Help with light meter

[Jus7 A Phas3]

Ok, I know you ajudst the F stop and the shutter speed but sometimes when i go to take a picture my light meter seems like it wont move to 0 no matter what i do. So thats why i come to you guys for help so please tell me what i can do:]

 

[Helen B]

What sort of light meter are you using?

Could it be that there isn't enough light for the meter to read - ie it is out of range?

Best,
Helen

 

[JDS]

Are you talking about the meter that's in your camera?

Unless you're shooting in extremely dark situations (night, no streetlights), or extremely bright situations (mid-day sun..not recommended ) your camera should be able to get a proper exposure by adjusting the aperture (F-stop) and shutter speed.

Are you shooting in full manual mode? Or Aperture priority, or Shutter priority?
What are you shooting?

 

[Jus7 A Phas3]

Oh yeah well im shotting in manual and i cant put it in any program because thats what my teacher says ha and my light meter is in my camrea. I was in a room with lights they wernt bright but it was modarite (sp) and i couldnt get the light meter to move

 

[Helen B]

OK, so what camera are you using?

Best,
Helen

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

It's my guess that you were experiencing one of the limits of your camera/lens. For example, the lens has a maximum and a minimum aperture...so if you are trying to use a shutter speed that would require an aperture beyond the limits of the lens...you might not be able to get your meter to the middle. The camera also has limits for shutter speed...usually not on the long end...but the max is probably 1/2000 to 1/8000.

 

[ann]

why not take your camera and sit down with your teacher and go over what your doing so they can help you make the necessary correction?

 

[Jus7 A Phas3]

I have a nikion N70 and i dont know the lense i think its 50 to 80mm

 

[Helen B]

If you tell us the maximum aperture of the lens and the film speed setting we could tell you the lower limit of the meter range. The meter is much less sensitive (5 stops) when set to spot metering than when it is set to matrix or centre-weighted. The sensitivity of the TTL (through the lens) meter on your N70 is affected by the maximum aperture of the lens.

If you are indoors and think that your meter may be out of range, try taking a reading from the palm of your hand as you move it towards a light, and see when the meter starts to respond. To get the maximum sensitivity from your meter set it to centre-weighted and take a reading from a piece of white aper, then open up two stops beyond that.

Best,
Helen