Just developed my first roll out of my M3...

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neway

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And what a humbling experience that was... So I guess it was also my first time ever shooting completely manually and out of a roll of Kodak TMax 400/36... I have maybe 5 good pictures??? So what really got me was all the indoor shots that I took.. And apparently the sunny f16 rule does not apply at all indoors. *end sarcasm.*

So I don't know.. I was originally thinking about bringing my Leica to a friends wedding and snapping some pictures for her... But not feeling too confident about it now.. I might just run with the Yashica GSN and at least ill have properly exposed pictures...

Any suggestions on what I should do?

Oh btw... If I have a friend that uses a dslr, can I use the camera's metering to get close to where I need to be in terms of shutter speed and aperature? I guess if I have those numbers I can recalculate it accordingly to my film and shutter speed

UPDATE: Here are two of the pictures that actually came out decent..

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What was your exposure on your indoor shots. Most of my indoor shots at home with the lights on, require 1/60 @ f/1.4 or equivalent, or 1/30 at f/2. A church or hall with brighter lighting, might give you one or two extra stops at most.

Sure you can recalculate you friend's DSLR meter reading. The lighting indoors shouldn't change, unless it is a situation where the church/hall has big windows and it starts getting dark out.

You can always err on the side of overexposing. You can take some photos for your friend. Since you are not the chief photographer, if you screw up, it is okay :)

Do you have experience developing TMAX? Could have you underdeveloped the film?
 
why not get a meter? there's plenty of good cheap ones out there and lots of advice (and opinions) on RFF. sunny 16 is great if your friendship doesn't depend on the quality of your wedding pix. why leave so much to chance?
 
When I shot my first roll of film in my M4 (BW400CN) I made sure to shoot it all outdoors using S16. Out of 36 photos at least 30 were good or better exposure-wise. Shooting indoors pretty much requires a meter IMO. The Sekonic L208 is about perfect for an inexpensive, small meter. I like having it as a security blanket.
 
Shooting indoors without a meter is not at all easy to do. It's usually a lot darker than one anticipates. Get a VC II meter and put it on your Leica or shoot the wedding with your GSN.
 
400 iso is not really fast enough for indoors unless its a really bright room or you are shooting at f1.4 etc, as already said sunny 16 works fine outside (more like sunny f8 in Scotland!) but its much harder to estimate exposure inside.
 
You should buy a good meter. S16 works well outdoor, but indoor lighting is harder to judge with your eyes. If you have some time before your friend's wedding day, and if it's possible, go to the wedding venue, bring a meter, and shoot a test roll. If you cannot go to the venue, practice shooting indoors anywhere. Bring someone with you to be your test subject.

It's not that complicated, but it takes practice. You don't have to meter every shot. Take some readings, then put away the meter. Use your eyes and brain to judge how far to compensate (or not) from the average meter reading. You can take the meter out to double-check your exposures to see if you're still on the right track. With practice, you will double check your meter less often than in the beginning.

Have fun :)

--Warren
 
I wouldn't guess exposure on a manual camera. Ever. Even outside. It is such a waste of film, unless of course it's some experiment or guessing exposure is the point of shooting. The only time I would ever considering leaving the house (or shooting interior as well) without a meter is if I'm far away and totally forgot my meter, in which case I would probably not shoot. Knowing how to properly expose your film and take light readings is the most basic tenant of photography (not saying it's easy to get perfect exposure). If you're a novice, just pull the meter out, capture the dominant light source, and you're done. Especially indoors, where you're not as likely to gain or lose stops due to sunlight, all you would need to do is point the lumisphere up, take a reading, and you're set until something changes. 10 seconds at the most. Don't need to be Ansel adams or know exposure zones to get visible and evenly exposed images; invest in any meter you can get your hands on!
 
