# Help an amateur out:OPEN ME



## Moonchild (May 14, 2017)

Would love if you helped me out.
I have a Pentax Spotmatic asahi-55mm lens. 
My question is: my light meter is broken but I am totally fine with that and have learnt how to use the sunny 16 rule and read light. 
The problem is everyone online explains how to make an eduacted guess with your aperture depending on if it's sunny out or not. I plan on doing a shoot indoors, the person will be infront of a white wall and a window with natural light will be coming through onto wall. 
I don't know if the sunny 16 rule works in my situation? Should I put my aperture to 16 because it's sunny or should it be something like 5.6 because it's indoors? 
I thought setting it at 11 would be good? 
By the way I will be using colour film. 
(Kodak colour plus 200) 
Is 200 good or should I use something like 500? 
Please help! Thankyou!


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## dxqcanada (May 14, 2017)

You gotta smart phone ? If so, just download a free light meter app.
Sunny 16 will really not work indoors.
Double the ISO you get one more stop ... 100 -> 200 (+1) -> 400 (+2) -> 800 (+3)


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## john.margetts (May 14, 2017)

Sunny 16 only works if the subject is in the sun. Indoors, exposure depends on which way the window faces, how big the window is, weather outside, room decor, ... 

As dxqcanada says, get a light meter app.

Sent from my A1-840 using Tapatalk


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## cgw (May 14, 2017)

Honestly? "Close" only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades. Busted meter? Get an incident light meter. Given current film and processing costs, guessing exposure is just pissing money away. A Sekonic 398M or, better still, a 308, will actually save you money by increasing your exposure accuracy and keeper percentage.


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## Derrel (May 14, 2017)

Get a light meter app for your smartphone. I havew one, and have compared it against my Minolta flash/incident light meter: the phone app is incredibly accurate and precise, every bit as good as the Minolta meter.

If you insist on going meter-less, look up some exposure suggestions from Kodak matwrials from the past; in years past, it was common to refer to SUggested Exposure Tables for common scenes, such as indoors by table lights; outdoors at night in city conditions; bright outdoors city lights like Times Square or Las Vegas, etc; and so on an so on.

For an ISO 200 color negative film indoors by table lamp lighting, something like f/2.8 at 1/15 second is a good beginning guess, but that is just a guess/general range suggestion: 

Window Light Lighting for example, can vary hugely. The exposure for "window light" depends on the brightness of the indoor location,and it depends on the time of year/climate (Florida sunlighted window in August at Noon? Or Seattle dim-light light coming in on February 5 in a rain storm at 8 AM? Window light varies hugely!)

Get a light meter! That way you can be SURE to get the correct exposure.

Or, look up old, suggested exposures, from Kodak, published in years past, and make notes and test some shots out.


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## limr (May 14, 2017)

The Sunny 16 in theory still works if you think of the exposure values of different lighting situations. Sure, it's easier outdoors because there's more light, but the concept still applies: open aperture and slow shutter speed systematically to adjust for light level. It's just that the light level is a lot less indoors and the adjustments are much farther away from the "Sunny 16" base setting.

Download a light meter app. I use one that is literally called "Light Meter." Use that to determine your settings so you're not eyeballing the exposure value (EV). You'll note that the app actually gives you the EV reading as well as the camera settings. 

Btw, a Spotmatic? Love!


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## limr (May 14, 2017)

Oh, and I would get some Portra 400 (there's no 500). Lower light = faster film.


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## Moonchild (May 14, 2017)

limr said:


> Oh, and I would get some Portra 400 (there's no 500). Lower light = faster film.



Thankyou so much 
If I get the portra 400, should I match my shutterspeed to 400?


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## Moonchild (May 14, 2017)

Derrel said:


> Get a light meter app for your smartphone. I havew one, and have compared it against my Minolta flash/incident light meter: the phone app is incredibly accurate and precise, every bit as good as the Minolta meter.
> 
> If you insist on going meter-less, look up some exposure suggestions from Kodak matwrials from the past; in years past, it was common to refer to SUggested Exposure Tables for common scenes, such as indoors by table lights; outdoors at night in city conditions; bright outdoors city lights like Times Square or Las Vegas, etc; and so on an so on.
> 
> ...



