Hello everyone,
in photographing night scenes I often run to the low limit of the meter.
Does anyone know if there are exposure meters that read below EV -2, that is, that can give exposure reading in situations like moonlit scenes, dimly illuminates night architectures etc.? What is the minimum, in terms of EV, a meter can go?
Thanks for your kind attention,
Giacomo
Giacomo,
I don't know that a meter will help you much. At such long exposures, reciprocity will change your film's sensitivity to a point where metering may become moot. There are a lot of good resources on the Internet as well as a couple of books and articles on night exposures that offer some rules of thumb. I would suggest experimenting with the specific film you plan to use and determine the best approach by trying it out.
Guy
Scenic Wild Photography
I agree that metering at night is probably less useful than the gross approximations for exposure given in various guides for night photography. At best, a meter can be used to measure highlight values, such as well illuminated portions of buildings, and the reading then used to "place" those areas at the desired level. Absent that type of interpretation, a meter would give you an exposure that would make the scene appear more like daylight. For those purposes, a good 1° spot meter that goes to EV -2 or so works well.
The Kodak Pocket Photoguide has a nifty little dial for "Existing Light" exposures that includes various night scenes.
If you are doing a 2 hour exposure you are only 1 stop off at 4 hours. Less than that if you want to factor in any additional time for reciprocity...
Don't be too discouraged! I shoot quite a bit at EV -2 or so, and factoring in reciprocity is not all that hard.
The meter I use is a "Gossen Luna pro SBC". It takes a 9V battery and I believe it can meter down to around EV -4 or -5. I think -4 is what the documentation claims, but really it does a bit better.
of course at iso 100 ev-4, you can't really see anything! My exposures at night are often in the 1 hour range.
Good luck!
-Tadge
http://www.fredparker.com
Try this link. This should give you what you need
Dan
I wish to thank all tose who took the time to answer. It has helped a lot to clear my mind on the subject.
Sincerely,
Giacomo
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