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Shooting indoors has one advantage: the light is not that variable. I know, for instance, that in my house that 1/60 at f:2 does it for most situations where I want to photograph subjects sitting and talking at ISO 400. Any light meter that you are used to using will help immensely. I like the automatic averaging of different light sources that using an incident meter accomplishes. But there is no reason why your friend's SLR would not give you good readings on which to base your calculations.
 
astrosecret said:
I wouldn't guess exposure on a manual camera. Ever. Even outside. It is such a waste of film, unless of course it's some experiment or guessing exposure is the point of shooting. The only time I would ever considering leaving the house (or shooting interior as well) without a meter is if I'm far away and totally forgot my meter, in which case I would probably not shoot. Knowing how to properly expose your film and take light readings is the most basic tenant of photography (not saying it's easy to get perfect exposure). If you're a novice, just pull the meter out, capture the dominant light source, and you're done. Especially indoors, where you're not as likely to gain or lose stops due to sunlight, all you would need to do is point the lumisphere up, take a reading, and you're set until something changes. 10 seconds at the most. Don't need to be Ansel adams or know exposure zones to get visible and evenly exposed images; invest in any meter you can get your hands on!
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Sorry but I think this is terrible advice. Learning how to read light and a variety of situations is a hallmark of a competent photographer. Relying totally on a meter is no smarter than relying totally on S16. One should learn how to read light whether or not it costs you a few rolls of film to learn.

Like I said, on my first roll after getting my M4 and having not shot without a meter since the late 60's/early 70's, I still managed to expose almost all my photos properly simply using S16.

Most smart photographers using strictly manual, non-metered cameras will keep a meter handy but they won't need to rely on it before pressing the shutter if they have a bit of knowledge and experience.
 
Shooting without meter, using no filter on a lens, or hand-holding a camera down to 1/4th of a second seem to be treated as signs of virility by some :rolleyes:

Buy a meter. Read a scene, go for a few shots using what you read, re-meter. There is no substitute in interesting light. S16 works for some situations, but usually when the light is boring :)

Roland.
 
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CSG123 said:
Sorry but I think this is terrible advice. Learning how to read light and a variety of situations is a hallmark of a competent photographer. Relying totally on a meter is no smarter than relying totally on S16. One should learn how to read light whether or not it costs you a few rolls of film to learn.

Like I said, on my first roll after getting my M4 and having not shot without a meter since the late 60's/early 70's, I still managed to expose almost all my photos properly simply using S16.

Most smart photographers using strictly manual, non-metered cameras will keep a meter handy but they won't need to rely on it before pressing the shutter if they have a bit of knowledge and experience.
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Sorry you misinterpreted my argument. obviously the op is not competant at exposing. every competent photographer has used and knows how to use a meter. i advised him to obtain one. i then went on to describ ethe way i expose, which is personal. you took my post as formal or stylistic advice and not practical advice for a beginning photographer.
 
Obviously he's not which is exactly why he should learn how light, shutter speed, and aperture, as well as creativity.all work together. To learn correctly it will cost him the price of film and processing. Sure, he can get a meter and simply look at that and not think about his exposures but he won't *learn* a damn thing IMO.
 
neway said:
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Any suggestions on what I should do?
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Get a meter. :)

It also helps developing an eye for light, especially if you are consistent with your film speed. Say, if you always shoot at ISO 400, with time you will learn which shutter speed and f-stop is appropriate for a given light situation. Just a matter of practice. And congrats to the 5 good photographs!
 
Smart photographers use the tools they need to get good results. Meter when you think you need it. Guess when you're confident.

But remember it's her wedding, have fund and don't be the boring friend obsessed with taking pictures with his Leica.

Alex
 
alexnotalex said:
Smart photographers use the tools they need to get good results. Meter when you think you need it. Guess when you're confident.

But remember it's her wedding, have fund and don't be the boring friend obsessed with taking pictures with his Leica.

Alex
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I think that this is the best advice in the thread, especially the last sentence! I can totally see this hypothetical 'friend' now... haha! I usually rely on a meter as well as my good sense in general because i'm always shooting a LOT of EXPENSIVE film, in many situations where the light is also artificial and the film is slow, so i'm trying to hit a certain f stop precisely. Therefore I would be crushed if something didn't work out. And even with the meter, I do make mistakes. again, stylistic/purpose driven exposure technique.
 
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