----- Original Message ----- From: "John Daniele" Subject: METERS and a few ???'s
> Hi all I have a few questions about spot meters From the opinion I > received on my photos it seems I am a few stops off on my exposure I > have been counting on the built in meter. I feel I might have better > results using a spot meter and learning the zone system. My questions > are > > 1. The pentax digital spot meter that has been zone six modified will > it also meter correct when using color film's or is it B&W specific. > > 2. I hate to ask this one the Pentax Dig meter vs Minolta spot meter F The photo that I saw may have been underexposed, or it may be that the image didn't translate from negative to scanning to my computer screen. I am basing my thoughts on the lack of detail available to me on the wall near the corner of the table. I thought that detail should have been available there. You can answer whether the film is underexposed or not by looking at the neg and seeing if there is texture in the darkest part of the picture. Also, that picture has a very wide tonal range, is wasn't an easy scene to meter. If, in fact, it is underexposed, the exposure was most likely thrown off by the window light. I get along just fine with the built in meter of my camera. If I am shooting negative film, I meter with the camera pointing down, to declude the sky. If I am shooting slide film, I point the camera up to meter, as nothing is worse than a blown out sky with slide film. Just about the last thing I would recommend to an inexperienced photographer is a spot meter. The knowledge base required to use one to advantage is pretty wide and deep. I do use a Zone VI modified meter when I am shooting 4x5, since I can expose and develop each sheet of film to an exact specification, depending upon the range of the scene. You can't do that with roll film, and I think this really a spot meter a waste of effort with roll film. In this case I agree with Doug that you would be well advised to use the money you would have spent on a spotmeter to buy more film and processing, and learn how the meter in your camera interprets things. As for what to do until then... <rant> Think of your next few dozen rolls of film as the price of learning. I just don't get the theory that perfection can be an immediate thing. Sometimes things just don't work the way you had hoped. If your as smart as you are visually gifted (I am basing this on one photo, don't let me down bt making it a one off lucky composition) you will look very closely at what worked, what didn't and why, and adjust your technique for next time. For example, if you go back to that diner, have a smoke and decide to take a picture, based on the last time you were there, you will probably open up a stop over what the meter says, tell your friend to move over a bit and unfold a napkin to reflect some light into that corner and take the picture when the moment seems right. Then you will knock a minute off the processing time when you get to the darkroom. If that works, and the rest of the pictures on the roll look good as well, you may find that you want to set your meter to 50 rather than 100 for TMX, and make a habit of developing for 7 minutes rather than 8. On the other hand, you could go out and buy a spot meter, and spend the next year being frustrated by the thing because it isn't making your pictures any better. For that matter, if you buy a spot meter, you should probably buy a densitometer as well, so you can reference your exposure and development. Or, forget all that crap, go out and have fun with your camera, which is what you should be doing in the first place, and don't worry about what some balding fat guy in Canada has to say on the subject. </rant> William Robb
