Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/07/31

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Metering
From: "KPETERS" <KPETERS@huntel.net>
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 09:38:30 -0500

Ye old Morgan manual has an exposure guide for outdoor photography that is
easy to memorize and I found quite accurage:

Two factors:  SKY FACTOR and SUBJECT FACTOR, multiply the numbers together
to get your aperature.  Shutter speed should be the reciprical of your film
ISO (iso 100= 1/100 shutter speed).

SKY FACTORS:  1= very dull, overcast sky, heavy cloud.   2=Dull clouds, no
direct sun.  No shadows.  3= Bright sun shining through clouds, shadows.
4=Bright sunlight, heavy distinct shadows.

SUBJECT FACTORS:  1=portraits under trees, shaded scenes.  2=compositions
with little or no sky, nearby landscapes, street scenes, non-shaded
portraits.  3.  Open landscapes with sky, white buildings, outdoor sports
activity.  4.  Marine and beach scenes, snow scenes, or distant landscapes
with alot of sky.

Good luck with this!  After you 'guess' for a while and compare to your hand
meter, you'll toss the meter and shoot faster!  Unfortunately, indoors does
throw a curve at you here, perhaps someone else has a better way to
'estimate' indoors.  Obviously, this method works better for film, but you
can always bracket.  Kent P.
- -----Original Message-----
From: csocolow <csocolow@microserve.net>
To: LUG <leica-users-digest@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Saturday, July 31, 1999 9:33 AM
Subject: [Leica] Metering


>Does anyone have any tips/techniques for meterless photography? I use
>the "sunny 16 rule" allowing a filter factor for pollution, etc. I know
>that fluorescent lighting with 400 ISO film is 1/30 @ f/4. My question
>regards ambiguous situations such as shade, overcast days, low-level
>twilight, etc. A year or so ago someone posted an old trick they had
>learned in the military having to do with intensity of shadow cast on
>the ground as a basis for exposure calculation. Cartier-Bresson
>eye-balled his exposures. Anything along these lines would help.
>--
>Carl Socolow
>
>http://members.tripod.com/SocPhoto/