metering????!!!

[DZL]

I own a Minolta X370 (pretty old camera), and I took a photography class in college for about 3 months until i dropped it.... ANYWAY...they'd told me to meter for the shadows, shoot for the highlights. Now, I try to meter my camera usually for a shutter speed of 1/60, but no matter what aperture i try, it never lines up with the shutter speed...and I dont have a tripod yet so i can't keep the shot clear unless i take every picture on a flat surface, which i can't do. Is the meter broken/am I metering correct?

 

[Alpha]

First, it's expose for the shadows and develop for the highlights. Metering and shooting are functionally equivalent, so metering for shadows and shooting for highlights doesn't make sense.

Second, why are you trying to maintain a 1/60 shutter speed? Shoot at whatever speed you like. You should be able to hand-hold down to 1/30 no problem, 1/15 if you're good, and 1/8 if you're really good and your subject isn't moving.

 

[DZL]

'about the metering/shooting part, i knew it iddn't make sense haha.


but the shutter speed, i mean honestly i like to use faster ones like 125 and 250 a lot, but i'm just saying, even if i do use the 1/8 or 1/16, i mean the aperture line is still too low haha i just don't now if i'm not doing it correctly, or it's just not working.

 

[Alpha]

What do you mean when you say the aperture line is too low?

 

[jstuedle]

What do you mean when you say the aperture line is too low?

Maybe the match needle in the viewfinder?

 

[Alpha]

Maybe the match needle in the viewfinder?

Is giving out an aperture reading? Is it shutter priority only?

 

[Helen B]

It sounds like you are setting 1/60, then adjusting the aperture to try to get the meter needle to coincide with the shutter setting needle (a lot of TTL meters work that way). It sounds like you need to use a different shutter speed - slower, by the sound of it.

If you are metering in the shadows, then you shouldn't be setting the camera to the shadow reading, but to (say) two stops down. If you set the film speed to the box speed of the film, then a meter reading off the shadows will result in overexposure.

Exposing for the shadows is not the only way to meter. You can also meter from a midtone or a highlight - you just need to understand how to relate the meter reading to the camera setting.

There was a recent thread about the similar X-300 here.

Best,
Helen

 

[DZL]

pretty much, when i meter the shutter speed line is solid and the blinkinng line is the aperture setting, and most of the time the aperture line will only go up to the very bottom lines, and if shutter speed is at let's say 1/30, it's still a few lines under it...i'll try this


- 1000
- 500
- 250
- 125
- 60
- 30
- 15
- 8
- 4
- 2
- 1
- B

when i set the shutter speed to 60, the line next to the 60 is bolded, and the aperture line is usually down a the 2 or the 1, and once it's past B, it's just a blinking arrow, showing that it's lower than any shutter speed i have on my camera...?

 

[DZL]

oh ok i'll check out that thread and see hwa ti can do thanks

 

[Helen B]

I think that the X-370 and the X-300 are the same, or at least have the same metering system, so the explanations given in the thread I linked to are relevant.

Are you setting the film speed to the ISO rating of the film, then metering in the shadows?

Best,
Helen

 

[DZL]

yeah i've got the 400 speed in there now and that's all set up

i put the shutter speed dial onto auto and it pretty much makes it even at 60 which is fine i guess, but i'm going to experiment with it all and see what i can do tomorrow when i have some sunlight to work with

thanks for your help!