Do I really need a light meter for my M3?

[Michael Geschlecht]

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I thought I'd read that the 'sunny 16' method needs to be modified based on latitude, so sunny 16 at the equator is sunny 5.6 in Montreal, it appears. How does this 'adjustment' to sunny 16 align with ExposureMat?

 

Hello Steve,

 

1 story which floated around 50 or so years ago, about where the term "Sunny Sixteen" came from, is:

 

That: Manufacturers assigned a film speed on the basis of: The exposure that produced a properly exposed negative/transparency, when the shutter speed was 1/ASA, at an F stop of 16, at 12 Noon, on a bright & Sunny Day, that was also the first day of Summer, in the Capital City, of the Country, in which that film was manufactured.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[Steve Ricoh]

I have no link to earth latitude for Sunny Anything. I suspect that in brilliant sun on a white sand beach or arctic snows, my benchmark of f5.6 at 1/250 would be a significant over exposure. But I don’t make pictures in those environments.

 

I don’t directly use an ExposureMat as I walk around. I roughly use the definitions to determine adjustments from my standard benchmark exposure. My standard is pretty much “Cloudy bright day, soft shadows” (EV13). If my actual situation is “Overcast day, subject in Shade” (EV11), I know to open up 2 stops. Etc. So my challenge is to assess my light situation and determine how far away I am from EV13. It is all pretty easy, and I remember many of the scenarios and EV levels. I am very unlikely to be off by more than 1 stop.

 

If I am planning on photographing in a difficult environment (e.g. gothic cathedral), I will carry my spot meter (and likely my table tripod). Even educated guesses in these very different environments are difficult and can easily be wrong.

 

As far as actually using the ExposureMat while stumbling around, I would adjust it for my benchmark of f5.6  and 1/250 for EV13 (which I know is right because of good negatives) and see what ISO that shows on the ExposureMat, and stick with that. I did this once, but I don’t remember what ISO resulted. I just use the “EV offset” idea based on the EV value for a specific light situation. It works – my negatives are always easily scanable/printable.

 

After a now long life of making photographs, my experience is that “formulas” and such are usually a waste of time – if you want to know something and make it work for you, TEST in an organized scientific way. I have never found a reliable alternative.

Thanks Michael, perfectly clear now you've explained.

[pico]

The Sunny Sixteen guide is good for certain locations and not for others. It was proposed long before film speeds were ratified, and some before color film was considered. Look at a number of Weston meters made over a decade or two to see how they modulated their scales.

 

Shoot at Sunny Sixteen in Trinidad, where I once worked and it was a disaster, but doing the same in Rochester, NY was almost adequate. Photographing in the middle of the UK, perhaps Oxford, where I also lived one adopted what I considered a constant Overcast exposure at best suitable for rendering ancient stone. People - not so much.

[Ko.Fe.]

I'm considering my first meterless camera, the Leica M-A.  Regarding handheld meters, it seems smartphone apps are the way to go, at least theoretically.  I have my iPhone with me always, so no additional space needed.  The reviews I see on-line for the light meter app I purchased are generally positive.  So what's not to love, at least in theory?

 

But I was wondering what experiences people here have with a light meter app from your smartphone?  Actual testing in the field, so to speak... Good or bad? Thanks!

Oops. I'm sorry I'm not getting notifications for this. It is easier to ask directly next time

In general iPhone free lightmeter app is more accurate and much more easy to use to measure the light as I want, need.

If I want to be 100% confident or I can't see light meter (too dark) I use iPhone.

The major problems are within iPhone, not with application - mine shuts down if temperature is low. Freaking Apple shuts down itself just in few minutes if it is around freezing mark.

And it is way to slow. Unlock it, bring app, wait for camera to adjust for the light.

So, it is great for measure it once scenarios. 

Edited March 6, 2018 by Ko.Fe.

[Tom R]

Friends, as the proud new owner of a late model single stroke M3 (soon to be delivered), I have been looking into purchasing a leicameter.

 

It seems that many people find leicameters to be a pain and I would obviously prefer to not use one, however, coming from an M6, I depend on the meter quite a bit. I mean sometimes I can guess the correct exposure before looking into the viewfinder, but other times I am off.

 

It got me wondering, how many of you use a light meter for your meter-less Leicas? If you aren’t using a meter, and just guessing exposure based on experience, I’m curious to know how good one can get at this. Do you hit 50% of your shots? 90%? 100%?

 

How did they do it in the old days in the M3’s heyday? Did most people use meters or no?

 

I appreciate your thoughts.

 

Francis

 

I used M3 and M2 bodies for about twenty-five years in various settings--including natural light as well as with speed lights, etc.  Shooting one or two panchromatic films exclusively in different conditions, I almost never used a light meter after the first year or so. (I bracketed to alter the composition, as opposed to insurance ...). But shooting color film, especially chromes (slides), was a different story. Also when traveling to different countries, I would take incident light readings at various times of the day and adjust. I found this very helpful in the UK, for example, where midday conditions were very different than ... say ... in San Diego, CA.

[BorisBulldog]

I use mylight meter app on my iPhone and the pics turn out great. I had a selenium Leica mount meter on my 3 an it was inconsistent and bulky looking.

sunny 16 will never fail you too

[Edwin Ho]

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I am relatively new in film photography and own an M2 and also a Lunasix 3S incident light meter (with adaptor to use alkaline batteries).

While I endeavour to improve my skills in using Sunny F16, I do have the meter to confirm my reading. Hopefully, in due course, I am able to rely solely on Sunny F16. It gives much pleasure and satisfaction when getting the exposure correct using Sunny F16.

My typical equipment used for street photography - M2 with 35mm Summicron, ISO 400 film and a handheld meter, all in one small bag. I can even attach the meter to my belt if needed be (for convenience)

It's not the end of the world if I exposed incorrectly as I can still salvage an under/over exposed image by editing in Lightroom.

Do consider newer meters using alkaline battery instead of mercury battery (mercury batteries are prohibited in some countries, like in Australia).

Edited September 8, 2022 by Edwin Ho

[Michael Hiles]

Someone may have already said this…
The issue is not M3/meter? The issues is film/meter?
Some films are more forgiving than others. So precision is more or less important depending on the film you use. 
 

[shirubadanieru]

Hi use light.me app on my phone to measure the light once and that’s all…sunny 16 rule adapted to the below has always worked for me:

Sunny 16: ISO 200 | 1/250 | 🌞F16 🌤F8 (+2) ☁️F5.6 (+3) 🌴F4 (+4) 🌄F2.8 (+5)

Sunny 16 adjusted: Set ISO (+1) & then adjust as below👇
ISO 200 (set as 100) → 1/500    🌞F8 🌤F4 🌴F2
ISO 400 (set 200) → 1/1000  🌞F8 🌤F4 🌴F2

As a rule of thumb, the below also tend to work quite well:
👉High contrast scenes: shoot in the middle (F4)
👉When under Dark shadows: +6 (ISO 400 | SS 1/250, F2)
👉When Indoors: +10 (ISO 400 | SS 1/30, F2)