Those with meterless rangefinders: how do you set your exposure?

[Sonny Boy Havidson]

In these winter days, my f/16 experience is not sufficiant so I take my old Lunasix but indoor and in spring/summer I tend to stick on f/16 or "paper lightmeter".

 

[Bighilt]

Handheld incident meter and then compensate to taste.

 

[jolefler]

Although...

Although...

I've been shooting long enough that it SHOULD be intuitive, I'd like an "I guess at it" added to the poll! Intuitive seems to imply I'm always on the mark🙄

Jo

 

[ErnestoJL]

I usually bring a handheld meter with me, so a meterless camera isn´t trouble of any kind.
I use reflected as well as incident metering depending on shooting environment, but from time to time I also choose sunny f16 rules because it works very well for average subjects.

Ernesto

 

[edodo]

Interesting! I usually know the sensibility of my fillm! When I have natural diffused light through a window I am in heaven, that's the best light for a portrait! I set the apperture then the shutter according to the sunny 16 when it's daylight time. For everything at night (artificial low light) or dawn I usually shoot wide open with the fastest lens I have and the longest shutter I can hand held. hope this helps!

 

[johannielscom]

anyone use this?

anyone use this?

My primary aid is this:

Once I'm not sure this will do it, I'll whip out the meter from my pocket

 

[freeranger]

I used to carry around a meter but, because it is always with me I now usually use an application on my ipod touch.
Exposure Calc is handy for most situations. It originally didn't get good reviews because the developers embedded adverts into it ( even though you paid for the application)
I wrote to them, explaining the mores of selling downloadable software and they changed the application. I told them that because they listened to their customers I would recommend their program to a bunch of weirdos who like to use meterless film cameras 😉

 

[Ronald M]

1/500 F8 in sunlight, 5.6 if the shadows get less distinct.

1/250 F 4 open shade or overcast

Sunlight, hazy sun , open shade used to be printed on the inside of film boxes.

Close 2 stops for iso 400

 

[hans voralberg]

I learned by heart the EV value chart and just evaluate from there

 

[cysasam]

Very interesting, I thought at least someone would use a compact digicam for a meter. I do, and it doubles as exif recorder, and triple-functions as a backup.

 

[Doug]

Very interesting, I thought at least someone would use a compact digicam for a meter.

I wouldn't... If I'm going to carry another bit of gear for metering it might as well be an actual meter with incident reading ability.

 

[Merkin]

Very interesting, I thought at least someone would use a compact digicam for a meter. I do, and it doubles as exif recorder, and triple-functions as a backup.

I don't for several reasons. One, it is too much of an aggravation to turn the camera on and off each time I want to meter. Two, it is an aggravation to match the focal length of the zoom on my digicam to the focal length of my film camera lens. Three, my digicam has a pretty limited f stop range. Four, if my bag were to get snatched, I would rather lose a camera and a 150 dollar meter, instead of two cameras. Five, overall, it just takes too much time. I use a small notebook for my 'exif data.' If I take a shot and I feel like I need to make notes about the exposure, I do so. If it is pretty standard, I don't.

 

[dfoo]

Not to mention that the type of shooting I do (street) its entirely impractical. In general, you get one chance at the shot.

 

[Drewus]

I use Sunny 16 and my exposures always turn out okay. Maybe not as perfect as if I checked with a meter, but close enough that they are in acceptable range.

I did get a meter recently for my birthday though, so i'll start using that just as a base measurement every now and again as I walk around.

 

[Bill58]

My only problem w/ Sunny 16 is the virtually unlimited DOF. I prefer about f5.6 and whatever speed my Gossen Luna Pro tells me.

 

[Teus]

what about shadow areas?
afaik in a tight city, open areas and sunlit streets are sometimes 1stop apart. under very bright weather, large shadow areas are about 3stops below f/16

 

[Doug]

My only problem w/ Sunny 16 is the virtually unlimited DOF. I prefer about f5.6 and whatever speed my Gossen Luna Pro tells me.

One way in which intelligence is applied to "Sunny 16" is in utilizing reciprocity, the reciprocal relationship between aperture and shutter speed. You're not stuck at f/16, as that's just the starting point. If you want to use f/5.6 instead, three stops open from f/16, then move the shutter speed three steps faster and you have the same overall exposure. Just like making the same kinds of choices on your meter's calculator dial.

 

[visiondr]

My only problem w/ Sunny 16 is the virtually unlimited DOF. I prefer about f5.6 and whatever speed my Gossen Luna Pro tells me.

You're kidding, right?

 

[dfoo]

what about shadow areas?
afaik in a tight city, open areas and sunlit streets are sometimes 1stop apart. under very bright weather, large shadow areas are about 3stops below f/16

That's why exposure is a tricky subject. If you go by a meter without using your eyes to view how you want to depict the scene, then you'll get something undesirable 🙂

 

[Oculus Sinister]

I usually use the sunny 16 rule and it's combinations but I still bring a lightmeter along as a crutch 🙂