<LOL> No, Tom, the palm of one's hand is brighter than middle grey, so, if you don't open a stop you will get under exposure ... maybe you need a refresher course ;-))
Cameras such as the MX, ME Super, LX, with center weighted metering are not very good when it comes to metering a scene when used automatically. The same may be true for matrix or multi spot metering depending, I suppose, on the algorithm used and the scene being photographed. I've long ago stopped relying auto metering except in very benign situations, like photographing grey cards, or in the shade where the light is pretty even ... and even there the meter can trip you up depending on how you frame the shot. I understand what you're saying wrt using exposure comp. Like you, I often forget to reset it. shel graywolf wrote: > (GRIN) Either you had very dirty hand or those negs were "underexposed" by about > a stop. (GRIN) > > I learned about what you are saying because I used a hand held meter with my H3. > After transferring the readings to the camera hundreds of times I began to > notice that the settings did not change that much over relatively long periods > of time and would set the camera once then keep shooting until I noticed a > change in the light. As you say, with experience you start to notice without > even thinking of it. A cloud covers the sun, you open up a stop or two > automatically. Sun comes out again and you close back down. > > With an automatic camera you have to set exposure compensation. For some strange > reason I keep forgetting to turn that back to normal. Freudian block against > automatic cameras I guess. > > How lucky you were to find a photographic mentor. It does speed up the learning > process a lot. How nice of you to pass on that mentoring.
