Re: [Leica] Whether to buy a seperate meter?

[Mark Rabiner <mrabiner@concentric.net>]

Dan Post wrote:
> 
> Eric-
> The method I was taught years ago- and it works particularly well with a
> 'spot' meter, but will work with any meter if you are willing to get close
> enough to meter these relevant 'spots'-
> If I meter for a deep shadow, say the tread of a tire under the shadow of
> the fender, I'd take a reading on the tire, and stop down two stops. If I
> meter on a highlight, not a specular highlight, light reflections off glass
> or water, but say the front of a white shirt, with details like folds or
> wrinkles, then I open up three stops from the reading off the shirt to get
> my exposure. I use this mostly for color film as its range or latitude of
> tones is somewhat limited, and depending on what I am shooting, if I don't
> have an average scene, this works quite well.
> Off course, if you have lots and lots of time, a leisurely measurement of
> all possible areas in your scene is the answer, but this being an imperfect
> world- as a PJ you know that by now- little shortcuts like that go a long
> way to make things a bit easier!
> Dan
> 
> > In those kinds of situations, I meter the bright white and make the
> > exposure 2 - 2 1/2 stops overexposed for that white.
> > Eric Welch
> > St. Joseph, MO
> >
> > http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch

I do the say: my darkest textured shawdows are 2 under (say zone III). And I
also agree with your white shirt opened three which puts that at zone XIII. For
me That's a white with tone but not really texture. I most often read what I
think of as a textured hightlist 2 over or zone VII.

You are not thinking of useing the term "zones" but your zone system agrees with
mine to a tee it seems.
Mark Rabiner