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Re: [OM] Defending multi-spot metering

Subject: Re: [OM] Defending multi-spot metering
From: "Walt Wayman" <hiwayman@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 14:07:26 -0400
I'm going to disagree a bit with Jan and Bill, and others, who 
don't seem to think much of the multi-spot metering thing.  And 
I'm feeling like a bit of a hypocrite, since I said yesterday that 
incident readings were the absolute best way to determine 
exposure, particularly when shooting color.  That's still my 
story, and I'm sticking to it.

But I nearly never use an exposure meter, incident or otherwise, 
when shooting with my OMs.  Instead, I almost always use multi-
spot metering, and have for 20 years.  I wouldn't be without it, 
as evidenced by the fact that of the nine OM bodies I have, seven 
of them have multi-spot metering capability.  There is, however, a 
learning curve involved in using it effectively.

The world is full of things that are essentially 18 percent gray.  
(For the purpose of this discussion, I will ignore the fact that 
recent studies indicate that the world, on average, is 13 percent 
gray, not 18.  That's a topic for another day.)  So, let me 
suggest that you go out and about for an hour or two with an 
exposure meter, or an OM-3 or 4, and an 18 percent gray card and 
compare readings from the card and from the world in general, and 
you should soon learn to spot (pun intended) these things.

For instance, you will find that green grass, most foliage and 
rocks, dry tree trunks (but not black walnut or sourwood, which 
are black, or birch or sycamore, which are white), and even a 
clear blue northern sky fit the bill.  There's lots of other stuff 
you will find that may be peculiar to the kind of photographs you 
take.  Remember these.  In addition, with practice, you will 
quickly be able to spot stuff that is about the right shade, even 
if you've never seen it before.

Using this knowledge, I generally take spot readings of two or 
three things, sometimes even four or five, in the frame that I 
judge to be approximately 18 percent gray, ignoring the extremes 
of light and dark, then fire away, usually storing the result in 
memory first.  At the risk of dislocating my shoulder from patting 
myself on the back, my percentage of correctly exposed slides is 
at least 95.  And I almost never bracket.  For the second coming 
or a flying saucer, I might.  Otherwise, no, not today.

Now, as for incident readings, which I so highly recommended 
yesterday, and still do, I religiously use my Sekonic Digi Master 
L-718 with my medium format gear.  It does everything: direct, 
incident, spot and flash readings, and averaging.  I use it almost 
exclusively as an incident meter, though it has this really neat 
little attachment that allows it to read directly off the ground 
glass.  I consider that to be the greatest thing since the cable 
release for doing macro work with medium and large format 
cameras.  No more bellows factor calculations!

Incidentally, since I actually do practice what I preach, at least 
sometimes, I'm feeling a little less hypocritical now.

Walt





 


 
                   

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