Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]sometime around 12/23/99 4:56 AM, Frank Dernie at FrankDernie@compuserve.com was heard to write: > > ALL exposure meters are incident meters. Reflected light meters are simply > incident meters with optical and/or electronic compensation built in such > that when light reflected from an 18% grey subject is reflected back at > them they give a reading the same as a simple incident meter at the subject > would have given. thats all. Frank, you are flat wrong. I know physics just fine. Incident meter means the light falls on the sensor directly from the light source. That IS THE DEFINITION of incident meter. Reflective meter measures the light reflecting off the subject, not just 18% grey subjects, as you inaccurately describe. The camera measures the light and reports back how to make that tone 18% gray, it does not think that is 18 percent gray. It doesn't think at all! No one, but someone who doesn't know what they are talking about, thinks a Zone VIII tone is Zone V. That's just the beginning. It also takes brains to interpret either kind of meter reading. Reflective metering allows for more accurate placement of tones, and if you can't see that, then there is no need to continue the discussion. Using an incident meter is more like using auto exposure, and reflective meters like manual. The latter gives more direct control over the results. I know a lot of pro photographers who don't know squat about proper exposure and rely on the forgiving films they use to save their butts. For them the incident meter is ideal. Not that only bad and incompetent photographers use them, but in this case, it's the way to go. And on top of that, there is a wide range of quality of the photographs that are offered by pros. Just because a Pro uses an incident meter, or Minolta cameras, or Leicas and relective meters is secondary to their competence, and who they learned the trade from has a lot to do with how they work. A pro is someone who makes more than 50 percent of their money via photography (IRS rule?) and that's about it. Anyone can call themselves pro. A lot of incompetence exists in the profession. At least as much as there is competence. - -- Eric Welch Carlsbad, CA http://www.neteze.com/ewelch Cynicism often masquerades for sophistication in our society, but more often than not it's merely an indicator of resentment.