Nikon FE2 exposure mystery

[Rob-F]

I'm accustomed to getting accurate exposures from my FE2's. When I checked out my gear recently, I switched the lens (50/1.8) from body to body to eliminate any error that might occur if I used a different lens on each body. My two FE2's agreed perfectly, giving readings of 1/125 at f/5.6 and a half.

But, it was the wrong exposure--off by one stop. The subject was frontally sunlit grass in my backyard. My chief exposure consultant, Sunny Sixteen, said it should have been 1/125 at f/8 and a half. My Gossen meter, set to reflected light, confirmed it: 1/125 at f/8 and a half. How about a second (OK, third) opinion? With the 50/1.8 on my FA body, it was 1/125 at f/8 and a half--in agreement with Sunny and the Gossen, and a full stop off from the Fe2's.

I made sure all bodies were set to ISO 50, with no exposure comp dialed in.

I tried substituting a new battery in one of the FE2's, but that only changed the reading by maybe 1/8 stop.

These Fe2's have always given me the right exposure with Velvia. They are getting old, but so is my FA, and I think the FA, which agrees with the Gossen and Sunny 16, is correct. What reason could there be for both Fe2's to now be a stop off? Some aging process in their cells?

I will take a couple of shots with the end of the Velvia roll in one of them, and I expect the slides will confirm the error. In the meantime, would any FE2 users care to weigh in on this?

 

[Vilk]

how about a brick wall? 🙂

dead serious. when i used the FA back in the nineties, it always overexposed grass and foliage by about a stop. lousy sensitivity to green i guess. i had four and all four did that

of course, that would not explain the wide sample variation in your case

 

[Rob-F]

how about a brick wall? 🙂

dead serious. when i used the FA back in the nineties, it always overexposed grass and foliage by about a stop. lousy sensitivity to green i guess. i had four and all four did that

of course, that would not explain the wide sample variation in your case

OK, you're on. I tried them with a brick wall. My brick wall happens to be white, not red. I got the same one-stop difference. Also tried a hazy white sky and got the same thing. I don't think color is the answer.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Hi Rob,

My FE2 gives me exactly +1 metering values compared to incident or other cameras... And it's not the only camera doing it...

When I discovered that three years ago, I started to write down (in the same place I write my ISOs and development times for all films) how every camera I own meters, compared to incident metering, with help of a big gray card... I was really surprised when I found out all that... Now I memorized what's the best ISO setting -from 400- for each camera to meter as my Sekonic... When I push 400 film to 1600, I set my FE2 to 3200, and it's the same if I meter incident (1600) or use AE (3200)... It's something everyone lives with: maybe camera design or variations, but if your development is not too long, film's latitude helps for hiding it: I checked my results pushing film to really see it... I discovered it after doing -with the FE2- a wild push I had just calibrated with incident meter: all frames were noticeably overexposed at direct sight, full of thick, too dense blacks... Another camera shooting at +1 (though everything is relative) is my XA... It behaves just like my FE2... As you say, both produce very well exposed slides at box speed... I was amazed when I tried for the first time my XA at arrival to check its meter with velvia at box speed: all 36 frames were perfectly exposed both under direct sun and in the shades... With other cameras, unless I use 25 or 32 instead of 50, velvia slides are underexposed: saturated but clearly below optimal exposure...

My Bessas and other AF Nikons meter just like my Sekonic...

I find this is not important for most B&W, but it's very important for pushed film and slides.

Cheers,

Juan

 

[ElGato]

My FE2 also overexposes by about one stop compared to all of my other cameras and meters, including an FM2. I'm glad to know it's not just mine! The exposure compensation dial lives at -1.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

How do your pictures look?

 

[Rob-F]

How do your pictures look?

I knew my meter readings were too generous, so I bracketed some exposures, and just stopped down a little more on others. The shots where I didn't stop down some had semi-blown highlights, but didn't seem a full stop off. It's been several years since i shot any E6 with the FE2s; and a bit longer since a shot Velvia 50 with them. I recall being able to leave the camera set to 50, and mostly being all right; again, with an occasional slide coming out a little light. Apparently I was, in effect, shooting somewhat below box speed.

But some photographers do shoot Velvia 50 at 40 or 32--and getting results they prefer at those speeds. It could be that I've effectively been doing this with the FE2, and not realizing i was happy (mostly) with the results. When I bracketed my shots, I usually preferred the slide that was stopped down just a little bit. Since the colors look richer, and there are fewer blown highlights upon stopping down a bit more, I think I will try setting the FE2 to 64 on the next roll. I might even try a few shots at 80.