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Re: [OM] OM4 metering...

Subject: Re: [OM] OM4 metering...
From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2003 14:33:46 -0700
By the two brochures, do you mean the OM-4 'Instructions" [A] and "For Your Creative Photography" [B] booklets?

I find the instructions, and the examples in particular, in these booklets to be excellent instructions on using the spot metering and highlight and shadow functions. They are certainly brief, but directly to the point. The instructions for the OM-4T(i) are all in one manual, but the material on these ssubjects is the same.. All of these are available on the eSIF <http://olympus.dementia.org/eSIF/om-sif.htm>, but the scans of the sample images are really not up to fully showing the effects of using these features. The later editions(s?) of the Shipman book on Olympus that include the OM-4 have some great overall info on exposure, but much less on the question of spot metering than the instructions booklets and nothing on highlight/shadow functions.

I believe the highlight and shadow functions are unique to Oly and the OM-3 and 4 series, so there probably isn't much in the way of third party info on them. Their operation is pretty simple and logical. Ordinary exposure setting, average or spot, assumes that you want the area measured to come out as neutral grey (or its equivalent brightness in color). Pushing the Highlight button assumes that you want the measured area to be as bright as the film is capable of handling, and Shadow assumes you want it as dark as the film can handle. This is accomplished by applying the equivalent of exposure compensation, increasing exposure when Highlight is selected and decreasing it for Shadow. I know I've read what the amount of compensation is, but don't remember where. As I recollect, it is 2.5 stops for one and 3 for the other, but I don't remember which is which. This works pretty well for slide film, putting the black or white point right about the film's limits. For negative film, it's wider latitude, esp. for overexposure, combined with automated processing equipment can lead to rather ordinary looking apparent exposure on prints if the processor doesn't disable automatic brightness.

I'm sure there is lots of material available on the general use of spot meters, including on the usual photo tutorial places on the web, but someone else will hve to point it out.

Moose

Donald MacDonald wrote:

Apart from the two brochures, any clues as to a good primer on using the
spot meter and the highlight/shadow buttons? Preferably one that is readily
available and cheap (!), like on the net?

I KNOW this has been discussed before, but I've trawled unsuccessfully in
the Archives. I hope by next week sometime to be able to do some practical
stuff (ie shoot some film ;-)) but at the moment I'd like to bone up on it.




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