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

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

  • I spot meter everything. Usually twice.

    Votes: 34 3.7%

  • I use a handheld incident meter with every shot.

    Votes: 135 14.7%

  • I only meter when I think the light has changed.

    Votes: 390 42.4%

  • I use the sunny 16 rule almost exclusively.

    Votes: 211 22.9%

  • I use an EV chart.

    Votes: 43 4.7%

  • I have been shooting long enough that it is intuitive for me.

    Votes: 107 11.6%
  • Total voters
    920
Mental calculation from sunny 16 and Gossen Super Pilot

Mental calculation from sunny 16 and Gossen Super Pilot

I calculate the exposure mentally basically from having an asa 100 exposure chart memorized around the sunny 16 rule. For slides, i use a Gossen Super Pilot with old Mercury Cells that I 'calibrate' against two old selenium meters periodically for agreement.

Then I overexpose by one f-stop as a rule then bracket everything 1 stop hi and low. Always get at least one good exposure out of three.

For very low light, I drag out the Gossen Luna Pro with old mercury batteries still working and start guessing and double bracketing on exposure times.
 
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nico said:
When I shoot with my vitessa I use the sunny 16 rule almost exclusively so to practice with light; for me a meterless camera is the best (and funniest) way to learn how to "read" the light.
ciao
N.
Click to expand...

I totally agree.
Having a camera without a meter, is the way most risky and fun to photography:D. But through this we can really learn to read light.
I also think it works faster that way, because often the camera is already set, so we can concentrate on the good "decisive moment".

Ciao
Alberto
 
Earlier this year I started out with Sunny 16 - I bought the 50mm brightline VF for the IIIf and it took the shoe I usually have the VCII in. At first it was scary not having a meter, but even on the first film most of my exposures were right on. Now I don't use a meter at all (day & night) and 99% of my shots are keepers (well, exposure-wise anyway :rolleyes:)

Instead of using Sunny 16 strictly, I look at a scene and think "f8 @1/125 should be okay" When I want to open up a little, I count down from there: f5.6@1/250, f4@1/500, etc.

I've found working meterless to be very liberating. It's gotten to the point where I don't trust meters anymore, unless I'm shooting slides.
 
While I love meterless cameras (and most of mine are) I find them clunky enough in use without juggling a meter as well. I forced myself to shoot Sunny 16 a few years ago, and I still use it most of the time.
 
I got a Gossen Digisix for Christmas. May film has been beautifully exposed since then. A coincidence, I'm sure. ;)
 
Most of the time I use Gossen DidiSix. But also have LunaProF.

If battery dies, then Sunny 16 rule modified accordingly.
 
sunny16 is great on standard sunny days, for nine months of the year. during three months of winter, sunlight is an fstop weaker, lower in the sky and can get really tricky playing peep-eye among the hills and trees here in alabama. a cyber acquaintance sent me an extra handheld meter of his, and it has been a blessing for my minolta A5, and a couple of meterless slrs.
 
I typically use my sekonic l-28 ,meter once and meter as the light changes (or I think it has changed) its been pretty reliable. On the odd occasion I have forgotten the sekonic , sunny 16 has worked well.
 
Carry a metered P&S

Carry a metered P&S

My light meter is a Ricoh GRD-2. From time to time I take a shot and review the histogram. In between, sunny 16 and intuition do the interpolating. I still have a Sekonic Pilot, but it is slow to respond and doesn't have a histogram...

I sent my 10 yr old son off to a week of film camp with the M2, after an hour of calibrating his eyes for Tri-X at 400 around the house. He did fine, but the instructor was terrified.

scott
 
Incident meter (Digisix)

Incident meter (Digisix)

For a number of years now I have used incident metering (Gossen Digisix). By trying to guesstimate exposure before taking a reading I have established a decent "internal database" of what the light is like. If all makes and sorts of lightmeters were to experience instant "rapture" :) and ascend to heaven (or hell ;-)), I would be able to hold my own without a meter. (I shoot BW only, mostly HP5, I would not make this statement for color transparency film)
Often I guesstimate right to within one or two thirds of a stop, BUT, BUT: there are days/situations, where I, before the very first reading, am off one and a half, two stops. Once my "internal meter" got that input, I can take it from there again. This happens mostly outdoors on overcast days that seem a bit moody and gloomy, but where the light is actually brighter than I think it is. Indoors is where I find it would be easiest to do without a meter. (Stage lighting etc. would be a different kettle of fish, of course.)
Btw, the Gossen Digisix would end up neither in heaven nor in hell, but in some kind of limbo solely designed for equipment that works well enough, even great, but has quirks that really bug you ;-)
 
I use a Sekonic Twinmate L-208 which is small and unobtrusive. For street photography I'll take a reflected reading off the back of my hand and find that this works very well, ( you have to be average white Caucasian for this to work) along with sunny 16 rule.
 
Having bought a sekonic L308s I now find myself quite drawn to the sunny sixteen rule once again ... it's ironic!

My Fred Parker exposure chart is incredibly accurate if you give it sufficient thought and I'm finding the more I use it the less I have to actually carry it. My camera is set to sunny 16 by default when I'm carrying it and every situation I encounter on the street is purely a matter of deciding how many stops to increase exposure by if the light is less than my baseline setting.

If I feel I'm going to be in a situation where there is no time for preparation I'll use a camera with AE quite happily and leave metering entirely up to the camera's electronics! Perfect exposure is nice but with black and white film a stop either way is certainly acceptable when the shot matters more than the exposure.
 
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I guess.

But, occasionally before heading out the door I'll pull out my old meter and get a general reading and just use that as an average and work from there.
If I'm bringing a bag with me as well as the camera, the lightmeter may as well come along.
 
Allways use the 'rule of thumb' I stick it up and whichever way the 'wind is blowing' gives me the right indication. If I am indoors,maybe a 'press conference' or more recently some ' General election meeting' there is usually more than enough 'wind blowing' for my exposures to be very accurate indeed !
 
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