One of the interesting things about shooting film this weekend is how it is teaching me to go back to basics. I have no light meter so I was using a couple of different Android apps. I really like David Quiles “LightMeter” app for its old style and functionality. It’s design is so fitting to using film camera and very functional with the reflected light feature and zoom function. (I ended up buying the ad free version for less than a Doppio Macchiato). Of course, I could have used my Olympus camera to get a reading. It would probably be a better value, since the app really only uses the exif data of the phone’s camera, but I enjoyed the nostalgic feeling in using this app (there’s an oxymoron in this sentence somewhere).
A couple of months ago I almost laughed at the organizer when he suggested that all of us should go on his photowalk and use manual mode on our cameras. Auto ISO, P-Mode and all the other things that I paid for in my fancy camera worked just fine, right?
Turns out, there is some value in understanding the manual settings and I enjoy exploring this new territory. Or should I say, bringing it back from a long gone past experience when I shot manual in high school.
Then, I learned about the Sunny 16 rule. It basically says that on a sunny day, shoot ISO100 at 1/100 and f/16. Photographers know this. Thise that run their camera in P mode don’t .. I didn’t.
Here is a simple guide to help with setting exposure:
Step 1:
Set your shutter speed equal to your film speed or ISO. In most cases the numbers aren’t exact so just choose the closest number. Example: If you are using ASA 100 film, set your shutter speed at 1/125 of a second.
Step 2:
Set your aperture at f/16 (for a Full Sun day with sharp shadows). Since there is not always sun, you can use the following settings, but keep the 1/125;
- f/11 slightly overcast/soft-edged shadows
- f/8 overcast/shadows barley visible
- f/5.6 heavy overcast/no visible shadows
Now, this should give you a proper exposure. If you want to adjust your shutter speed you can by adjusting your aperture accordingly. How so?
Well, let’s review what a full stops is for a moment:
ASA/ISO: 100 200 400 800 1600 3200
Aperture: 1.4 2 2.8 4 5.6 8 11 16 22
Shutter Speed: 8 s 4 s 2 s 1 s 1/2 s 1/4 s 1/8 s 1/15 s 1/30 s 1/60 s 1/125 s 1/250 s 1/500 s 1/1000 s
Let’s see how this works: I am using ISO100 film, my shutter speed is set to 1/125 of a second and my aperture if f/16. I want to open up my aperture and shoot at f/5.6 (3 full stops more light compared to f/16). If I leave all of the other setting the same my shot will be over exposed. What do I need to adjust my shutter speed to?
The answer: To compensate for 3 stops more light due to aperture setting, I need to have a faster shutter speed by 3 full stops, which in this case is 1/1000 s. So my camera should have settings of 1/1000 of a second, ISO100 and f/5.6. If I wanted to shoot at f/22 (one stop less light from f16), I would need to set my shutter speed to 1/60 of a second (one stop faster than 1/125). If I had a ISO800 film (3 stops faster than ISO100) and want to shoot at f8 for depth of field, and it is heavily overcast (requiring f5.6 per sunny 16 rule), my shutter speed would have to be 1/500 s. (1/125 plus 3 stops for ISO, minus one stop for aperture preference).
Geez! There must be an app for that!
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