Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/06/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 08:02 AM 6/3/97 -0800, you wrote: > >Recently on a shoot I took readings with two meters (incident), verified >with incamera meter and shot a polaroid I liked. At the lab I had to >push the Astia one stop to get it to match the polaroid. I moaned to >lab owner (a super guy and ex-Kodak tech rep) who immediately said, >"Polaroid's not accurate test of exposure." So I said how about three >meters and a polaroid which all agree? "Well, I don't know. " > >I don't either. > >Donal Philby >San Diego > Donal, I have had an impossible time with Polaroid. It's not the cheap stuff either. I use Pro 100 color. In frustration, I now use it only for composition. It seems like you need a stop watch and a thermometer to get consistent results. And they still don't match (exposure wise) the Velvia that I mostly shoot. My incident meters are dead-on and I trust them. I meter for the Velvia, cut the exposure in half, shoot the Polaroid, and it looks crappy. So now I just check the composition with Polaroid and ignore the color & exposure. Actually, recently, I've cut way back on the Polaroid use. There is such a GIGANTIC difference between what you see on a Polacolor print and what you see from a Velvia transparency, it's sometimes un-nerving. I have _not_ shot something because of what I saw on the Polaroid, only to kick myself later. When I visit a trade show, the Polaroid booth always has great looking stuff. I must be doing something wrong??? Maybe I'm expecting to much. This holds true with both my 4x5 Polaroid back and my NPC LEICA Polaroid back. Jim