Do you use a light meter?

[nikon_sam]

I finally found a meter I like and is easy to use so prefer to use it instead of guessing and I will also use it with cameras that have meters...
Weston Ranger 9 meter that was fine tuned by George Milton @ QLM...

 

[tunalegs]

Not really. A meter is useful for special situations, such as macro work, or in the studio, but I haven't used one out doors in about four or five years and I mainly shoot slides.

 

[paradoxbox]

I use one when I'm using slide film or when I want to get really perfect shots.

But when I'm just carrying my camera in my bag to work with no real plan to get photographs I generally don't use a meter. Just rely on experience and sunny 16.

I do also use the iphone meter app, I have it set up so that if I tap the home button twice it automatically launches even if the screen is locked. That is quite handy. But the metering itself with iphone apps is a bit of a pain as others have mentioned. Fine tune control is a little difficult.

 

[v_roma]

Just curious but do you folks adjust sunny 16 for time of day or time of year at all?

 

[noisycheese]

I always use a handheld meter, even if I use a camera with a built in meter.

Same here, almost 100%.

If I am photographing with my Nikon F-100 and C-41 film, I will trust the on-board meter set to matrix, unless I am photographing a subject in some high contrast, mixed or otherwise wierd light.

When that's the case, I will either switch to spot metering with the F-100's on-board meter or use my Sekonic L-508 to hand meter.

I have thought about compiling a basic list of meter readings for various lighting situations and committing it to memory for when I am using my M4-P, but I just haven't done that yet.

 

[Bill Clark]

Yes, I use a sekonic 158 light meter as most of my film cameras are w/o a built in light meter. For digital I capture in RAW and use the histogram.

 

[tunalegs]

Just curious but do you folks adjust sunny 16 for time of day or time of year at all?

Sunny 16 is just a mental rule of thumb on which to base exposure. One doesn't necessarily need to shoot at f16 and 1/100th for ASA 100. They could use 1/200 and f11 for instance, or 1/50 and f22, etc.

Exposure is adjusted based on weather, time of day, etc.

 

[Overkill-F1]

Just curious but do you folks adjust sunny 16 for time of day or time of year at all?

My Sunny Rule adjustments:
f/stop - Lighting Condition - Shadow Detail
f/22 - Snow or Sand - Sharp edged shadows
f/16 - Sunny - Distinct shadows
f/11 - Slight overcast - Soft edged shadows
f/8 - Overcast - Shadows barely visible
f/5.6 - Heavy Overcast - No Shadows
Looking at the shadows is the surest way for me to determine the lighting condition.
I hold my hand out, move it around and judge the shadow it makes or doesn't make.
...Terry

 

[Richard G]

Just curious but do you folks adjust sunny 16 for time of day or time of year at all?

Yes. Depending especially on the type of film and the particulars of the shot. Interestingly the exposure guide plate on my Rolleiflex has time of day and season adjustments.

 

[Alex Krasotkin]

All my cameras are with the meter. I shoot slides most of the time and find no problems with correct exposure. In unusual light situations I do exposure corrections.

 

[SayCheese]

I do also use the iphone meter app, I have it set up so that if I tap the home button twice it automatically launches even if the screen is locked.

How, Sir, do I set up my iPhone the way it works like yours? I've been looking for something like that, but can't figure out how it's done.

I use Pocket Lightmeter or Sunny16 as described on Fred Parkers Website. The palm of my hand meters to +1 when compared to a greycard, so I set up the Lightmeter App to an exposure correction of -1. This should give me something equivalent to an incident reading when metering my Hand. So far results have been Ok, but i shoot negative film exclusively.
SayCheese

 

[paradoxbox]

i'm not sure if you can do it on iphones that aren't jailbroken. i jailbroke my iphone and use a tool called "activator" so i can open up applications with a double button press.

How, Sir, do I set up my iPhone the way it works like yours? I've been looking for something like that, but can't figure out how it's done.

I use Pocket Lightmeter or Sunny16 as described on Fred Parkers Website. The palm of my hand meters to +1 when compared to a greycard, so I set up the Lightmeter App to an exposure correction of -1. This should give me something equivalent to an incident reading when metering my Hand. So far results have been Ok, but i shoot negative film exclusively.
SayCheese

 

[v_roma]

Thank you, TunaLegs, Overkill-F1, and Richard G. I think I've seen a sunny-16 scale somewhere online with seasonal adjustments as well southern vs. northern hemisphere but I've never bothered with these adjustments.

 

[Red Robin]

When learning to shoot a bow&arrow one gets as close to the target in order to get a bulls eye with every shot. Then take a step back and repeat. Using the "sunny 16" for me it has been much the same : practice trains my eye. Repetition improves my pictures. Reliance on a meter is more of a hindrance. As a hobbyist I want to improve but then that's why I shoot a manual camera not a device with full auto. Slow going but deeply satisfying personally. Do I use a meter, yes rarely. Only as a tool to check myself. Older ones, a luna pro, or an old DeJur Pro.

 

[ottluuk]

I shot my M4 meterless with an occasional sanity check with a metered camera, for three years. It was okay but I never felt good doing so in late evening light or indoors. Maybe you can train your eye for that but I didn't really feel like fumbling in darkness any more. So I got a Gossen Lunasix F. I only use it when I'm not sure and I normally leave it home for daytime/outdoors-only excursions. But I find that my exposures are much more consistent in low light now and the meter is earning its keep pretty nicely.

There are many occasions when the human eye can be deceived, especially towards underexposure in situations where there is subdued light but no strong light sources in sight. This is where an incident meter helps a lot.

 

[ottluuk]

Thank you, TunaLegs, Overkill-F1, and Richard G. I think I've seen a sunny-16 scale somewhere online with seasonal adjustments as well southern vs. northern hemisphere but I've never bothered with these adjustments.

You can find various methods for guesstimating exposure in photography handbooks from 1950s and 60s, when most cameras in use were still meterless. Just check out a local used bookstore 😉. I've collected a few and find them easily better than the digital-centric instruction books of today.

 

[leica M2 fan]

I always use a lightmeter.

I always use a lightmeter.

But I must confess that before metering I try to guesstimate the exposure.
Sometimes I'm close and other times not at all. But if I can get a read when starting out that can last for an hour or so unless it clouds up. Carrying a meter is so second hand that it's never a problem.

 

[Tijmendal]

But I must confess that before metering I try to guesstimate the exposure.
Sometimes I'm close and other times not at all. But if I can get a read when starting out that can last for an hour or so unless it clouds up. Carrying a meter is so second hand that it's never a problem.

We are exactly on the same page. I try to guess the exposure, and most of the time I get it right or be within a stop of perfect exposure, but I almost always check.

 

[mfunnell]

I often use a VC II meter (say, on my M3) to take a baseline reading then adjust things by eye from there; getting a new baseline if the overall light changes and, especially, if moving from indoors to outdoors or vice versa.

If I'm shooting more deliberately with MF cameras I'll use a hand-held incident meter or, probably more frequently, use my OM-4T's rather useful metering system to determine exposure (and to take different/backup frames on 35mm). I haven't shot MF - or even my M3 - for a while, though.

...Mike

 

[Guest]

I have used a Minolta spot meter for thirty years now, when I discovered they had been discontinued, I got another one. I have never ever ever taken an image that the exposure was not on the money with this meter, never ever.