Getting right exposure on 35mm camera without meters

So basically, title says it all. Is there a way of finding the right exposure when you take pictures with a 35mm film camera without any meters? Is there a general rule of thumb or is it just practice?

Sunny 16 Rule

Or just buy a handheld light meter.

Wondertwins wrote in post #10891203
So basically, title says it all. Is there a way of finding the right exposure when you take pictures with a 35mm film camera without any meters? Is there a general rule of thumb or is it just practice?

As mentioned above, you could use the "Sunny 16" rule of thumb. That lists a series of apertures to use with the shutter speed set at the ASA/ISO setting or film selection based on various descriptions of daylight conditions.

A far superior method - that used by most photographers I know who used non-metered cameras back in the day - is to use a handheld light meter.

Today's handheld meters, such as the Sekonic L-358, are so much better than the meters we could get in the 1960s that it's almost unbelievable. I don't know of any meters in the "olden days" that could read the light from flash sources much less show you the ratio of ambient light to flash light.

Back in the day, Kodak used to pack a chart with each roll of film that listed light conditions (Sunny, Hazy Bright, Cloudy, Open Shade, etc) and suggested exposure parameters. Wonder if they still do that/

thanks a lot guys. Do you know some cheap light meters? I have a Minolta Auto Meter III. Does that work as a good light meter?

I know there were film shooters who did pretty thorough testing/characterizing of film/body/lens combinations with handwritten notes. Camera settings are not exact, and that is multiplied with the camera/shutter speed working with manual aperture lenses. Different lenses will vary in their characteristics as will, of course, different film types.

So, these guys didn't want to take things for chance. The same is true in the digital age -- different cameras and lenses will show some different light gathering characteristics, and it's good to take note.

Of course if you do use a meter, handheld or in-camera, or if you go with the derivatives of "Sunny 16" (as it carries out for cloudy, etc) you have a starting point that can be "close enough", but it can still be good to run your gear through some tests, using the "starting point" but taking note of what the actual outcome is with a given gear setup. I've seen "real exposures" vary significantly from Sunny 16, but good use of a meter can be more reliable if you know how to use either your camera meter or hand-held meter.

As mentioned above, your options are to either buy an exposure meter, or use the sunny 16 rule, mixed with experience gained as you go along.

One thing that hasn't been brought up yet, is what sort of film are you planning to shoot?

If you are shooting negative film, then there is a fair degree of latitude to help recover shots that are a bit over / under exposed. Although it is, of course, better to nail the exposure in camera, it can be dealt with at the printing stage. This is particularly the case if you are doing your own printing in the darkroom, as you have more control over paper types and hard / soft grades (for contrast control). Once in the darkroom, you have quite a degree of control over the finished result, with dodging and burning etc.

If you are sending it off for processing and printing, there is less control (unless sending it to a lab for specialist hand printing) and the machines at kwik-print type places will simply use auto adjustments for exposure etc. Although these will correct the problems, they can still be a bit out. You also need to tell them 'not' to correct prints if you have been shooting sunsets or using colour filters for effect as the AWB will try and eliminate what it sees as a strong colour cast.

So, shooting negs, you can probably do pretty well with sunny 16 and experience (although a meter is better). If you plan on shooting slides (transparancies) then you need to be very accurate with your exposures as there is no printing stage to apply corrections. You can make prints from trannies of course, but they are generally seen as the finished article as a transparancy. There is also less leeway when correcting trannies, rather than negs, for printing. With negs you can be a stop or two out and still get a printable result (as with photoshop and digital, it is better not to have to do this as you can still lose highlights / shadow detail) but with trannies your latitude is very tight, even a third of a stop out will show in the result. In general a third underexposed can be desirable as it will give more saturation, but a third over and it can start looking a little weak and washed out. Miss by a stop and you will be chucking it in the trash for sure.

I used to shoot mostly b&w neg and colour trannie films, doing all my own processing and printing. I would generally aim for about a third of a stop under for trannies, for better saturation and a bit of leeway in case I shot slightly over what I expected.

If you accidentally (or purposely) over / under expose an entire roll of film, you can adjust the developing times (push or pull it) to correct that, and still get a decent result.

If you are planning to scan the negs / trannies to create a digital file, then you will still have PS etc., to apply corrective power, so can correct poorly exposed trannies to a degree but not as much as with negatives as the reversal process will wipe out your highlights much easier.

So, a meter is recommended for neg film but I would say is pretty essential for shooting trannies.

Wondertwins wrote in post #10891942
thanks a lot guys. Do you know some cheap light meters? I have a Minolta Auto Meter III. Does that work as a good light meter?

It will work quite well, it measures ambient and flash. I have both the III and the IV, what I don't like about the III is the battery, sometimes not so easy to find and fairly expensive. The IV uses AA which I like a lot better.

I think the exposure guide sheet referenced above is now printed on the inside of the box.

The exposure guide sheets were simply a short-form Sunny-16 table. If you want, you can put together your own Sunny-16 Slide Rule. Send me a PM with your email address and I will send you the plans:

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I used to take a basic compact camera with me and use it as a makeshift light meter!

tkbslc wrote in post #10895469
I used to take a basic compact camera with me and use it as a makeshift light meter!

Better yet, Wondertwins can use the 7D as a very sophisticated light meter. Complete with histogram!

number six wrote in post #10896089
Better yet, Wondertwins can use the 7D as a very sophisticated light meter. Complete with histogram!

Hahahahha I do that around the house but carrying that thing around is a hassle. Thinking of making my own darkroom but that's a big iffy

tkbslc wrote in post #10895469
I used to take a basic compact camera with me and use it as a makeshift light meter!

At one time Polaroids were used in the same way.

Also getting your photos developed gives a good beating on your wallet...

tzalman wrote in post #10896513
At one time Polaroids were used in the same way.

Yep. Sometimes with a separate Polaroid camera, sometimes with a very expensive Polaroid back for your Hasselblad.

-js