How to improve my shooting speed with non aperture-priority RFs? Pointers please

[fixbones]

I have an MP and a ZI.

With the ZI, the aperture priority makes shooting faster and i tend to get the shot.

With the MP, I need to meter and make sure exposure is acceptable before pressing the shuuter and i have missed a few shots because of that slight delay.

I know i can improve my skills and speed with the MP.

Any pointers please?

 

[marcr1230]

don't check the exposure before each and every shot. most of the time, unless you are alternating between shade and sunlight, you will be fine. The meter is averaging the light reflected in the scene to a neutral 18% gray. the exposure for a given ambient light is the same regardless of what percentage of light and dark areas in the scene, but the meter will detect a change and suggest a new exposure. set it and forget it, you will be fine, once in a while if the lighting has changed, recheck.
pre-focus if you can on a fixed object and then wait for the composition to complete itself - then snap away.

 

[fixbones]

Marcr1230 - thanks for the quick input. I guess thats where part of my problem lies.....the innate compulsion to check the meter everytime....

 

[Benjamin]

Light normally varies between say about 2 stops from shadow to lit areas on bright days, sometimes maybe 1 on a more overcast day. I tend to just roll off/roll on the stops when looking to get a shot in different areas, sometimes long before I have the chance of a shot. I always have a finger on the tab (of the lens) when I think I might have shot, and have become well used to getting within a hair before the camera sits at my eye.

My point really is that all manual cameras, when coupled with decisive user input, can behave like point and shoots. You're ready, so you just see it, shoot it.

Simply being prepared for the changes in a given situation is the key.

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail etcetera..

 

[maddoc]

I had the same problems when using non AE metered M-Leicas (M5, M6, M6TTL, MP), to much fiddling with the exposure settings. Now I either rely on the AE of my M7 or a hand-held meter (M4-P, M2). On a not to bright day, the exposure difference between shadows and bright areas is ~ 2 stops. So I meter once, set the exposure on the average and trust the latitude of the film (Tri-X works very well for that). This is not optimal but better a not so well exposed photo than no photo at all ... 🙂

 

[fixbones]

Benjamin - Do you mostly adjust the aperture or shutter speed to compensate for the stops?

I find it faster to adjust the aperture on the lens than the shutter dial which can be a bit fiddly. Am i the only one?

 

[capitalK]

I think the best advice I can give is to be ready BEFORE the shot. Meter the surrounding area in light and in shadow. Know the light. Then when the opportunity arrives you can set the camera before it even reaches your eye (or not even if you pre-focus and shoot from the hip).

 

[Phantomas]

What fixbone said, set a shutter speed that you're comfortable with and that fits the average light condition and compensate with aperture on the lens.

 

[Benjamin]

Benjamin - Do you mostly adjust the aperture or shutter speed to compensate for the stops?

I find it faster to adjust the aperture on the lens than the shutter dial which can be a bit fiddly. Am i the only one?

I shouldn't think so. If you've come from SLR's with big, chunky dials, it can take a while to get used to the tiny dial of an M body.

I just use the tip of my right index finger to adjust the shutter dial, and prefer it to having to use my thumb as well to turn the dial of, say, a Nikon F style body.

Practise is your friend.

 

[fixbones]

Practice I shall 🙂
I have 50 rolls of trix which arrived a few days ago 😀

 

[rover]

Like the others say, meter and set your camera before you bring the camera to your eye. With practice you will find that you will improve your exposures, proof that the mind is smarter than the meter.

 

[Spyro]

This is why RFs (and any manual camera for that matter) make for better photos in the end, because they force you to be proactive with light and exposure. Thats a good habbit regardless of what camera you're using. They also force you to be proactive with focusing and learning your lens's dof at basic apertures and distances, another good habbit. Stick with one camera and one lens for a while, preferably a wide-ish with a tab. Get used to focusing it by feel, learn the tab position at 1.5m, 3m and infinity. You'll find that with a 28 or 35mm lens, 3m is correct most of the time. Stick to one iso speed (say TriX400) and one shutter speed for a while, then try to guess the aperture as light changes. Pretty soon you'll be able to just wing it without even looking at the meter, then when you look at the prints/scans try to remember your settings and learn from your mistakes.

