David Solow
8-Oct-2011, 11:31
Hi All,
I'm trying to learn how to shoot architecture at night. The ideal time for me varies between 8 and 18 minutes past sunset (or before sunrise). As you know, there is enough ambient light still to illuminate the buildings and grounds, and it's dark enought for the lights to look great. My light meter does me no good when I use it for incident or reflected light It does better as a spot meter, but I'm having a hard time finding that 18% gray equivalent. My Fujifilm FP-100C45 does me no good either. The shots using the FP-100C require 3 to 5 more stops open to get the same exposure as my Kodak E100G. I've taken to using a digital camera to judge the light. For instance, my digital camera at 100 ISO, f/16 at 12 secs was right on. The instant film was so dark. I tried 90 secs. It was much better, but still dark. That's almost 3 stops. I think 4 might have gotten it. When I got the E100G back, the 12 sec exposure was the closest.
1- Is FP-100C not able to accurately portray the light in low lighting situations(i.e 3-24 secs)?
2- Any tips to using the light meter under these circumstances?
3- Since I'm shooting color transparency film, should I bracket in half stops instead of full stops?
I am using a Sinar P2 with Rodenstock 75mm, 90mm and 210 mm lenses. My meter is a Sekonic L-758DR. So far I have been using the Kodak E100G, but I will also test out the Astia 100F and the Provia 100F.
Thanks,
David
I'm trying to learn how to shoot architecture at night. The ideal time for me varies between 8 and 18 minutes past sunset (or before sunrise). As you know, there is enough ambient light still to illuminate the buildings and grounds, and it's dark enought for the lights to look great. My light meter does me no good when I use it for incident or reflected light It does better as a spot meter, but I'm having a hard time finding that 18% gray equivalent. My Fujifilm FP-100C45 does me no good either. The shots using the FP-100C require 3 to 5 more stops open to get the same exposure as my Kodak E100G. I've taken to using a digital camera to judge the light. For instance, my digital camera at 100 ISO, f/16 at 12 secs was right on. The instant film was so dark. I tried 90 secs. It was much better, but still dark. That's almost 3 stops. I think 4 might have gotten it. When I got the E100G back, the 12 sec exposure was the closest.
1- Is FP-100C not able to accurately portray the light in low lighting situations(i.e 3-24 secs)?
2- Any tips to using the light meter under these circumstances?
3- Since I'm shooting color transparency film, should I bracket in half stops instead of full stops?
I am using a Sinar P2 with Rodenstock 75mm, 90mm and 210 mm lenses. My meter is a Sekonic L-758DR. So far I have been using the Kodak E100G, but I will also test out the Astia 100F and the Provia 100F.
Thanks,
David