personally, I spot meter for shadows and highlights (and often midtones as well), this gives me a pretty good idea what my exposure will do. And if the scene has to much range, with the spot meter I know what shadows/highlights will be out of my range, and I can decide to move my exposure around to capture what tones I want to shoot. I don't usually alter my developing.
I haven't followed the zone system to the letter, but the general zone system is pretty good, it's never let me down.
Daniel Buck - 3d VFX artist
3d work: DanielBuck.net
photography: 404Photography.net - BuckshotsBlog.com
Here's an interesting take on metering and determining exposure. I came across this and read it after I hade been using this method for years. I call if gut metering.
http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm
BVS
I don't mean to hijack this thread but I believe the OP at one point was asking about the batteries for Pentax spot meters.
For people who purchase a used Pentax spot meter without instructions the battery issue can get a little complicated. This is because these meters have been made in one form or another for such a long time.
The present Pentax digital spot meter I now own does take a common 6 volt battery something like a 4sr44 or 4lr4. Some people seem to prefer the non alkaline version, maybe it's the silver oxide version can't recall.
However, I owned what may have been the first version of this meter which is sometimes referred to as the Honeywell Pentax spot meter. This meter used two batteries a 9 volt battery which is hidden in a separate compartment in the meter and then a button type battery as well. This button cell was originally one of those mercury batteries. Looking at my old manual it is a 1.3 volt mercury battery (mallory RM640r or Eveready 216, or equivalent).
However, I used an alkaline button cell as the equivalent, don't know if the previous owner calibrated the meter to the alkaline cell, but the meter was accurate enough for me. I liked the meter as it had all those quirky features that "analog" products had in those days. There was a button that turned on a viewfinder illuminator, another button activated a low range scale, another button was a battery check, and these features all worked on my version. There were other features too, like an eyepiece diopter lock which worked better than the more plastic one on the present digital version.
I believe there was a middle version of this meter as well. This version #2 would have been a Pentax analog type, but it may have used a different battery, or batteries. I don't have any info on this middle version.
Maybe others will chime in if I have mixed something up or if there is any interest for more info about Pentax meter batteries.
Incidentily, all the versions of these Pentax meters if in equal condition, I feel are adequate to the task. The digital version may be a little more accurate overall and in particular, in lower light. The digital version is definitely smaller and lighter, it responds more quickly as it provides a digital readout from a silicon-type cell rather than a needle from a cds-type cell.
Hope this info is of some use.
All my Pentax meters take simple PX28 batteries. You can buy them lots of places.
You are right Drew in that Duracell, for example, uses the px 28 name for their version of the 6 volt battery. I believe there is a px 28a (alkaline) and a px 28l(lithium).
This is the same basic 6 volt type as I mentioned above, my manual for the Pentax digital meter names I believe the Eveready version, which at the time was 4sr44 and 4lr44.
Perhaps you or someone could confirm whether the model #2 Pentax Analog meter takes the same 6 volt battery.
I believe this Pentax analog meter #2(my term) is the Pentax V spotmeter.
It seems to use a silicon cell rather than the cds cell of the earlier version I owned. An old B&H catalog listed the power source as three 1.5v #76 batteries.
Too much rain here in Massachusetts for photography....so too much spare time on my hands!
My Pentax V takes three : 357/303 Energizer batteries
My Pentax V is the same.
Having gone through this myself over the past couple years, I'll say that this has all been good advice. You may find my story long and boring, but I believe there is a lesson or two here (that you may already be aware of).
Initially I started learning photography with 35mm by the school of hard transparency film knocks. It's all I shot. I read books, learned about sunny 16, white bear on snow and black cat on black chair. This gave me a feel for what situations were not "normal" and how I should be adjusting what my camera's meter was telling me. Tranny film generally needs a literal interpretation of a scene. But then I read about how one may want to go for a certain "feeling" with a photo- like an early morning on a foggy day- could work with increased ecxposure or decreased depending on what you wanted to do. To make a long story short, I started just using my 35mm camera and it's meter and learning to "read" the scene/light. Sunny 16, clear blue sky, a grey card and the palm of my hand plus a stop became tools I came to trust, because I learned to understand them. Then came the least expensive incident meter Sekonic made- the 398M. Very useful for giving me confidence in my exposure at the time it was made.
Then I got into B&W and struggled with "manufacturer's recommendations". Slide film ISO is generally what the box sais, but B&W was all over the palce. I tried the Zone System because it all made sense- I just needed to parctice and gain the experience again. This required a spot meter. I found the cheapest one I could find- a Soligor. It took a while, but I learned a *very* important lesson- MAKE SURE your used meter is CALIBRATED before you start any zone testing! I learned this soon after staring LF and wasting alot of film-$$$$. I then read and learned about BTZS- I loved the idea, but at this point it seems like unnecessary work beyond the actual ZS.
So, now I shoot trannies and B&W in LF. I have both types of meters at a cost less than one of the combo Sekonics or a Pentax spot. This is why I have both. I use the incident for the trannies and the spot for B&W because I find the 2 very different types of photography. If I were to choose just one or the other, I'd say spot because you can still use it for trannies- you always have the palm of your hand, the sky if it's clear and blue or a small grey card. Or even highlight placement on zone 7, or a "medium toned" object on zone 5. Also, if you can't get into the light your scene is in, an incudent is not very useful.
The reason I bored you with this is to point out that you can afford both if you can afford a Pentax spot, and there are a number of spot meters that work just fine. Also, if you learned all the exposure tricks before when shooting trannies, you can still use them for LF without an incident meter. I still find myself taking an incident reading then double checking a spot off a blue sky or other "zone 5" or a cloud zone 7 reading. If they don't coincide, I figure out why, because LF tranny film aint cheap.
Tim
Zone System: Try not to do funny things to your film. Where possible use fill.
Metering: Measure the light coming at your subject with a flat-face incident meter. Measure key and ambient seperately. Sorry.
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