----- Original Message ----- From: "J. C. O'Connell" Subject: RE: Bodies: K2 vs. KX vs. LX
> The LX meter range may be limited by the lens speed which may be slow, > a hand held isnt. My digital multi-pro gossen automatically > indicates "error" if the light is out of range so I dont > get "false" readings. What I do anytime the metered reading is over 1 second > is start out the base exposure at the meter reading which is always > going to be underexposed due to film reciprocal error. Then I bracket > doubling the time exposure each time up to 4 more "stops" total. I've never > NOT gotten at least one really good exposure in the selection. I would never > attempt to do a shot like that with only a single exposure. > Hell thats what 36 exposure rolls are for.....My time is > worth more than a few frames of film. I dont leave it to chance.... > So far the longest exposure I ever did in a series was about 20 minutes, > and that is only once in a blue moon (pun intended). I have nothing > against the LX, it's just that ANY built-in meter means very little > to me, I rarely use built-in meters in the type of photography > I do. To others I'm sure it important like event photography, etc. > I'm not a fan of reflectance metering or AE, I prefer incidence > and hand metered manual. As for the situation with the light changing > during a time exposure I said before I dont want the light changing > DURING the exposure. If it did I would just reshoot the frame... > And there is the practical matter also how often do you actually > take photos where the time is longer than 1 second? I know I take > VERY few. I'm certainly not going to buy camera based on just on that > feature > when there is a cheap easy reliable solution like bracking with any camera, > even > an unmetered one on the rare occasion where something like that is needed. > To each his own I guess. Ummmm, whatever. With view cameras, an exposure shorter than a second is a rarity, several minutes is more the norm. So, practically, almost everything I shoot is longer than 1 second exposure. If you are discussing the image I gave the link for, do you not think that over SEVEN HOURS the light might change? That image is illuminated by window light. I had one shot at it, bracketing the exposure just wasn't an option. If one has done proper tests, then it is possible to precisely place the film reciprocity curve into the exposure equation. This cuts down greatly on the 4 stop guesswork that is guaranteed to give one less than optimum negative 3 times more often than it will give a correct negative. Metering long exposures is no different from metering short ones. You need to know your correct film speed for the situation, including exposure duration. Sensitometry is the science of exposure and development. It's a science all photographers should familiarize themselves with. Science, not taking a scattershot exposure approach will always work better. A four stop bracket is a scattershot approach. If you get better at exposure, you can then use those four sheets of film (or frames if you are using a small camera) as insurance against physical damage to the negative. The degree of reciprocity failure is pretty easy to predict by observing meter deflection at open aperture and predicting an approximate exposure time at the shooting aperture. Just one question: Have you actually used an LX for making long exposures? I have. William Robb
