Does anybody use MP without light meter?

[hansvons]

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17 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Frankly I can't see the point of guesswork when I can use a meter.

The eye works logarithmically. In dim light we are quite good at recognising lightness changes, in brighter light not so much. Meters help to bring you to the correct ballpark. Sunny 16 is a good rule, a bit like the Beaufort scale which is based on how the sea changes its appearance with increasing wind speed, but a race sailor wants to know the exact figures.
 

I learned from a seasoned cinematographer that watching the light of your hand’s back helps to understand what’s going on — when you already know the ambient light amount. That way, you can figure out how to interpret the light meter’s reading.
For instance, the exposure of longshots often differ from the subsequent close ups. Giving the faces a little extra light or opening the aperture by half a stop is the best practice. 

My personal bottom line: I use my iPhone for getting an understanding of the overall light situation and the rest is interpretation. I find that at least as good as the very good light meter in my R6 and as quick, if not quicker because I leave the details to my guts and not getting irritated by changing readings when panning the camera.

[LocalHero1953]

With digital I rely almost 100% on (internal) metering, adjusted by inspection of the histogram and the scene (especially light on faces).

For film with the MP, I do almost exactly the same, except that in the absence of the histogram, I am interpreting the scene a bit more analytically.

For the M4 and Barnacks, I am more flexible. When out and about I take periodic meter readings, especially if I venture into a darker street, or on the shady side, to get a feeling for how the light varies (in stops) across the range I am working in. That gives me a spectrum within which to work meterless shot by shot. At night I just set the camera as wide and as slow as I can (e.g. 1/25 & f/2.8-3.5) and hope that the film can handle the rest.

With the large format, I am as meticulous as I can be; usually both with an incident meter and my phone app (which takes a shot of the scene and meters that). If I'm carrying the Q2 (a digital polaroid), I might use that as well (I have no spot meter).

My original point in posting in this thread was that I do not avoid metering for pleasure or because it helps me take better pics. Metering is just another tool to help me along the way.

[hansvons]

6 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

(I have no spot meter)

In my experience, spot meters are a pain to use and only deliver correct results when you know how to use them and have time to interpret the readings. But even then, it’s hard to determine which part of a subject is 18% grey, plus frequently the 18% grey is not placed in the light/shadow that dominates the scene. In the end, there will be different readings with over three stops to choose from, and I’m not taking about the highlights and deep shadows. 
 

The only scenery that makes me wishing for a spot Meter are far-away subjects that want correct exposure or sunsets. But the latter I avoid shooting and my iPhone will bring me in a good-enough ballpark in these situations.

[Rungroj Suppagarn]

Thank you everyone ! I would say I may go with Mp because of black paint 🙂 I love documentary with b&w also develop film by myself. I will also remove battery and shot without lightmeter so I guess it will like M-A but for some seriouse portrait with my wife or her friend I may use lightmer since I have to take pic for their social post 😂 and remove the battery for personal work.

 

Thank you all.

 

Best luck. 💌

[a.noctilux]

@Rungroj Suppagarn

If I can give an idea as old MP user (now M-A and older meterless M),

learn to use handheld meter, with or without battery in your MP.