Calculating exposure

[jon.t.]

My dad just gave me his old Canon AE1, and I want to try shooting with it, but I'm not sure how I can calculate exposure to get the pictures right. I'm still a complete newb with my DSLR, and it always takes a few trys before I get it all right. Unfortunately, there's no way for me to check if the settings I used are correct. What is the best way for me to learn how to balance it all correctly without having to waste tons and tons of film?


I know theres gotta be some way to do it, some guys can look at something and just say the apeture/shutter speed no problem.

[JeffreyG]

My dad just gave me his old Canon AE1, and I want to try shooting with it, but I'm not sure how I can calculate exposure to get the pictures right. I'm still a complete newb with my DSLR, and it always takes a few trys before I get it all right. Unfortunately, there's no way for me to check if the settings I used are correct. What is the best way for me to learn how to balance it all correctly without having to waste tons and tons of film?


I know theres gotta be some way to do it, some guys can look at something and just say the apeture/shutter speed no problem.

You need a meter, either an incident one (which is best) or the reflective one in the camera.

Best bet if you will not be getting an incident meter is to learn the proper exposure off of some commonly available tones like grass, or the back of your hand. The sky works well too if your subject is in direct light.

Then you meter the tones you know and set the aperture and shutter to meet the proper exposure. Shoot and pray.

I suggest taking notes too so that you can figure out what went wrong with the inevitable bad shots.

[20droger]

You might begin with the old standby, the "Sunny-16 Rule." Simply put, this rule says that, on a bright sunny day, set the aperture to f/16 and the shutter speed to the reciprocal of the ISO.

So, if your film has an ISO of 100, proper exposure is reached when the shutter speed is 1/100 sec. and the aperture is f/16. That means proper exposure for that film is any one of these aperture & shutter combinations:

f/4 @ 1/1600 sec.
f/5.6 @ 1/800 sec.
f/8 @ 1/400 sec
f/11 @ 1/200 sec.
f/16 @ 1/100 sec.
f/22 @ 1/50 sec.

You get the idea.

I have the plans for a make-it-yourself Sunny-16 Slide Rule I have designed giving the settings for a wide variety of ISO and lighting conditions. If you (or anyone else) would like a copy of the plans so you can make one yourself, PM me your email address and I will send them to you.

Here is a jpeg of the finished rule:

[poloman]

Check this out......http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=89123

Thank PhotosGuy

[jon.t.]

Wow thanks guys this has been a great help, I especially like the sunny 16 rule. Is there anything similar to this in an indoor environment?

[poloman]

Indoors, you can use the palm of your hand but you are going to need a fast lens or an external flash. This is considerably more complex.

[Naturalist]

From wiki...
The AE-1 was a battery powered (one 4LR44 or PX-28) microprocessor-controlled manual focus SLR. It supported either manual exposure control or shutter priority auto exposure. The exposure control system consisted of a needle pointing along a vertical f-stop scale on the right side of the viewfinder to indicate the readings of the built-in light meter (center-weighted with a silicon photocell). The viewfinder used by the AE-1 was Canon’s standard split image rangefinder with microprism collar focusing aids.

From Naturalist...
How about changing the battery so the meter works???

[PacAce]

There's a lot of useful info about the AE-1 here:

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/SLRs/ae1/

[Radtech1]

AE-1 HAS an internal meter. You might need a battery for it. Try looking on the side or the bottom for the battery cover. It should unscrew and be about the size of a dime.

Take the battery to a photo store, and they should be able to set you up with a contemporary replacement.

Rad

[jon.t.]

Thanks for all the help guys, and the battery is dead, even though I didn't expect it to have built in metering.... Metering only woks in "Program" (auto) mode correct?

[Aleem]

i've wondered about this too

thanks

[20droger]

Click on this (http://www.canonfd.com/pdf/ae1.pdf), and all your questions will be answered.

[PacAce]

Thanks for all the help guys, and the battery is dead, even though I didn't expect it to have built in metering.... Metering only woks in "Program" (auto) mode correct?

If you expect to use the camera, you'll need to get a batteries for it because it won't work without the batteries. The camera has shutter priority metering. If it's also the Program version (not all AE-1s are), it'll work in Program mode also.