P3D Re: To Meter or Not to Meter

[George Gioumousis <georggms@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Andrea Blair wrote
> 
> Maybe Dr. T would be so kind as to post his "Sunny 16 and beyond" scale 
> once again, to show how easy it is to take great pics when you do not 
> have access to a light meter.
> 
> Andrea
> 
The "sunny 16" rule predates Dr. T; I have a nice little booklet from
about 1960 or so which is an ASA standard.

Most descriptions of the rule assume the photographer will be shooting
within a few hours of noon in the Summer. My booklet has charts based
on time of year, time of day, and whether slide or print film.

A very nice approximation is to open up one stop (i.e., f/11) if the
length of your shadow is the same as your height, more or less.

I sometimes get better slides with the f/16 rule with my expensive
Maxxum 700si than with it's most fancy builtin meter, and sometimes
just the opposite. 

I use the f/16 rule, an old but elegant Weston meter, the Weston
with its incident attachment, and the various options on the Maxxum.
All have been known to work at times.

Ever the optimist,
Dr. G


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