Hi all; Got a Gossen Luna Pro F meter recently on ebay for what I though was a very good price, considering the price of a new one. I've been wanting one, though my necessity for it was hard to find, given that the Zone VI modified spot meter I've got and have been using for a couple of years has performed flawlessly. I use this method of choosing an exposure for the majority of my pictures (black and white, outdoor landscapes and environmental portraits): I generally take two spot readings, the darkest area I want detail in, and the brightest area I want detail in, and choose and exposure near the middle of these two readings, and I "weight" my choice of slightly closer to more exposure or slightly closer to less exposure, depending on the overall brightness of the scene. Works pretty good. On shots that really look good to me, that is, I'm sure they'll be destined for more than a contact sheet, I'll bracket one stop either way, too. Film is cheap. the trips out there and back, the time spent setting up and choosing etc., that's expensive. So I almost always bracket, even when I'm sure. When this type of metering is not an option for me, I'll use the in camera meter, and do the same bracketing, except maybe, very rarely, I'll go another half stop either way. Now that I've cluttered this post with my incessant ramblings, the main point: I bought this Luna Pro F mainly as an incident meter. It is, as I'm sure many of you know, a very capable meter in both reflected light, flash, and incident light. So it could serve me for lots of things. I read the book: "Perfect Exposure" which I wholeheartedly recommend, and found my self wanting an incident meter. But after I bought the meter, and went back to the book for "instructional" help, I found they don't really tell you exactly how to "point" the meter, when using it as an incident meter. So here I am, begging help from the PDML. Got any quick and easy tips for the best use of the incident meter? Like: point it right at the main light source, at the subject position? Or, do you use say a 45 degree angle in reference to the ground? How critical is left or right inclination? When is the incident meter at it's best? When using transparency film, when exposure is SOOO critical, like my new source of inspiration Velvia? Should I stick with the spot meter, and use this as a flash meter? I am a burden, yes I know. Sid B - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org.
