by Otto Vondrak
I am an amateur photographer. I've snuck my way into Railpace a few times and a couple of books, but that's about it.
I have been shooting slides for about five years with my trusty Pentax K-1000. I have three lenses- a fixed 50mm, a fixed 28mm, and a fixed 135mm. Let's say it's a bright sunny day--blue dome, Kodachrome sky, whatever you want to call it--and I'm trackside in the Northeast. I slap on the 50mm lens and head trackside. My camera's meter says f8 at a 250th. Oh, but I want to capture the S-curve down the line a bit, so I slap on the 135mm. Now my meter says I'm a full stop too dark at f8/250. I decide the wide shot is better- I slap on the 28mm, and now my camera says almost a stop and a half too much light at f8/250.
Needless to say, I've ruined a lot of shots by "compensating."
I rely on the meter in the Pentax to tell me what's what. The only time I deviate is when it's cloudy or overcast or twilight, more or less.
Should I invest in my own hand-held meter, and rely on that? In the meantime, should I only rely on the meter reading from the 50mm lens?
-otto-
I have been shooting slides for about five years with my trusty Pentax K-1000. I have three lenses- a fixed 50mm, a fixed 28mm, and a fixed 135mm. Let's say it's a bright sunny day--blue dome, Kodachrome sky, whatever you want to call it--and I'm trackside in the Northeast. I slap on the 50mm lens and head trackside. My camera's meter says f8 at a 250th. Oh, but I want to capture the S-curve down the line a bit, so I slap on the 135mm. Now my meter says I'm a full stop too dark at f8/250. I decide the wide shot is better- I slap on the 28mm, and now my camera says almost a stop and a half too much light at f8/250.
Needless to say, I've ruined a lot of shots by "compensating."
I rely on the meter in the Pentax to tell me what's what. The only time I deviate is when it's cloudy or overcast or twilight, more or less.
Should I invest in my own hand-held meter, and rely on that? In the meantime, should I only rely on the meter reading from the 50mm lens?
-otto-
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Moderator: New York State Railfan :: New York Central :: Toy Trains
NYW&B Fan Site :: A Magazine I Read Often :: A Museum I Volunteer At