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Re: [OM] (silly?) incident metering question

Subject: Re: [OM] (silly?) incident metering question
From: WKato@xxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1999 00:57:05 EDT
In a message dated 99-08-30 00:03:57 EDT, you write:

> Since reflected meters assume scene is 18 grey, they have to be
>  over-ridden in special cases (a la the 4s shadow and hilite button), yes?

An averaging meter usually always works. It falls down when the scene is very 
high contrast, in backlighting situations, when your subject is in a shadow, 
etc. The first solution with spot metering is to meter your main subject and 
work from there. If you take multiple spots and all the spots are within the 
latitude of the particular film you are using, you will get a useable 
exposure. If the spots exceed the film latitude you have to make a choice 
about what your main subject is and expose accordingly.  The hilite and 
shadow button more or less guarantee that you will get white whites and black 
blacks so it's a special subset of spot metering and not a solution for all 
special cases.

>  What about incident? Are they immune to this kind of error?
>  Say, I'm in a valley, and there are black shadows under some overhangs and
>  sunlit rocks in the general scene. Reflected metering will try to render
>  it all 18%, so the lucky 4 user takes a spot off the shadow and hits
>  shadow on the body to u/expose by 2.x stops getting proper black shadows.
>  (or, the smart non-2S/3/4 users simply does it manually <G>).  What would
>  an incident say?

If you are using the incident meter positioned at the subject and pointed 
back at the camera, then you are measuring the actual light hitting the 
subject.  The lucky OM4 user will take multiple spots and decide whether or 
not he/she wants to have any detail in the shadows, or wants to have the 
highlights blown out, makes a choice depending on the subject matter, and 
pops more spots to bias the exposure toward one direction or adjusts the 
compensation dial accordingly. (That's one way anyway.) Incident is useful 
for portraits and places you can walk to to take the reading at the subject 
(studios). You can also take an incident from camera position if you can 
accurately posit that the lighting for the subject is the same as that at the 
camera.

>  I hope this theoretical example makes sense and suits the question at
>  hand. My track record of late has been less than stellar.
>  OM content: I'm beginning to like the 50/1.8MC wide open for low light
>  candid portraits (such as when the adorable little sister is about to fall
>  asleep :-))
>  
>  

Low light candid portraits are difficult because usually the lighting is much 
contrastier than we imagine. Lacking a spot meter, go right up to you 
slumbering sister and take a reading off of her face.

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