Dr Flash wrote:
>mebbe so... but I still think a test shot and check of the histogram is
>more accurate and faster. :-)
You are absolutely correct. However, I'm at a loss as to where the
histogram function is on film cameras. I look and I look, but I can't find
it.
The multispot metering function is an ideal solution (for the non-digital
shooter), when exposing per the "Zone System". This isn't a function that
I'd particularily use in auto-exposure mode (OM-4Ti), but is ideal in
manual-exposure mode in the 3's and 4's. My working method is to spot a
high value, a low value, and a couple of mid-tone values (for sanity
check). These show up on the scale as little pip-marks (dots). You adjust
the aperture and shutter-speed to move these dots around to where you want
them +/- on the exposure scale. For example:
I'm shooting a high-contrast subject with Ilford PanF film. PanF has a
beautiful tonal scale in the lower values which you can exploit, but it is a
film that can drive you insane trying to protect the highlights. When
metering the scene, I will pay special attention to the highlights that I
want to preserve detail in. I'll take at least one, usually two or three
spot readings of these high and near-high values. I will also take a spot
reading or two of the lowest values needing preservation. I know that the
spot meter angle-of-view isn't narrow enough for exacting work, so I fudge
the results by 1/2 a stop in my scheming. PanF film, when processed
normally in DD-X gives me about 5 1/2 stops of low-pain exposure-range with
the rest of the response curve firmly in the toe and shoulder. If carefully
exposed and developed! So, knowing this, I'll make sure that the highest
value doesn't exceed +2 when shooting PanF. However, in photography,
setting the exposure in the camera requires compromise. The obvious
compromises are Aperture vs Shutter Speed, but they also include high/low
values and placement on the tonal scale. If I can't get my high/low values
firmly within the straight-line section of the tonal response curve, then I
need to make the decision of whether to lean on the toe or shoulder and by
how much. With digital, you have no toe/shoulder, but a longer straight-line
section. With digital, I adjust exposure so the histogram shows
preservation of that which is most important to me in that particular shot.
With multi-spot metering, I adjust exposure so the dot placement shows
preservation of that which is most important to me in that particular shot.
It's exactly the same thing!
One feature of the OM-3Ti I'm not quite understanding. I'm having a
conceptual problem with. Why does the OM-3Ti have an exposure-compensation
dial? :)
AG-Schnozz
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