Re: Exposure Tables

[P3D Gary Schacker <fotoschack@xxxxxxxxx>]

There's an old saying;

With slide film, expose for the highlights.

With print film expose for the shadows.

Print film benefits from a degree of overexposure.  Most pros operate
this way as a matter of course.  When I shoot print film at special
events such as weddings and Bar Mitzvahs I often set my flash for auto
exposure at f16 but I shoot everything at f8 or f11.  This does not
result in vastly overexposed negs.  On the contrary, it yields negs with
good shadow detail and enough density to avoid low contrast muddy
looking prints.  This is the reason Kodak biases their exposure tables
toward slight overexposure for print film.
They actually want you to get decent results!

There's other factors at work with flash units.  The power (guide
numbers) of these units is often exaggerated by the manufacturers.
They're trying to sell these things and horsepower is a selling point.
Also they derive these numbers for so called "real life" environments
like small rooms with white walls.  There's a distinct loss of power in
large rooms with no reflection to boost light levels.

With slide film the situation is totally different.  Neither
overexposure or underexposure is desirable.  However, slides are viewed
with transmitted light
and these light sources vary in intensity
What may look good in a viewer with a good bulb and fresh batteries may
look quite dark when projected in a largish room.  It's often best to
have two or more versions of a view for different viewing situations.
The key is bracketing.  I think anyone who maintains that it's not
necessary is kidding himself.

Gary Schacker


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