What settings for analog SLR to get great photos....

Bagdad Bob

TPF Noob!
Joined
Apr 7, 2010
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
Sweden
Can others edit my Photos
Photos NOT OK to edit
Hi, hello, I'm new in here! ;)

Anyway I encountered an old analog system camera and so took it to the local photo dealer to put in batteries and film and to check it out if it worked or not (and it did!). Its a Chinon CE-4, the manual is to be found here: Chinon CE-4 camera manual, instruction

Im new to photography, I had a 2-day course or smth when 15 years old (23 now) but that I dont remember at all!

Now it's just for me to shoot some photos since the photo dealer put in the film to me ...Im Swedish so I might use the wrong terms, I hope you will get me anyway.

I have three objectives, one 50 mm 1:1.4 and one 1:1.7 and one 135 mm. I understood that 50mm is best for close-up photos / macro photos and 135 for landscape settings? Or am I totally wrong? When do I use which? And what is best, 1:1.7 or 1:1.4? And why?

I read alot about photo exposure and aperture, but I'm getting frustrated, as I want to take quite good photos to not waste money on the film...I need some help!

The film is ISO 200 and hence the Iso setting is put to 200.

Are there any standard settings that I could use for different motives, or how do I decide what shutter speed and aperture setting to have. I heard that for a noob as myself its best to take pictures indoor with alot of natural light (like sun from the sides/windows on the side) or outdoor with natural lighting. Correct?

I somewhere read that if I use a 50 mm objective shutter speed should be less, eg. 1/60 to 1/1000. Is that correct? How do I choose the corresponding aperture number?

Maybe this answer my question better: If you were in my situation, and you would take these photos, what settings would you choose and why?

a) Portrait indoors with good lightning from one side
b) The same as above but with quite bad lightning
c) The same but outdoors
d) A animal or child that has a hard time to keep still indoors or outdoors....
e) A landscape a cloudy day / f) A landscape a sunny day
g) A building in a town in shadows
h) A river with streaming water a sunny day
i) A close up photo of a flower

Hope you get my questions right...Is there maybe somewhere where I can change these settings to see the result on the web? Or will it differ from camera to camera? A software where I could choose ISO, exposure time and aperture number to see what result I would get....:mrgreen:
 
There is a light meter in the camera viewfinder that indicates either an under or over exposure when you change the aperture or shutter speed settings.

Page 7 in the PDF version of the manual you linked to.
 
There is a light meter in the camera viewfinder that indicates either an under or over exposure when you change the aperture or shutter speed settings.

Page 7 in the PDF version of the manual you linked to.
Cheers!

But is that light meter trustworthy?
I just tried to take a portrait photo of my nephews, indoor setting, sofa, natural lightning from the right. I used f. 2.8 and 1/15. According to the light meter it wasn't under nor over-exposured.

But what result will I get with that setting?
Some examples of settings to use for different motives would be much appreciated.... :lol:
 
But is that light meter trustworthy?
I just tried to take a portrait photo of my nephews, indoor setting, sofa, natural lightning from the right. I used f. 2.8 and 1/15. According to the light meter it wasn't under nor over-exposured.

But what result will I get with that setting?
Unless it the light meter simply needs some major adjustment, it should be trustworthy, you should have a "proper" exposure, and the picture will likely come out just fine. At 50mm, 1/15 shutter speed could introduce some camera shake, making the picture not as sharp.

Examples of settings that will work are near impossible to give. It's entirely dependent on way too many factors.
 
But is that light meter trustworthy?
I just tried to take a portrait photo of my nephews, indoor setting, sofa, natural lightning from the right. I used f. 2.8 and 1/15. According to the light meter it wasn't under nor over-exposured.

But what result will I get with that setting?
Unless it the light meter simply needs some major adjustment, it should be trustworthy, you should have a "proper" exposure, and the picture will likely come out just fine. At 50mm, 1/15 shutter speed could introduce some camera shake, making the picture not as sharp.

Examples of settings that will work are near impossible to give. It's entirely dependent on way too many factors.
Great, both the motive and my hands were quite firm though! Hoping for a good result. So it's just for me to write down my settings and then compare with the real outcome when that day comes..Sometimes wish i had a digital SLR to compare with before i took a photo on the analog one :mrgreen:

About this: cameraDemo

Is that a good starting to point, could I try the same settings with my own camera and expect to get a similar result? Or not?
 
The settings you use, are dependent on the light you are shooting in. So you can't really get settings from us or from a web site etc.

However, each setting has it's own effects. The aperture controls Depth of Field (DOF) and the shutter speed controls how motion is captured. Together with the film's ISO, those three things control the exposure.

By the way, the rule of thumb for blur due to camera shake is that you want your shutter speed to be at least as fast as the reciprocal of your focal length. So if you are shooting with a 50mm lens, you will want your shutter speed to be at least 1/50...when shooting with the camera in your hands. At 100mm, you will want 1/100 and so on.

Even if you are fairly steady, shooting at 1/15 will likely result in some blur (or loss of sharpness). Especially if your subjects are not stationary objects.
 
I have a Chinon CE4 which I bought in the early '80's. Over a period of 15 or so years. I took literally thousands of photos (mostly travel snaps)and was never disappointed in the results obtained using the built in light meter.
I have recently had the camera cleaned and refurbished and look forward to many more years of pleasure from this camera.
 
Depends on the meter. Is it a spot meter or can it be set to such? If not and it evaluates the scene, you may get a reading for an overall exposure that could severely over expose or under expose a part of the scene. If you're really worried about, you can purchase a separate light meter for a more accurate reading. My .02¢
 
Even if you are fairly steady, shooting at 1/15 will likely result in some blur (or loss of sharpness). Especially if your subjects are not stationary objects.

Dammit! The light meter on the camera then made me fall for that old trick in the book! :'(
Hope it will get okay though :lol:

So its just to adapt after the light meter then, and use above 1/50 for the shutterspeed....Then adopt the aperture..? Great!

I have a Chinon CE4 which I bought in the early '80's. Over a period of 15 or so years. I took literally thousands of photos (mostly travel snaps)and was never disappointed in the results obtained using the built in light meter.
I have recently had the camera cleaned and refurbished and look forward to many more years of pleasure from this camera.
Great to hear thatthe light meter works good and thats it a camera producing nice results. Do you have any photos from it to show up? :p
 

Most reactions

New Topics

Back
Top