After a while all that will become a quiet humming in the back of your mind that will occupy maybe a 10% of your brainpower. The remaining 90% will become very stimulated and constantly exploring photographic possibilities 🙂

I remember watching a video of Garry Winogrand walking around taking photos with some students of his. The moment he walked out of the building he said: "ahhh beautiful day, f5.6 1/250 😀".

 

[fixbones]

Great advice guys.
Will work on it.

 

[FrankS]

Marcr1230 - thanks for the quick input. I guess thats where part of my problem lies.....the innate compulsion to check the meter everytime....

We call that "chasing the needle."

 

[Roger Hicks]

This is why RFs (and any manual camera for that matter) make for better photos in the end, because they force you to be proactive with light and exposure. Thats a good habbit regardless of what camera you're using. They also force you to be proactive with focusing and learning your lens's dof at basic apertures and distances, another good habbit. Stick with one camera and one lens for a while, preferably a wide-ish with a tab. Get used to focusing it by feel, learn the tab position at 1.5m, 3m and infinity. You'll find that with a 28 or 35mm lens, 3m is correct most of the time. Stick to one iso speed (say TriX400) and one shutter speed for a while, then try to guess the aperture as light changes. Pretty soon you'll be able to just wing it without even looking at the meter, then when you look at the prints/scans try to remember your settings and learn from your mistakes.

After a while all that will become a quiet humming in the back of your mind that will occupy maybe a 10% of your brainpower. The remaining 90% will become very stimulated and constantly exploring photographic possibilities 🙂

I remember watching a video of Garry Winogrand walking around taking photos with some students of his. The moment he walked out of the building he said: "ahhh beautiful day, f5.6 1/250 😀".

Very well expressed.

Cheers,

R.

 

[gho]

Good advice here. I have started using a meterless camera some month ago. At first I tried to meter each exposure but that was too tedious. So I switched to just taking an initial reading and then I adjust from there, either the shutter speed or the aperture. It works and the feeling is a bit like learning to swim or riding a bike. It needs a bit of courage first, but it is a very liberating experience.

 

[Steve M.]

If you're out and about, meter the sunny side of the street, then the shady side. Then it will be easy to have your camera set to go w/o metering again unless the light changes.

The ringer here is if you use a camera w/ a meter, especially one w/ a spot, you know it shows a bigger range of metering than this. My MF cameras and folders don't have meters, so I just do the sunny side/shady side thing. I'm always shocked when I take the Leicaflex out, which has a large spot, and see what a big difference in light it registers from one part of the scene to the next. Generally my shots from the folders are exposed properly, but the Leicaflex negs just leap off the light table. So either I'm seeing the effects of a Leica lens vs the folders, or I'm seeing the effects of more accurate metering.

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

shoot a few rolls without meter at all to free yourself a bit from that metering obsession =)

 

[Keith]

I shouldn't think so. If you've come from SLR's with big, chunky dials, it can take a while to get used to the tiny dial of an M body.

I just use the tip of my right index finger to adjust the shutter dial, and prefer it to having to use my thumb as well to turn the dial of, say, a Nikon F style body.

Practise is your friend.

Slightly OT sorry but this is where Maitani got it so right with the OM-1 ... aperture and shutter speed are there in tandem at your fingertips with no need to lower the camera or alter your hand position!

 

[charjohncarter]

We all do these tricks for street or for me not street but parties. But there is some value to checking a meter and trying to improve the shot with either shutter or aperture control. I do flash to accent the main subject (not like the DSLR guys do it, underexposed background and normal subject by say 3 stops), it is subtle and you add this, and your brain is working overtime. So, I guess go DSLR, SLR, P&S digital or film, or Auto RF (like Konica C35 or Olympus 35RC (in Auto), if you just want speed.