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mdm
13-Oct-2011, 23:45
Is it possible to use an incident meter succesfuly with transparency film such as Provia or Astia?

Daniel Stone
14-Oct-2011, 00:08
I do it all the time. Why do you ask?

-Dan

mdm
14-Oct-2011, 00:13
Much contrastier than B&W and C41 therefore less lattitude. I dont want to have to dredge up my 35mm camera to use as a spot meter.

Thanks
David

Jimi
14-Oct-2011, 00:27
No problem. I have done it, getting good results with a Sekonic L398, albeit with a TLR and roll film.

mdm
14-Oct-2011, 00:36
(me too but dont tell anyone)

Daniel Stone
14-Oct-2011, 00:42
you'll want to shoot in overcast conditions then if you want to maximize slide film's potential.

just remember, the contrast of the scene is what is conveyed to your film/sensor. Softer/more diffused light will be lower in contrast than high-noon sun.

-Dan

grahamcase
14-Oct-2011, 00:48
Incident metering can't be worse than what I used to do: Reflective meter readings through my Canon AE-1 off my arm, and then adjust one stop assuming my skin would fall into zone 6 :)

Of course, as implied, this was 35mm slide film.

Heroique
14-Oct-2011, 00:58
Here’s a very contrasty scene. If I’m shooting transparency film, I’d prefer a spot meter, since texture in both the high values of the middle tree & low values of the left tree were important to me. As you can see, I’m struggling to capture both, so an exact “best” exposure was important to me.

On a cloudy day when light is more even, an incident meter would be easy to use.

Provia and Astia, in my experience, are better for contrast than Velvia...

Tachi 4x5
Schneider XL 110mm/5.6
Velvia-50
Epson 4990/Epson Scan

vinny
14-Oct-2011, 01:20
no.. better off using your iphone.

Daniel Stone
14-Oct-2011, 07:51
Here’s a very contrasty scene.... As you can see, I’m struggling to capture both, so an exact “best” exposure was important to me.

On a cloudy day when light is more even, an incident meter would be easy to use.

Provia and Astia, in my experience, are better for contrast than Velvia...

Tachi 4x5
Schneider XL 110mm/5.6
Velvia-50
Epson 4990/Epson Scan

The thing is, when I look at this photograph, this is what was probably there contast-wise. The shadows ARE that dark, and the highlights(true tonality of the brighter areas) are that light. So in reality, this is probably a very true representation of what we'd have seen if in the same place as you.

It seems that many people are afraid of contrast, having become used to color negative materials, which just give and give and give. Yes, they're nice and very versatile, but I've found I can get a better "representation" of reality, IMO, using slide film than with negative materials. This is MY experience though. Provia is the bees-knees for me, E100G a close 2nd.

-Dan

Ari
14-Oct-2011, 08:14
I use only an incident meter, but I haven't shot a slide in a few years; so...
IIRC when shooting transparency, you meter for the highlights, as opposed to B&W where you meter for the shadows.
I also used to meter both shadow and highlight, average them out, and bracket around that.

Helen Bach
14-Oct-2011, 08:54
I thought that it was quite common to use incident metering for reversal film. You could say that it was 'normal' to expose reversal film for the highlights. Incident metering is quite good at that when the dome is in full illumination and oriented the correct way, unless the highlights in which you want detail are specular or near-specular reflections of the light source. Incident metering technique usually makes an assumption that the reflectivity of the objects in the photo is predominantly diffuse (ie nothing is brighter than a bright matt white would be). That's usually quite a good assumption.

You may also estimate the brightness range of a scene using incident metering - if you can meter in full illumination and in shadow illumination. This technique is mentioned in Minor White's Zone System Manual and later in Beyond the Zone System.

Regards,
Helen


(Because of interruptions it took me a long time to post this - so I didn't see Ari's post which says much the same. Apologies to Ari)

dave_whatever
14-Oct-2011, 09:44
I think the notion of "exposing for the highlights" on transparency film is one of the great oft-repeated fallacies of photography. A bit like the "rule" of thirds. You need to expose for everything in your scene that is important.

To reliably expose E6 film in any lighting, you need to know the range your film can cope with, and the range of values in your scene (not just the highlights!). Then equipped with that information you can decide where you want everything to sit, if you'll need grad filters or add light into the shadows etc. In anything but very flat lighting you will struggle with an incident meter, hence why the spotmeter is an almost ubiquitous item of gear for landscape photographers.