Prefered metering methods ?

[angeloks]

How do you do the metering with your Leica? Do you put the VC meter on your camera or use an incident lightmeter? If yes, which one?

 

[Peter_Jones]

"Sunny 11" , sunny 16 doesn't cut it in Northern England (54 deg N) or Weston Master IV (which reads consistently 1 stop underexposed - at least it's consistent) for reflected light usually measured from skin/grass or where I visualise a "mid-point"

If I'm using XP2 I just guess exposure and let the latitude take care of the rest 😀

 

[alexz]

Sunny 16 rule - often manually adjusted to fit the ambient conditions, incident metering when feeling like taking my Polaris meter with me, or just my M6 own metering coupled to my zone system judgement...
in most cases all works (in particular incident) fine even with slides (Sensia 100)

 

[Peter_Jones]

BillP, love the shots of Guildford, brings back fond memories of working down there. What lens are you using on the 111c ?

BTW "Eyeball#1" ; eyes + brain + best meter ever, light meters or sunny11/16 often need interpreting to best suit the subject 🙂

 

[350D_user]

"Sunny 11"? Hmm...

I did use the "Sunny 16" rule, whilst in Malta. Every shot with this rule turned out fine. Other than that, I rely on my Weston Master V. 🙂

 

[ZorkiKat]

Take out palm, place under light, and say, "uh, this looks like an f/6,3 @ 1/100 sec!".....sorry couldn't resist! 😀

But I do think that this was the way the more seasoned Leica folk did it in their heydey.

Regarding metering, if you're shooting with BW or colour negs, metering isn't too critical. Incident readings will probably be relevant 2% of the time when you're doing outdoor shoots. Reflective metering will likely figure more. It's using meters properly which counts more than which mode to use. Meters are afterall brainless devices, so intelligent decisions based on what the meter gives will lead to good exposures.

Jay

 

[richard_l]

I use a Sekonic L308, in incident mode if convenient, otherwise in reflected mode. The accessory shoe on my IIf is reserved for a 35mm viewfinder.

Richard

 

[Paul K]

I use a Weston Master V. I start out with an incident reading uning the Invercone to get a feel for the overall conditions and then take a reflected reading if needed for things like shadows or backlit shots.

 

[Peter_Jones]

350D_User, Hi,
😀 Sunny 11, based on weaker sun "up north", seems to work OK for me.

 

[iml]

I either use the meter in the camera, if it has one, generally metering off my hand or some handy midtone object and using a bit of judgement as to overall scene contrast, or sunny 16 or a Sekonic if I'm using a meterless camera or just fancy doing something different to what I normally do. It always seems to work out OK regardless of what I use.

Ian

 

[ljsegil]

I have gotten very good performance from the Voigtlander VC Meter II with a variety of rangefinders and lenses. It is very convenient to use as it fits in the accessory shoes of the camera in use and is right there when you need it.
LJS

 

[john neal]

Like Peter (see above) I use "sunny 11" due to geography (also Northern England).

If it's really bright I might use "sunny 12.5" on the Elmar - most of the Manchester pics in my gallery were done that way 🙂

 

[John Bragg]

I use the built in meter in my M6 as a guide, then applying any compensation that my Mk 1 eyeball deems nescessary. If in doubt I err on the side of generous exposure....

 

[jkelly]

What's a meter? 😉

 

[Sparrow]

What's a meter? 😉

In this context it’s a device for measuring light intensity

 

[angeloks]

Well John, I won't buy a M6 to use it has a light meter... But not a bad idea anyway... Hehe

I guess that I'll do like most of you, I'll start using my brain... If it doesn't work, well, it will be the VC II Meter!

Thank for your inputs!

 

[Sparrow]

Well John, I won't buy a M6 to use it has a light meter... But not a bad idea anyway... Hehe

I guess that I'll do like most of you, I'll start using my brain... If it doesn't work, well, it will be the VC II Meter!

Thank for your inputs!

You’ll need both brain and a meter, human perception of light levels isn’t that good, try looking at a plain surface then close one eye thereby halving the amount of light entering the system; can you see any difference?

 

[oftheherd]

I don't have a Leica (at least meterless 😀) but currently my method of choice for any meterless camera would be my Gossen Luna Pro or the Luna Pro sbc. If I ever get around to fixing my Sekonic L28c2 I will gladly use it for all incident readings as it was superb for that. I feel more comfortable using the Gossens for reflected readings than for incident. Just my personal comfort level. If I don't have a meter I consider sunny 16 and make adjustments as I think needed (I think I need to get my eyes recalibrated 😀), or if I am lucky enough, look for the exposure information that comes with the film. Pretty much what everyone else has already suggested.

 

[John Bragg]

I think that results are what matters. How we all chose to use the tools at our disposal is purely a means to an end. 90% of the time the meter only serves as a starting point to make an informed judgement.

 

[Sparrow]

I think that results are what matters. How we all chose to use the tools at our disposal is purely a means to an end. 90% of the time the meter only serves as a starting point to make an informed judgement.

That’s what I meant to say, it provides a datum that you can use to arrive at the “correct” exposure

The eye can’t do that