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Re: [OM] Light meter

Subject: Re: [OM] Light meter
From: "Chris Trask" <christrask@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2011 14:06:59 -0700
>
> >    I went and double-checked the setting, and I have it at
centre-weighted
> > averaging.  I set it up this way after getting the E-500 so that it
would
> > be similar to the OM-1 metering, which I had become used to.
>
> Interesting! This brings up an oddity that I've noticed, but haven't given
> much thought to. It seems that if there is a bright spot of light in the
> scene, the averaging meter will get overly driven down. Where averaging
> normally takes into account and "averages" the entire pattern area, with
my
> E-1 and DMC-L1, the image will frequently underexpose. For example, if I
> photograph an automobile, but the sun is reflecting off of a bit of
chrome,
> the picture underexposes. In ESP mode, it does find. With the OM series,
it
> does fine.
>

    <<SNIP>>

    My problem has been that high-contrast situations, such as a flower that
is much brighter than the background, invariably ends up with the subject
being over-exposed.  My best example of this is a series that I took of a
Stemless Evening Primrose ealier this year.  That flower is a benchmark for
white.  I felt that I had bracketed it well enough to compensate for the
known metering problem, but when I got home I found that I had not gone far
enough.  I was not happy about that.

    Earlier, the high cost of growing with the digital lenses
(teleconverters, extension tubes, etc.) led me to return to film lenses, and
I certainly cannot complain about that.  Now I see that I will be returning
to using a hand-held light meter, and you won't hear me complain about that
either.  The TTL metering of the E-500 is fine for just about everything
except for these high-contrast situations, and I have no issues with using a
hand-held light meter as I've done so in the past.  It was a nice backup if
the OM-1 battery failed and I didn't have time to get another one before
leaving on a trip.

    The Gossen Pilot 2 would be adequate, but I would like something better
than that.  I was testing the General Electric PR-1 yesterday and found that
it had an interesting feature, where you have to press a button along the
side to uncage the meter and take a reading.  When you release the button,
the meter needle stays put so that you can better assess the reading.  So, I
can scan the subject with the meter, cage the meter at a point the I
mentally feel is an average, then set the meter down and adjust the camera
settings without losing the meter reading.  Very convenient.  And there's no
bloody battery.

Chris

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