Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/07/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]on 7/3/02 12:04 AM, Frank Filippone at red735i@earthlink.net wrote: > I started all the hullabaloo on the M7 by asking how she did such an > excellent job with that picture and AE.... > > Taking off on that tangent, I wanted to remind all in non-Zonie land that > your best friend is an INTELLIGENTLY used meter. If it is in the camera or > in your hand, spot meter or averaging/wide angle makes little to no > difference... It is the intelligent use of the meter that counts. > > Tina determined from her experience that metering in the area on the floor, > which was about at Zone V, that the entire picture would be in the correct > dynamic range to bag a really nice exposure. All zones would be useable. > It was NOT the camera that did this, it was Tina. An M7 is a fine camera > with a really nice meter built in. But if Tina had just pointed the camera > at the scene and pushed the shutter button, she would have gotten terribly > underexposed faces, and correctly exposed outside areas. Not what she had > in mind. Where am I going? > > I recommend highly that if you do not know, have no experience with,. or > generally want to improve your exposure settings. that you taks a course in > basic photography at your local JC. They will teach you what to meter, how > to meter, and when your scene is too hot ( bright) or too flat ( too dull) > to gegt all the zones to be present.... It is NOT an issue of a M6 being > better than an M5, or a M7 AE that is better than a hand held Sekonic or a > ZOne VI modified Pentax Digital SPot meter. . It is knowing how to meter > to get the output you want. YOu do not learn this on your own.. You need > some form of instruction and feedback. I highly recommend a formal or short > course. Your hit rate of properly exposed pictures will improve. > > Ted has stated how much better his shots are with the M7.... I suspect it > is because he, as a real time action photographer, is now spending more of > his time working composition and less time fiddling dials. It is NOT the M7 > that is better, it is the time that TYed spends concentrating that is > improving his shots. > > All of this is not an endorsement against the M7, rather it is an > opportunity to point out what seems really obvious to me.... work, feedback, > and experience are the best tools at your disposal. A specific camera will > not, in itself, do anything for you. > > YMMV > > Frank Filippone > red735i@earthlink.net > > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html So well and precisely stated...know your tools, know your medium and understand your objective...the results will please you and most observers. Long live the tools, techniques, means and products of our minds. Happy snaps, Steven Alexander - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html