Metering on Bessar R at 1/2sec and 1/4sec

[Rurouni]

I was just experimenting with the Bessa-R meter in my room. (Warm Flourescent lighting - around 1/8 f2 EI400 for accurate exposure), and when I moved the shutter dial to 1/4, the meter swings from exposed to completely underexposed.

Have I gone beyond the meter's sensitivity levels in this situation?

 

[KoNickon]

Yes, I think that's what happened. I forget just where the lower limit of its sensitivity lies -- I think it's 1 second at f1.4 with 100 speed film, so presumably you would not have reached that lower limit -- but in my experience the Bessa meter does not perform well in low light anyway.

 

[Rurouni]

oh yeah I'll be in a pub tmrw catching a 80's rock performance tmrw, I really hope that I'm not going to bust the meter. The Nokton should be good enough, and I'll prob have to get some 800 film at least.

Thanks for the reply, I thought that my meter was busted somehow

 

[aterlecki]

I don't like the way the meter works at all. I can dial in ISO 400 and then point my Bessa-R at the sun with my lens fully opened and it will still read underxposed at 1/2 second (and the moment you go to 1/4 second it jumps to the correct overexposed LED). If I then switched the ISO setting to 3200 it would read underexposed at 1/15 second or below. Why on earth would it do that when the light is more than sufficient for the meter's sensitivity?

 

[f/stopblues]

oh yeah I'll be in a pub tmrw catching a 80's rock performance tmrw, I really hope that I'm not going to bust the meter. The Nokton should be good enough, and I'll prob have to get some 800 film at least.

Thanks for the reply, I thought that my meter was busted somehow

I've shot in a couple settings like that recently with my Nokton 50 and I usually need the film at least set to 1600. Leaving it at 800 you can get the shots, but the DOF is so small and you're shooting moving subjects mostly, so I tend to misfocus a lot.

Also, the light in those places tends to be so patchy that its easy to trick the meter. Makes for a fun evening 🙂

 

[mechon]

I hope it will help: http://www.usfca.edu/~fraley/r2meter.html
BTW I've found it on this forum 🙂

cheers

 

[RML]

From CameraQuest:

Meter range EV 1 to 19 with 100 film (f/1.4 at 1 second to f/16 at 1/2000th)

You do the math. I'm too lazy. 😛