My first 35mm slr.

[fmw]

If we look back over the range of topics of the threads over the years, pretty much everything these days is dead horse beating.

One nice thing about the Chinon is that most of them use the Pentax K mount lenses. Lots of good glass there and quite plentiful. The old CM-1's were a very popular fully manual camera that was cheaper than the K1000. One nice thing about the CM-1 over the K1000 at the time the CM-1 had a self timer, where the K1000 didn't.

I had a K1000 as well. I remember the 28mm wide angle had as much barrel distortion as a full frame fisheye. I have slides made in narrow streets in Tokyo with the buildings bowing to each other. There might have been some good lenses for it but the Takumar 28 wasn't one of them.

 

[Derrel]

My first 35mm SLR was a Zeiss Contaflex with a 45mm f2.8 lens. If I remember right I got it in 1962.

Whoaaaaa! MY first 35mm SLR was a Zeiss Contaflex (model SE? maybe) with 45mm f/2.8 Pantar lens and a built-in selenium match-needle (external meter cell) light meter. I bought it used in '77 or '78 as I recall.

Mine didn't have a meter so I had a hand held light meter. Remember those? I still use one for incident readings.

Yeah...my first light meter was a Weston Master II, the model introduced in 1946. Weston Master II

It did not last too long before its selenium cell died.

My second light meter was the 1950-introduced General Electric DW-68 model. James's Light Meter Collection: GE DW-68

I bought a Minolta flash/ambient light meter in the mid-1980's...and it STILL works fine!

 

[fmw]

My first 35mm SLR was a Zeiss Contaflex with a 45mm f2.8 lens. If I remember right I got it in 1962.

Whoaaaaa! MY first 35mm SLR was a Zeiss Contaflex (model SE? maybe) with 45mm f/2.8 Pantar lens and a built-in selenium match-needle (external meter cell) light meter. I bought it used in '77 or '78 as I recall.

Mine didn't have a meter so I had a hand held light meter. Remember those? I still use one for incident readings.

Yeah...my first light meter was a Weston Master II, the model introduced in 1946. Weston Master II

It did not last too long before its selenium cell died.

My second light meter was the 1950-introduced General Electric DW-68 model. James's Light Meter Collection: GE DW-68

I bought a Minolta flash/ambient light meter in the mid-1980's...and it STILL works fine!

My first was also a Weston Master II. After that I got into Gossen meters -Luna Six, Luna Pro. My current Gossen is a Luna Pro Digital that I use for incident reading. I had a Minolta Spot meter for a while but hardly used it.

 

[beagle100]

My first 35mm SLR was a Zeiss Contaflex with a 45mm f2.8 lens. If I remember right I got it in 1962.

Whoaaaaa! MY first 35mm SLR was a Zeiss Contaflex (model SE? maybe) with 45mm f/2.8 Pantar lens and a built-in selenium match-needle (external meter cell) light meter. I bought it used in '77 or '78 as I recall.

Mine didn't have a meter so I had a hand held light meter. Remember those? I still use one for incident readings.

Yeah...my first light meter was a Weston Master II, the model introduced in 1946.

It did not last too long before its selenium cell died.
My second light meter was the 1950-introduced General Electric DW-68 model.

I bought a Minolta flash/ambient light meter in the mid-1980's...and it STILL works fine!

My first was also a Weston Master II. After that I got into Gossen meters -Luna Six, Luna Pro. My current Gossen is a Luna Pro Digital that I use for incident reading. I had a Minolta Spot meter for a while but hardly used it.

my first "light meter' was in the Minolta X700
www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[Bob Peters 61]

Yeah, a couple of YouTube videos to get the hang of Sunny 16 system, and the main question was how many stops under sunshine for each situation. Then I found one where the guy gave that information for most outdoor situations and will be waiting for when to develop the roll I shot bracketing the light-meter phone app's suggestions and the one from going full S16 values on a day with intermittent sunshine and clouds and on a park "nature path" offering a range of full clearings to heavily shaded woods. That should be interesting to see how well I did with that.

Now it's got me wishing that some light meter would just give a read out in how many stops under sunshine a setting is.

 

[limr]

Now it's got me wishing that some light meter would just give a read out in how many stops under sunshine a setting is.

Do you have a smart phone? The app I mentioned in my previous post does exactly that: it gives settings as well as Exposure Value (EV). Sunny 16 is an EV of 15. If the meter gives you an EV of 11, for example? Four stops under.

Here's a screen shot. EV read at 12:

 

[Bob Peters 61]

Thanks. I've been playing with that light meter app, but had no idea what the EV number was all about so I've just been ignoring it and looking at the f-stop to shudder speed scales. But now I'm a little more confused: 15 minus 12 is 3 stops under, but my understanding of Sunny 16 would put sunshine at shudder speed 5oo (1/500 sec.) at f-16 for 400 film. According to which your example reads at 5 stops under on the settings recommended rather than just 3.

Rather than worry about it, I think I'll just use Sunny 16 reckoning for most situations and follow the camera settings scale otherwise. Assuming, of course that when I get my film developed that's what looks good according to what I've been trying.

No good for the light meter in my camera, though. Shot clean off the scale of brightness on Sunny 16 settings, as if the film speed dial were off by a few stops or something.

 

[limr]

Thanks. I've been playing with that light meter app, but had no idea what the EV number was all about so I've just been ignoring it and looking at the f-stop to shudder speed scales. But now I'm a little more confused: 15 minus 12 is 3 stops under, but my understanding of Sunny 16 would put sunshine at shudder speed 5oo (1/500 sec.) at f-16 for 400 film. According to which your example reads at 5 stops under on the settings recommended rather than just 3.

