Recently got a camera without a light meter, looking for some tips on how to meter by eye.I get the principle behind sunny 16, and have the table in my head, but I'm constantly getting different readings from my (phone) light meter than I'm getting from my guesses using sunny 16. Is it just practice?
>>4481784As a side topic, could any Anons also share some tips metering at night, my phone meter told me this would be exposed decently, but it seems to have only taken the highlights into account.
>>4481785Just get a proper light meter
>>4481784The “sunny” implied by sunny 16 is that bright, blinding, mid day “I need sunglasses” type, so less than that and your assumed readings will start to differ. But film has decent latitude, off by a stop higher/lower should still be decent. But like >>4481789 said just get a meter the chinks make cheap tiny ones these days
>>4481785When shooting at night you're constrained by the minimum shutter speed you can hold without inducing motion blurThat usually ends up around 1/30th or 1/15th if you have a wide angle or very steady hands, but the rule of thumb is to get the shutter speed closest to your focal length (50mm --> 1/60, 28mm, 1/30th), and then reducing another stop when you really need it or can brace yourself.If you're under ISO 3200 and for the kind of scene in >>4481785 it's best to stay around f/2.I usually shoot at 1/125th and ISO 6400 and adjust between f2.8 and f4 in "well lit light" (well lit streets, commercial areas), and then nudge my speed down as I need it when entering darker places.Too much light won't hurt, but too little will make it hard to bring out in post. Name of the game is finding the sweet spot where you're not taking in too much light, but everything you care about is captured.Light doesn't change much once night has fallen, so I usually check the light meter a couple of times at the start, and then it's all vibes based, either nudge it brighter or darker in the range I believe I'll get a sharp image.
>>4481794examples here are 1/60th 6400 with a 40mm equivalent lens
uooo... oh wait, misread the thread titlecarry on
>>4481795Works the same (or even better) on film
>>4481797Rember to push your Tri-X, it's fun
>>4481798And it works
