Light meter - yes or no?

[SimonK]

I came to FSU cameras after 30 years of Japanese SLR use - all, of course, with built in very accurate light meter. So naturally I mess about with my Leningrad 4 for 2 or 3 minutes before every shot.

But, my dad used a Kodak Box Brownie with a choice of sunny, partially cloudy or cloudy and all our holiday snaps (early sixties) are perfectly exposed.

So, I was wondering, what do you all do - use a light meter or guess it using experience/judgement?

 

[Pompiere]

With print film, there is so much latitude, that any one can get a decent picture without a meter by using Sunny 16. I generally use the camera's meter since most of my cameras have one, but if I am using a camera that doesn't, I don't usually carry a meter.

 

[oftheherd]

I took a lot of photos as a young kid with Brownies. I am sure film latitude save most of those photos that came out. Later I took many photos with the information in the film box. They usually came out as well. But I prefer a light meter.

 

[35mmdelux]

I use a meter to get the best exposure I can get, especially with slides. One of my "problems" is that one of the first books I ever read on photog was Ansel Adam's, The Negative, where he is adamant about getting exposure accurate as possible.

Often, I'll set the settings and only afterward check the meter to see how close I am. Kind of a learning device.

I have a Nikon F6 as well, and it has incredible metering capability. No sunny nothing needed here. I call it my lazy camera.

 

[MCTuomey]

simon, most of the time i use one to confirm my guess, correct my settings if necessary, and then adjust as needed +/- a stop or two as light changes. indoors i take a few more readings to get an idea of the range of light in the various spaces, then make running adjustments.

 

[ray*j*gun]

Except for chromes, I use sunny 16. For slides I use a small Sekonic and add a 1/2 stop.

Ray

 

[Heldur]

I dont use a light meter because they are inaccurate or don´t work with my cameras. Nearly all results have been fine (with contax IIIa, Kiev 4 and Fed 3) but I need a little more time to work out the settings based on sunny 16. But in the long run it will help my photography (I am a beginner)
I use this guide
http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm

 

[julio1fer]

I try to use one when I can

 

[richard_l]

Not using a light meter is macho, but it's rather like playing football without a jock strap. I think I consistently get better exposures with intelligent use of my Sekonic meter than by the Sunny 16 method, but I may be wrong.

Richard

 

[John Lawrence]

I always use a light meter (usually in incident mode). I've tried guesstimating based on sunny 16 but I've never been satisfied with the results.

 

[srtiwari]

Having used an SLR for years, I got used to the built-in light meter. Now I sue the Ms more and do B+W, so I am trying to learn to estimate the exposure.

 

[srtiwari]

I meant "use", of course. I don't "sue" anyone

 

[rbiemer]

I learned with out a meter many years ago. Now I generally prefer to use one. For my FSU cameras, I have a Sverdlovsk 4 that works well. I don't necessarily meter every frame, though.
Sunny 16 worked very well for me until I got my current eye glasses--my eye doctor suggested Transitions lenses rather than separate sunglasses. I'm still occasionally fooled by how things look through the darkened lenses of my glasses.
Rob

 

[ray*j*gun]

I have more trouble with focus issues because of my glasses (eyes) than exposure....do they have focus meters? Ah the joys of maturity.

Ray

I learned with out a meter many years ago. Now I generally prefer to use one. For my FSU cameras, I have a Sverdlovsk 4 that works well. I don't necessarily meter every frame, though.
Sunny 16 worked very well for me until I got my current eye glasses--my eye doctor suggested Transitions lenses rather than separate sunglasses. I'm still occasionally fooled by how things look through the darkened lenses of my glasses.
Rob

 

[rbiemer]

I have more trouble with focus issues because of my glasses (eyes) than exposure....do they have focus meters? Ah the joys of maturity.
Ray

Mine are also progressive bifocal lenses, trying to look through the VF using the part of the lens that is neither the distance nor the reading part of the lens was a definite learning curve!
Rob

 

[fanshaw]

I usually carry a Weston meter, but before I use it I always estimate the exposure and compare my estimate with the meter reading. Now, if I don't have a meter I can make a reliable estimate in a wide range of conditions.

 

[40oz]

I tend to shoot in lighting that is too dim for most meters. So I often don't use a meter. I figure exposure by experience and common sense. So when shooting during the day, sunny 16 seems liberating.

I have cameras with built-in meters, and I use the meter more often then not when carrying those bodies. But I always find that while the camera-metered scenes are all "perfectly exposed," they are all the same exposure. There is no variation in exposure to highlight the subject or change the mood. When I let the meter set the exposure, I am giving up control over that aspect of the shot.

If I want more control over my shots, I forgo the meter. I'm not perfect, so I occasionally blow the shot with poor exposure. Big deal. No different than taking a perfectly exposed shot that is boring or blurred or whatever.

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

I tend to shoot in lighting that is too dim for most meters. So I often don't use a meter. I figure exposure by experience and common sense. So when shooting during the day, sunny 16 seems liberating.

I have cameras with built-in meters, and I use the meter more often then not when carrying those bodies. But I always find that while the camera-metered scenes are all "perfectly exposed," they are all the same exposure. There is no variation in exposure to highlight the subject or change the mood. When I let the meter set the exposure, I am giving up control over that aspect of the shot.

If I want more control over my shots, I forgo the meter. I'm not perfect, so I occasionally blow the shot with poor exposure. Big deal. No different than taking a perfectly exposed shot that is boring or blurred or whatever.

You have some good points here, and it should be kept in mind that there is no such thing as the perfect exposure for a given subject, it all depends on the effect you want,- so many variables!. Personally I have never paid much heed to 'sunny sixteen', I think it tends to indicate ( to beginners? ) that f16 is an aperture to be used a lot - when it is not!. For the best results, use f16 or smaller only when absolutely neccessary!, as by this setting the performance
of most lenses for 35mm is way off the peak!.
Dave.

 

[kxl]

I can pretty much wing it in well lit situations, especially with B&W film's wide latitudes. But in extremely low light, I sometimes use a Gossen Luna Pro S, which IMHO, is the greatest light meter in low light situations.

 

[crawdiddy]

What would Lenin and Marx do?