Rather than worry about it, I think I'll just use Sunny 16 reckoning for most situations and follow the camera settings scale otherwise. Assuming, of course that when I get my film developed that's what looks good according to what I've been trying.

No good for the light meter in my camera, though. Shot clean off the scale of brightness on Sunny 16 settings, as if the film speed dial were off by a few stops or something.

To be honest, I haven't used the suggested settings on that app for a long time. I just go by EV reading and decide myself what I want the settings to be. I'm not sure what algorithm it uses for the settings - maybe they are compensating for the fact that 1/500 shutter speed is not really the precise setting but just the closest setting that cameras were able to handle. In other words, cameras didn't usually have a 1/400 shutter speed, so since 1/500 is a fraction faster, the app might be compensating with aperture setting. I don't imagine why it would open an extra two stops, though, so who the hell really knows what it's thinking?

But like I said, I usually ignore that and go just by EV reading. And I usually have a general sense but use the meter to confirm or to check different areas of the scene (shadows, highlights, different surfaces, etc.)

 

[Derrel]

In the mid-1970's there was a fellow that developed what he called the X-System, based on Sunny 16 as the -Null - value or Zero-X; for every dimmer lighting condition, there was a Plus-1-X value added. As I recall, a Moonlight Night Scene Outdoors was 23-X MORE than Sunny 16.

ALso, for brighter-than-SUnny 16 type scenes, like the old Kodak-described lighting conditoon, Bright Sun on Light Sand Or Snow is **brighter than** the Sunny 16 Baseline, and is Minus 1 x. Something like a blast furnace is also brighter, and is like 5-X Minus (?).

The X-System never took off. It sort of faded away, but there were at least a few of his rotating calulators made and sold; as I recall, they were $19.99, back when gas was around 59 cents per gallon.

I think Fred Picker has a Universal Exposure Chart somehwere on the world wide web.Look for it if you need exposure value suggestions.s

 

[limr]

I think Fred Picker has a Universal Exposure Chart somehwere on the world wide web.Look for it if you need exposure value suggestions.s

Yes, Fred Parker does. I linked to it in my first post.

I don't know how technical you are willing/able to get into, but this is a great site: Ultimate Exposure Computer It gets quite detailed and can be overwhelming, so I suggest taking in as much as you can, then bookmarking the site so you can go back to it to re-read and absorb a bit more each time. I find the charts towards the end of the page useful.

 

[Derrel]

I think Fred Picker has a Universal Exposure Chart somehwere on the world wide web.Look for it if you need exposure value suggestions.s

Yes, Fred Parker does. I linked to it in my first post.

I meant Fred Picker, the Zone VI guy. He had a nice, extensive chart, many years ago. It was on an early-days website run by a guy by the last name of Moynihan. Fred Picker was famous as a proper exposure and development, Zone System fanatic. He had a great catalog back in the day.

Zone VI Workshop: Fred Picker: 9780817405748: Amazon.com: Books

As I recall, Parker "appropriated" some exposure stuff from Picker.

Where are all of Kodak's old film suggested exposure sheets with the little iconic drawings?I miss those!

Still, even 40-some years later, I reallllllly wish I could find one of those 1970's X-System rotating,laminated "wheel" calculator.

 

[limr]

I think Fred Picker has a Universal Exposure Chart somehwere on the world wide web.Look for it if you need exposure value suggestions.s

Yes, Fred Parker does. I linked to it in my first post.

I meant Fred Picker, the Zone VI guy. He had a nice, extensive chart, many years ago. It was on an early-days website run by a guy by the last name of Moynihan. Fred Picker was famous as a proper exposure and development, Zone System fanatic. He had a great catalog back in the day.

Zone VI Workshop: Fred Picker: 9780817405748: Amazon.com: Books

As I recall, Parker "appropriated" some exposure stuff from Picker.

Where are all of Kodak's old film suggested exposure sheets with the little iconic drawings?I miss those!

Still, even 40-some years later, I reallllllly wish I could find one of those 1970's X-System rotating,laminated "wheel" calculator.

Ah. I even checked for a Fred Picker but didn't see anything at first glance. These copy cats should have more distinctive names!

As for graphics, I want one of these t-shirts:
‘Sunny 16 Rule - Black INVERTED’ T-Shirt by Alessandro Arcidiacono

 

[beagle100]

Now it's got me wishing that some light meter would just give a read out in how many stops under sunshine a setting is.

Do you have a smart phone? The app I mentioned in my previous post does exactly that: it gives settings as well as Exposure Value (EV). Sunny 16 is an EV of 15. If the meter gives you an EV of 11, for example? Four stops under.

Here's a screen shot. EV read at 12:

the smart phone "light meter" apps ... I forgot about those
www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[Bob Peters 61]

Well, the 35-40 YO camera seems to have a mold problem. Makes me a little ill to shoot it, so I put it away and just received a gently used Nikon FM 10 I ordered from KEH. Just had to have a fully manual 35mm SLR and after a little research I decided that would be the model to get. Most recently manufactured camera of the description I could find, recently made enough that new ones are still on the market at B&H. And though actually a rebranded Cosina CT-1, if it's high enough quality a model for Nikon to commission to be made with their brand then that speaks well of it.

I've wanted a fully manual SLR since I was a teenager and there was no such thing as a digital camera.