New to film

[Byron Lentz]

I have recently purchased a couple of old film cameras, I have worked with digital for awhile and they all have built in meters. Now I plan to drag out the Yashica D TLR and attempt to take a few images. But I need a light meter. Any suggestions from anyone? I have been searching e-bay , but have no idea what to look for.
Thanks
Byron Lentz

[cameron665]

Welcome to film. I am very happy with my Sekonic L-308S. It is a good basic meter and I got mine new on Ebay for a reasonable sum. What I like is that it runs off a single AA battery. Beware some of the secondhand meters that use the no longer available mercury batteries. You can get alternative batteries but they aren't quite the same. Also, these meters are getting on a bit now.
Or, you could start out using the sunny 16 rule. This is basically use the shutter speed close to your film speed and on a sunny day f16 should be about right. All other exposure combinations can be estimated from there. I still use this rule when I can't be bothered to get my meter out. It may not work too good with slide film as slides don't have a good latitude for under or over exposure.
Good luck and I hope we will get a look at some of your results.
Regards

[Xia_Ke]

Hi Byron, welcome to the dark side Or should I say back to the light? All kidding aside, the Yashica D's are great little cameras. What else did you end up getting for cameras? There are many types of meters available. What type of shooting do you plan to do and what kind of budget are you working with? Having gone with a few different types of meters now, unless you need to take flash readings, I would have to recommend going with a good spotmeter. You can pick up a used Soligor Spot Sensor II for about $75-$150 or if you want the best, I would look for a Pentax Digital Spotmeter which can occasionally be had for around $300 but, more likely will be $400+. Both of these meters run on 9v batteries, so there will be no voltage issues. As cameron mentioned, Sunny 16 can prove to be a valuable tool to learn. Here's a good link you should check out:

THE ULTIMATE EXPOSURE COMPUTER

[Byron Lentz]

Sorry to take so long to reply. Thanks for the recommendations, I will figure something out. What I have done so far is to take my D300 and use it as a light meter. Shot my first film in a long time today. A local camera store had only 2 rolls of 120 anything, so I bought both, 100 tmax and 400 tmax. Started out with the 100 today. we will see what I end up with. Really took a long time setting up, composing, setting the exposure and after about an hour I had made 6 exposures. You really slow down and think don't you. Now to do something about the meter and maybe a scanner. This is really going to be fun!
Byron Lentz

[Byron Lentz]

Hi Byron, welcome to the dark side Or should I say back to the light? All kidding aside, the Yashica D's are great little cameras. What else did you end up getting for cameras? There are many types of meters available. What type of shooting do you plan to do and what kind of budget are you working with? Having gone with a few different types of meters now, unless you need to take flash readings, I would have to recommend going with a good spotmeter. You can pick up a used Soligor Spot Sensor II for about $75-$150 or if you want the best, I would look for a Pentax Digital Spotmeter which can occasionally be had for around $300 but, more likely will be $400+. Both of these meters run on 9v batteries, so there will be no voltage issues. As cameron mentioned, Sunny 16 can prove to be a valuable tool to learn. Here's a good link you should check out:

THE ULTIMATE EXPOSURE COMPUTER

Checked out the ultimate exposute computer, very good stuff. Thanks.

[Xia_Ke]

Checked out the ultimate exposute computer, very good stuff. Thanks.

Takes a little practice to get used too and while I would never use it in place of my spot, it certainly works well in a pinch if you forget a meter. Also good for telling when your battery is starting to go in your meter. Was out shooting a few months ago and a reading seemed about 2 stops or so off. Sure enough it was the battery going. If I hadn't spent some time shooting without a meter I never would have noticed.

[Dave6223]

Weston Euromaster for me, provided you get one that is accurate.On print film, over expose 1/2 a stop on transparancy uner expoes 1/3 of a stop was always the old rule.

[frank_men]

Really took a long time setting up, composing, setting the exposure and after about an hour I had made 6 exposures. You really slow down and think don't you.

That's what's fun and useful when using film. You really make sure you've got everything alright before taking the shot. have fun sir!

[jscott.1974]

Hi all,

I am new here and hope to have fun with different links and images as I love photography so much.

[PWhite214]

Welcome to the wonderful world of film. Shooting black and white is still fun, and I still like to process my film at the kitchen sink. As soon as I finish our "new" house, I plan to start on the darkroom.

Have fun, and post when you can.

Phil

[w.slayman]

Welcome to the wonderful magical world of film. Nature is analog not digital.

I firmly believe that a person new to photography needs to learn with film, because you are FORCED to THINK: What is my Subject; Compose the Photo; Check for Distractions in the Frame; Compute and Set the Exposure (Non AE); Focus; Check Depth of Field; Take a Deep Breath and Recheck everything; take a deep breath exhale and gently press the shutter release.

After developing your film, you get to see your image in reverse colors when preparing to make your enlargements, then as you move your paper back and forth in the developer you see the image slowly appear on the paper and the colors bloom. That is the real magic of photography, NOT set everything to automatic, shoot 10 shots review and delete, and repeat until you find something you can live with in post processing.

Again Welcome and Have Fun.