Thankyou so much!!!
But if I set my shutterspeed to 1/15 wouldn't I need a tripod?

I live in Australia, and it's generally always very bright- I am unsure what time to do the shoot as am not certain if I should choose a time when it's bright and gleary outside or when the suns a bit toned down.
I will try all that you suggest


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## Moonchild (May 14, 2017)

dxqcanada said:


> You gotta smart phone ? If so, just download a free light meter app.
> Sunny 16 will really not work indoors.
> Double the ISO you get one more stop ... 100 -> 200 (+1) -> 400 (+2) -> 800 (+3)



Thankyou! 
I know this sounds dumb-but I did download a light meter app when I first got the camera but I didn't know how to use it...do you just put all the info in and hold phone up to where you wish to shoot and it tells you weather its too bright or dark?


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## tecboy (May 14, 2017)

Moonchild said:


> dxqcanada said:
> 
> 
> > You gotta smart phone ? If so, just download a free light meter app.
> ...



Make sure you get the right Light Meter app.  Some light meter apps just measure the intensity of light or in lux value.  That is not what you want.  Get the one with shutter speed, aperture, and iso values.  It gives you a recommended setting.  You can change the shutter speed value, and the aperture and ISO automatically change, or change ISO or aperture and see what happens.  It doesn't tell you too bright or too dark.  It just gives you a setting for right exsposure.


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## 480sparky (May 14, 2017)

Moonchild said:


> limr said:
> 
> 
> > Oh, and I would get some Portra 400 (there's no 500). Lower light = faster film.
> ...



The ISO you're using has nothing to do with selecting a shutter speed.  Upping the ISO should only allow you to use faster shutter speeds, but there's no 'rule' that says the two must be 'equal'.


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## Derrel (May 15, 2017)

Yes, 1/15 second is generally about where most people need to think about using camera support (a desktop or countertop or table top, a chair back, bracing the camera against a doorway,etc.) OR using a tripod. Indoor lighting, even in AUstralia, is dimmer than outdoor light...think maybe 12-14 stops dimmer than outdoors light in full sun. take your Sunny 16 Rule, and "add stops" or "slow down speeds" by 10,11,12,13,or 14 stops and you ouught to get a general idea.

Again...get one of the light metering applications for a smartphone, and use that to measure the light level, and to get a suggested f/stop and shutter speed for the ISO of the film in use (200 ISO color print film, for example).

Good luck on the shoot!


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## Moonchild (May 15, 2017)

480sparky said:


> Moonchild said:
> 
> 
> > limr said:
> ...



Yes, I know this I just am not sure what shutterspeeed would be best for the Portra 400 film in an indoor area. 
Thankyou.


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## 480sparky (May 15, 2017)

Moonchild said:


> Yes, I know this I just am not sure what shutterspeeed would be best for the Portra 400 film in an indoor area.
> Thankyou.



Shutter speed should be based on the subject, your desired results, the focal length of lens used, and how steady you can hold the camera without inducing camera blur (unless that's what you want).


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## limr (May 15, 2017)

Moonchild said:


> limr said:
> 
> 
> > Oh, and I would get some Portra 400 (there's no 500). Lower light = faster film.
> ...



When you are using 400 ISO film, then you would start with a shutter speed of 1/500th, yes. So for a bright sunny day, your settings would be f16 and 1/500. Then, as the light goes away or you move indoors, you would have to adjust the settings accordingly. The Sunny 16 rule is a system to help you know how to adjust your settings systematically because it gives you a rule for the *starting point*, and a system for adjusting settings away from that starting point. For example, let's say you are shooting ISO 400 film on a cloudy day, so you know you need settings that allow in more light. You might want to keep the fast shutter speed to capture a moving target, so you can open the aperture but leave the shutter speed at 500. Or, alternatively, you want to take a landscape shot and want things sharper all over the picture, so you slow the shutter but leave the aperture at f16. 

A light meter is very useful, especially at first. After you get used to the calculations and associating certain kinds of light with appropriate settings, it gets a little easier and you might not always need the light meter. For example, these days, I'll take a meter reading when I start shooting to get a sense of the light on that day in that place. I'll take a reading of brighter areas and more shaded areas. This helps me know how I need to adjust my settings depending on what I'm shooting at that time, and I don't meter before every single shot. If something changes, I'll take some more readings. The important thing is I know my starting point (Sunny 16) and how far away I have to go from those base settings. 

