Your Formula For Shooting Meterless Indoors

[brennanphotoguy]

I shoot with an M3 and rarely use a meter. When I'm inside I go 4-5 stops down from my outside numbers as a rough guess with decent window or ambient light. It could go up and down based on how bright the room is. Walled off room with overhead lights I'd probably go f/2 @ 1/30th or 1/15th.

 

[radi(c)al_cam]

Well, many US Americans, even wealthy ones, live in dwellings built from cardboard, erm, I mean gypsum plasterboard, don't they?

I once was in such a house, and I had to sneeze — I don't lie, I raised the roof!

If I would face that «meterless indoor» problem, somewhere in the USA, in such a dwelling, well, I would just sneeze a couple of times, and then we're outdoors — sunny 16 — problem solved 😉

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I figured I would be stretching it a bit with the 3.5 elmar. It's amazing how the artificial light can fool the eyes. I have both a J-3 & a J-8 that hasn't been getting any love so might carry the J-8 lens along.

I'm having fun with J-3 on M3 for couple of weeks. Cable tie as focus tab makes huge difference to me. Two weeks ago after long working day, evening I went to kids hospital at night to meet one of our daughters and my wife and get home at 2AM. I used 400 @400 and f1.5 for night streets, Go station, train, parking lot and roads. To my surprise it came out normally exposed.
But I haven't checked yet how much of it is in focus. 🙂

 

[narsuitus]

Just take sunny 16 as EV15, and go down about 9 stops with your aperture and shutter speed for bright indoors, or more if necessary.

This recommendation is very close to what I use.

I go down ...
7-stops for bright office
8-stops for average office
9-stops for bright home interior
10-stops for average home interior.

I am not sure exactly where a "nicely lit indoor scene" would fit but I would bracket my exposures to make sure I had something useable.

 

[bayernfan]

if it's even and typical indoor lighting, 8 stops down from sunny 16 is a good starting point. if it's spotty and uneven, take a few handheld meter readings and memorize them.

 

[sara]

I've always done:

ISO400, shutter speed 30, f2.8 or lower.

Has worked for me.

 

[FrankS]

I've always done:

ISO400, shutter speed 30, f2.8 or lower.

Has worked for me.

Agree. Do what works for you. No need to make things any more complicated than that.

 

[gb hill]

I'm having fun with J-3 on M3 for couple of weeks. Cable tie as focus tab makes huge difference to me. Two weeks ago after long working day, evening I went to kids hospital at night to meet one of our daughters and my wife and get home at 2AM. I used 400 @400 and f1.5 for night streets, Go station, train, parking lot and roads. To my surprise it came out normally exposed.
But I haven't checked yet how much of it is in focus. 🙂

I think I will try out the J8 for some night shots. All the Christmas lights uptown are up now & people will be out & about.

I'd love to see some of those shots. Hope the focusing was good for you. If not perhaps artistic focusing.😉

 

[gb hill]

I've always done:

ISO400, shutter speed 30, f2.8 or lower.

Has worked for me.

I agree with Frank. I need to practice holding a steady hand at those slower speeds. Never been much count under 30th of a second.

 

[sara]

I agree with Frank. I need to practice holding a steady hand at those slower speeds. Never been much count under 30th of a second.

My photo tutor has always said, 1/30 is the lowest you'd go for handheld wherever, and I've never forgotten this ever 🙂

 

[mgilbuena]

If you'd like to have a light meter always on the ready, and you've got a smart phone, you may consider checking out a lightmeter app. I use Pocket Light Meter on the iPhone. It's handy for tricky indoor lighting situations like you've described.

 

[hendriphile]

I've always done:

ISO400, shutter speed 30, f2.8 or lower.

Has worked for me.

+1
For several years I photographed interiors in a typical university library, and f2.8 at 1/30 with ISO 400 worked consistently. Sometimes the meter indicated 1/60 depending on the proximity of the overhead fluorescent lighting, but 1 stop over never hurt Tri-X.

 

[dmr]

My photo tutor has always said, 1/30 is the lowest you'd go for handheld wherever, and I've never forgotten this ever 🙂

With the RF I can confidently handhold 1/60 (almost) all the time, 1/30 most of the time, 1/15 some of the time, and 1/8 well, uh ... 🙂

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I used to be able to always handhold 1/15 of a second with a 35mm camera. After my stroke, I can't do it anymore. For handheld work, I now use a Canon 5DmkII with image stabilized lenses. With that, I can get sharp 1/15 shots if I am careful. Without IS, I sometimes blur shots done at 1/125!

 

[lrochfort]

+1
For several years I photographed interiors in a typical university library, and f2.8 at 1/30 with ISO 400 worked consistently. Sometimes the meter indicated 1/60 depending on the proximity of the overhead fluorescent lighting, but 1 stop over never hurt Tri-X.

Likewise.

Plenty of leeway in film.