Light meter - yes or no?

Light meter - yes or no?

  • Always use light meter

    Votes: 284 32.1%

  • Never use light meter

    Votes: 43 4.9%

  • Generally don't bother

    Votes: 118 13.3%

  • Generally use one if I can

    Votes: 439 49.7%
  • Total voters
    884
Films had more latitude then. We were told tri x was 200 and Verichrome Pan was low contrast. So you just think exposure was ok.

Sunny 16 gets you close, and in a pinch saves the day. Nothing like a good meter, incident or spot I might add.
 
I got a mint Gossen Pilot for beans on ebay, so why not?
The battery is a bit of a problem.

You know what is funny? My son who is just learning photography & film, makes a lot of exposure mistakes, some of which are the most awesome pictures!
Correct exposure is highly over-rated.
 
davidnewtonguitars said:
I got a mint Gossen Pilot for beans on ebay, so why not?
The battery is a bit of a problem.

You know what is funny? My son who is just learning photography & film, makes a lot of exposure mistakes, some of which are the most awesome pictures!
Correct exposure is highly over-rated.
Click to expand...

Here's a toast to happy mistakes! However I would put Correct in quotes because correct exposure is a matter of convention, usually tied to a realistic rendering of a scene.

As your son's pictures are proving, the exposure is only "correct" when it matches the specific intent of the photographer. Other than that there are canons of classically acceptable exposure renderings, but when taking picture of a person in front of a window, is the "correct" rendering a silhoutte or a contre-jour? But if one was going for one rendering and ended up with the other...then yeah, that's definitely a mistake!
 
I wonder how many photographers who've been at it for decades bother with lightmeters? Are there any who subconciously do all the calculating within a few seconds?
 
I've been using my Gossen Luna Pro since I bought it in 1986.... Thirty years! Time flies...

But rarely with digital. And usually not with film, if its sunny outside (Sunny 16!). And I was never very good with it indoors. But outside in less-than-sunny conditions, its a lifesaver.
 
I usually use a meter or a camera with built-in meter when I go to forests, where I can not do nice "bare-eye-metering". It's the same with indoors.
 
I use a light meter for exposure. I use a graduated cylinder, a thermometer, and a timer when I develop film and when I print. I use a ruler when I cut mats. They are all just tools I use for consistency and repeatability.

Exposure latitude and Sunny 16 will get you in the ballpark if you don't have a meter or the battery dies, but it won't always give you the most accurate exposure.
 
Having been shooting more and more black and white, I find myself caring less about getting exposure right. The results tend to be close enough to perfect for my liking using guesswork. I use sunny 16 and shoot at night/indoors wide open at 1/15th and wing it. The only times I will meter are changing evening light or stuff like portraits.
 
I normally shoot slides, so I always use a light meter, whether built-in or of the separate handheld variety.

I have never really put any effort into learning to determine exposure without a meter beyond a basic knowledge of Sunny 16.

- Murray
 
I use a separate light meter only for those cameras I use without built in meters. So that would be my 4x5 primarily, but I just recently got a Rolleiflex without a meter.
 
If I have a camera / phone app with me which has a lightmeter, I do a few readings and be on my way.

Of course you could do it the hardcore way and just judge if you're a pro which I'm not, but I'd also want all my photos to be exposed at least when I'm shooting people I'm never going to see again. 🙂
 
Verichrome Pan did not need perfect exposure. Later films with more accurate speed ratings do need it.

You can screw around with sunny 16 and vague descriptions like beach, sunny, cloudy, overcast, & shade. They work to some degree and I say use them if there is no other way to expose, but a good meter used by a trained person is better.
 
Great Ronald! I'll go buy some Verichrome Pan! ... Oh, wait ...

Sara ^^^, you can expose without metering every shot. The easiest way id to shoot a few hundred times in different light. Then remember the lighting conditions that work, and use those over and over. For example, most galleries work at 1.30th of a second and f/2-2.8 with iso 400 or 800. Beaches are nearly always f/16 and 1/500th with iso 400. Go from there.
 
That might be easy for some but buying a meter and using it is easier still. And if you are happy guessing then a lot of old but good meters will still work better than guessing and be dirt cheap. It helps if, like me, you like having a period outfit with the lens, body and so one from the same period; meaning a Weston of some sort mostly.

Regards, David
 
Some of my cameras have working built-in light meters some do not.

If my camera's built-in light meter is working and is accurate, I use it.

If my camera's built-in light meter is not working or not accurate, I use a hand held light meter or I use the the Sunny 16 Exposure Guideline.

If my camera does not have a built-in light meter, I use a hand held light meter or I use the the Sunny 16 Exposure Guideline.
 
I do more photography with medium & large format & am extremely conscious of exposure/development. With the smaller negative I appreciate accurate exposure even more. Does that mean I never take a grab shot? No. But getting a fine print from a poor exposure is a challenge. As much as I liked my M2s & M4s......the MP has been a boon....although I'm keen to get some extraneous framelines masked out
 
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