On Mon, 2 Apr 2001 13:01:41 -0400, you wrote:
>If you're using print film, how can you tell (seriously) if the camera is
>underexposing? And in a high contrast situation, any camera's meter is
>fallible because it can't read your mind. Do you want to expose for the
>shadows or highlights? You can't have both.
>If the printer is telling you the negative is underexposed for the shadows,
>this isn't a 2/3rd undexposure, it's most likely a gross 2-stop
>underexposure and most probably was caused by the meter being confused and
>unable to read your mind. This is when multi-spot metering is handy.
>
>You should shoot a roll of Provia 100F slide film with moderate contrast
>scenes. Include a gray card in the scene. Bracket in 1/3 to 2/3 steps. This
>will tell you more conclusively whether the camera is bad. Evaluative
>metering of a high contrast scene -- you'll get a million answers depending
>on what you're shooting for -- and none of them will necessarily be wrong.
As it happens, these prints actually *were* from Provia 100F, so I
don't think it was necessarily that gross of an underexposure. I'm
also not asserting that there's anything wrong with the camera, just
offering an example where some underexposure *might* be construed to
occur. Overall I haven't had any complaints with normal metering
situations.
But this crosses over to the lightmeter thread. Since the Elan 7's
partial metering mode is a 9.5% area, I don't think I could have
isolated the Elk's armpit even if I had been trying to, which I
wasn't. However, since there was so much sky in the shot, IIRC I may
have exposure compensated down a 1/2 stop or so, which would show up
on slide film, as you point out. This is one reason I want to get a
meter that can spotmeter, or maybe a body that can. You are of course
correct about the limitations of the meter, not to speak of my mind
:-) (which it can't read anyway) and I will be going back there to
the Elk with Provia, and I do want to try exposing for the darker
areas on their bodies, although obviously I won't get the same sky.
(The shots in question are posted on my site, BTW, in Gallery 3)
Thanks for your input.
Ken Durling
Website http://home.earthlink.net/~kdurling/
Alternate e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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