Give me a few minutes and I'll use my light meter app to take a reading and then I'll upload the screenshot. I don't know about you, but visuals always help me understand something better.


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## limr (May 15, 2017)




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## Gary A. (May 15, 2017)

Moonchild said:


> 480sparky said:
> 
> 
> > Moonchild said:
> ...


When shooting without a meter, then yes, I found it always the easiest starting point is the Sunny 16 rule.  I would mentally start my shutter speed at the reciprocal of the ASA @ F/16, then visually/mentally measure/compare the existing light to the Sunny 16 light.  Remember that a full shift in shutter speed is equal to a 'full stop' of light. A full shift in aperture equals a 'full stop' of light.  A doubling of halving of your ASA equals a 'full stop' of light. 

By moving from ASA 200 film to ASA 400 film, your have doubled the light sensitivity of the film, thereby effectively halving the total amount light required for a 'proper exposure'.

Using the Sunny 16 rule, if your camera setting for ASA 200 film were:
Shutter Speed- 1/200 (1/250)
Aperture - F/16

For ASA 400 film your new settings would be:
Shutter Speed- 1/400 (1/500)
Aperture- F/16

Remember that a full adjustment in aperture is equal to a full adjustment in shutter speed.

Starting at proper exposure of
1/250 @ F/16
and you adjust your shutter speed to
1/500 @ F/16
now you must compensate for the drop in light on the shutter by increasing the light the same amount as was reduced, via the aperture, with your new setting being
1/500 @ F/11
in order to maintain a proper exposure.

Et Cetera


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## limr (May 15, 2017)

Okay, so that's the app that I use and is available free on Android and I believe iPhone as well.

What you see are the following pieces of information:

1) ISO setting (I set it for 400 since you'll probably be using this for your shoot.)
2) EV setting = 12 (for reference, Sunny 16 is EV 15.)
3) The suggested shutter speeds and aperture settings that are appropriate for an EV 12 lighting situation. You'll see that you have several options. If you have a camera that goes up to a shutter speed of 1/2000th, then you can set your aperture at f1.4 (if you have a lens that goes that big.)

For shooting a model, some of the portrait photogs here might weigh in, but I would personally go for something like f5.6 or f4 to isolate the model and blur the background a bit, but still leave enough depth of field to get the whole subject sharp and in focus. This would give you a shutter speed of 1/125th or 1/250th.

You're using a 55mm lens, so the general "rule" is anything slower than 1/60th would require some sort of stabilization - a table or a tripod, or something to settle the camera.

EDIT: I metered an area indoors with half the window in the frame and half not in the frame. Outside metered at EV 15 (the Sunny 16 starting point). Metering with less of the actual window in the shot gave me a reading of EV 10. So you may be looking at something around EV 8 or 10 depending on how close your subject is to the window, how much light is coming through. You might also want to consider a mirror or a white sheet out of the frame to help reflect some of that light back onto the subject if you find that you need settings beyond what your camera can handle. The 55mm lens is a f2, yes?


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## dxqcanada (May 15, 2017)

Hmmm, is that light meter made with a wood case ? I want a real one of those.

I have Pocket Light Meter (Nuwaste Studios) on my iPhone.


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## limr (May 15, 2017)

dxqcanada said:


> Hmmm, is that light meter made with a wood case ? I want a real one of those.
> 
> I have Pocket Light Meter (Nuwaste Studios) on my iPhone.



I would totally have one of them too, if they were real


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## Moonchild (May 16, 2017)

limr said:


> Okay, so that's the app that I use and is available free on Android and I believe iPhone as well.
> 
> What you see are the following pieces of information:
> 
> ...




Thankyou so much!!! 
This was so helpful, you are full of much knowledge.
The lens is actually a f1.8
Thankyou again, I finally understand it. *gives virtual hug*


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## limr (May 16, 2017)

Moonchild said:


> limr said:
> 
> 
> > Okay, so that's the app that I use and is available free on Android and I believe iPhone as well.
> ...



My pleasure


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