

 

[oscroft]

I used an L with a 15 for a while (I still have the 15, but not the L). The meter does seem to be centre-weighted, but it is quite a wide "centre" and is very much affected by large expanses of sky or shadow.

I found exposure with the 15 quite tricky sometimes, especially with high-contrast film (like Velvia), but that's really nothing to do with the camera meter, it's because its angle of view is so large that it can quite easily cover a greater range of exposure values in one shot - if it's a bright day with lots of shadows, there aren't many directions you can point such a lens without getting some of the extremes in the shot.

These days I tend to use the 15 with lower contrast films, and I don't use it much on bright sunny contrasty days. And if the lighting is difficult, I'll use a different camera with a different lens (eg a 50) to check the exposure, giving me in effect a kind of spot metering.

But however tricky it can sometimes be to use, the 15 and Bessa-L is a real fun combination, so I'd say don't worry too much about exposure at first - just get out there and enjoy it, and get a feel for it yourself 😀

 

[Windwalker57]

Thanks everybody for for all the advice and kind words. I found some Kodak 400 Hi Def in the freezer, I'll use this first to test out the camera. It is contrasty, but not as much as Velvia. I do have a handheld meter, I may take that along to check exposure values, but it sounds like I can trust the camera meter as long as I meter the foreground, not open sky.

 

[pdx138]

Sounds lke a good plan. Have fun!

Regarding the meter pattern, Cameraquest says, "the meter weights the entire center of the picture from top to bottom, with emphasis on the lower portion (since statistically most pics are horizontal and too much sky will throw off your meter reading)." There is a diagram of the pattern on the Cameraquest L Info page if you want to see it graphically too

 

[Windwalker57]

Checked it out, it was most helpful.

Can't wait to get my hands on the camera body and load it with film!