light metering question

[d4170n]

in some pre 70s cameras, the light the asa setting only goes up to 400 or so.
if i wanted to use 1600, would i need a hand held light meter? or is there a trick to it.

i also want to learn how a light meter works. ive found some articles, but the confuse me with things like 18% gray and stuff. could you tell me how one works?

 

[rogue_designer]

meter, then underexpose by 2 stops?

 

[bmattock]

in some pre 70s cameras, the light the asa setting only goes up to 400 or so.
if i wanted to use 1600, would i need a hand held light meter? or is there a trick to it.

i also want to learn how a light meter works. ive found some articles, but the confuse me with things like 18% gray and stuff. could you tell me how one works?

In older cameras, there are often three problems with the internal meters.

1. The meter may use outlawed 'mercury' batteries.
2. The meter may be malfunctioning due to age.
3. The camera may not offer a manual exposure feature.

If the camera originally used a 'mercury' battery, a modern replacement may not be accurate, for a huge variety of reasons that I won't go into here. Suffice to say, your exposures may not be all you hoped for.

If the battery well is corroded (old batteries often leaked when left in the camera for extended periods of time), your meter likewise may not work propery (or at all).

Cameras that suffer from eiither of the two problems listed above that also have no manual exposure capability (such as the Yashica GSN) may be difficult or impossible to use with film that is beyond the capability of the camera to meter property. Sometimes tricks can be used in an attempt to fool the camera into thinking it is using film that is within the ISO range it understands. This may work and may not.

Given that vintage cameras frequently suffer from shutter speeds that are perhaps not as accurate as they could be, I feel it is important to control for at least two of the three-variable triumvirate of on-camera exposure. If I cannot be certain of shutter speed, I can be certain of f-stop and use a modern external meter to be certain of lighting conditions. If resulting exposures are then wonky, at least you'll be able to pinpoint the problem to the shutter speeds and make future adjustments up or down as required.

I prefer a vintage camera that has manual exposure capability in addition to or in lieu of any AE features. I often prefer pre-meter fixed-lens rangefinders from the 1940's which have no meter whatsoever. This requires the use of an external meter, and given that modern meters are inexpensive and accurate within acceptable limits, I do not use vintage meters - which may suffer from the same problems of age as the cameras they support.