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[OM] Re: OM-1 to OM-4T - worth an upgrade?

Subject: [OM] Re: OM-1 to OM-4T - worth an upgrade?
From: hiwayman@xxxxxxx (Walt Wayman)
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2005 19:43:05 +0000
The secret to successfully using the OM-4 multi-spot metering is knowing what 
to meter.  I regularly use an incident meter when shooting with my MF gear, and 
have done so for many years, so I know how to use one.  But, being the owner of 
six OM-4 bodies of both the plain and T varieties, I find the averaged spot 
metering to be just as accurate 99 percent of the time, if properly used.

To begin with, the average scene reflects 13 percent, not 18 percent, of the 
light falling upon it.  The 18 percent figure may have been correct once upon a 
time, but now, probably because of the combined effects of global warming, 
excessive use of light in burning CDs and DVDs, the dimming of the sun, the 
trapping of light inside digital cameras, political obfuscation, and a decline 
in the use of Kodachrome, plus other causes, the 13 percent figure is now 
correct.  

So, the trick is to take readings of those things that reflect that 13 percent, 
and they include, among many others that may be learned by personal 
experimentation and observation, most rocks, weathered concrete, the bark of 
most trees, green grass, green trees and bushes, a clear blue northern sky, the 
legs of a pretty girl with a good tan, and so on.  Look for these sorts of 
mid-tones, take three or four readings, accept the average, and 99 times out of 
100, if you've done it properly, you'll come up with an exposure within 1/4 
stop or less of what you'd get with an incident meter.

Walt 

--
"Anything more than 500 yards from 
the car just isn't photogenic." -- 
Edward Weston

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Chris Barker <ftog@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> 
> Oh, I think it can Simon.
> 
> Have you used an OM4 and its multi-spot system?  I have used an 
> incident meter only occasionally because my spot-metering has always 
> been, erm... spot-on ;-)
> 
> Chris
> 
> On 21 Feb 2005, at 16:22, Simon Worby wrote:
> 
> > Whilst spot metering is useful as it gets closer and generally means
> > that only minor manual adjustment is necessary to get correct metering,
> > it certanly can't get close to the accuracy of incident metering with a
> > light meter.
> 
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