Over Exposed Pictures?

[Flybye]

I've been reading as much as I can to try to under stand this. I've been recently playing with an old Konica T3 with a broken meter. Most of my shots are coming out pretty nice, but anything in clear daylight is coming out way too bright.

I've been shooting with iso200, f16 and shutter speed at 125 or 200.
Would decreasing or increasing the time the shutter stays open help reduce the over exposure?

I'm a bit confused because I was reading that leaving the shutter open longer will cause an under exposure but that just doesn't make sense to me for it to be under exposed if it is getting more light.

[Shebang]

You must be reading on the internet! (or else this is something else my newbie self has not yet come across). On numerous subjects including photography, I have found conflicting info -- of course, if you read enough, you will find that everywhere, I think.


I am learning myself, but I do know it is a balancing act between shutter speed, iso, and aperture. So, yes, increasing the shutter speed (i.e., decreasing the time the shutter is open) will reduce the light and therefore the over-exposure.
You can also stop down the aperature (increase the f/number which closes down the aperture to a smaller opening) and thus reduce the amount of light hitting the sensor.
You can also lower your iso (if your camera will permit) which will reduce the sensor's sensitivity to light. EDIT: I guess your film camera doesn't have a sensor!!

Again, welcome to PR. This is a great place to learn.

[w.slayman]

Hi Flybye,

I hope this does not get to boring or long but here goes.

Your camera's speeds are in approximate factors of 2 as measured in seconds:B, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/500, 1/1000 (the 1/ is not normally shown).
The Aperture is shown on the lens barrel in F stops which is a function of focal length and opening size. Normal F stops are: 2.0, 2.8, 4.0, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22. (The larger the number the smaller the opening).
The ISO or ASA is shown as numbers matching the speed of film.
When all three are combined you get an exposure value or EV.

You can chage the exposure value to let more light hit the film by: 1. Using a faster film (Larger ISO Number), 2. Opening up the Aperture (Smaller Number) or 3. Decreasing the Speed. The reverse of these actions will decrease the light reaching the film. (Changing ISO in a film camera is not practical unless you are changing film). So we are limited to changing the Aperture or the Speed.

Now that the basics are out of the way, If a negative is overexposed it will be washed out and very light, while the print will be very dark to black. To correct this we would need to reduce the EV by closing the Aperture or increasing speed or both.

Conversly if the negative is very dark and the print is very light or washed out then it is underexposed, and we need to open the Aperture or reduce the speed or both.

Some Examples of Equal EV's without changing ISO are 1/250 @ F11 = 1/125 @ F16 = 1/500 @ F8

Now to estimate your EV without a light meter use the Sunny rule of 16 where on a bright sunny day you set your Aperture to F16, and your speed closest to the ISO you are using. For example with ISO 200 Film you would use 1/250 @ F16, then you can adjust from there. With experience you can guess the correct exposure for many conditions. Also see the exposure guide on your film package. Most negative (print) films have a broad enough latitude to allow for these methods, and still get good results, assuming of course that the speeds and apertures are accurate.

Hope this helps.

[Flybye]

Thank guys.

I have been completely the opposite about some of this stuff. Sunny 16 I have been using! But with 1/125 & 1/250 with ISO 200. I know it has to do with all the chemicals and how the negatives and photo paper react, but seeing as how some of these images come out, I thought that too much white meant it was getting too much light and I was only trying faster shutter speeds. But it still does not make sense to me because at the same ISO and same shutter speed, why would something really bright require more exposure to the film with a slower shutter?

You mean to tell me I should be using something slower than 1/125 or keep the same speed and step to a different ISO?

And if this is the case, then to take pictures of fast moving objects in a really sunny day, I would have to go up to ISO 400 and bump up the shutter speed which is why it is called "faster" film because it reacts to light faster, right?

Both of these shots were taken on the same can ISO 200 F16 1/125. How would you have set the camera for both of these shots?

[w.slayman]

Flybye,

On the first the main part of the building is white and in direct bright sunlight so I would have used 1/250 @ F16 or F22. Also because the porch is in the shade,this is a very difficult image to properly expose for both the upper part and the porch. In this case waiting for better (softer) light might give much better results.

The second shot looks fine on my laptop.

Have you considered getting the meter repaired and the camera cleaned, lubed and adjusted, or obtaining a hand held light meter.

[Flybye]

The Konica lenses only go as small as F16. What shutter speed should I be at then to compensate?

I will most certainly be getting the camera a complete overhaul. But for now, I've just been having simple fun with it to see the clean pictures that it can take. I've only had it for about 2 weeks.

[mjs1973]

One thing that should be made clear here is that switching your ISO with film is not as simple as switching it with digital as I believe Paula was referring to. You can shoot film at a different ISO that what it is rated for but you must shoot the entire roll at that speed. Then you have to have the roll processed in a special way in order to get the film to come out right. This is called pushing or pulling the film depending on which way you adjust the ISO. You can't shoot 1/2 the roll at ISO 100 and the other 1/2 at ISO 400 and expect everything to work out.

Not sure if that's what you were thinking, but that's they way it sounded to me.

[Flybye]

Thanks Mike. I wasn't referring to actually changing the ISO setting. I was referring to manually changing the speed of the shutter. This camera allows you to change the ISO and the shutter speed independently from each other. Please let me know if I should also not be doing that or if I have that confused somehow.

[Shebang]

I'm afraid my newbie-ness may have caused more confusion than help -- sorry, Flybye.

[w.slayman]

Flybye,

Like Mike said, once you set your ISO and shoot your first shot DO NOT change it until you put in another roll, and until you gain experience I would use only the actual ISO. With an ISO of 200 the Sunny rule of 16 would indicate 1/250 @ F16 on an average colored subject in bright sunshine, and because of the extremely bright subject you would try an Exposure of 1/500 @ F16, as compensation. If that renders an over exposure then try 1/1000 @ F16.

Things to remember: Speeds and Apertures are shown in factors of 2, therefore.
Each increase of speed (1/125 to 1/250) cuts the amount of light hitting the film by half, and each decrease of speed (1/125 to 1/60) doubles the amount of light hitting the film.
Each increase of F Stop (F8 to F11) decreases the amount of light hitting the film by half, and each decrease of F Stop (F8 to F5.6) doubles the amount of light hitting the film.
If you change from F5.6 to F8 and decrease your speed from 1/125 to 1/60 you have not changed the exposure value.

[w.slayman]

Flybye,

You may want to google "Basics of Photographic Exposure" for several in depth discussions, on this subject.

[Flybye]

w.slayman, thanks! BTW, I have been Googling a lot this past week. It is just that I've read some conflicting info and I wanted to finally join a forum to get everything straightened out. Trust me. I'm not a forum jumper til the very end that I've exhausted my Googling abilities.

To me it is just commonsense. Shutter stays open longer = longer exposure time = over exposed = super bright positive. Leave shutter open less time and less light comes in. Thx

The light meters are surprisingly expensive. For the same price, I'll be able to get the Konica T3 a complete overhaul, and that will include:
• The mirror cage is removed to lubricate the shutter bearings and all internal parts that are deep inside the camera.
• All gears, levers and springs inside it will be inspected and replacement if necessary,
• Internal parts that show excessive wear are replaced with good used parts.
• Shutter speeds will be confirmed and calibrated.
• Light meter will be repaired and calibrated to work with 1.5v button batteries.
• Viewfinder will be completely cleaned of dust.
• Replacement of mirror foam bumper and door seals

I'm very excited and am already experimenting with my 3rd roll. My end goal is B/W film.

But one more thing I want to confirm:

....Conversely if the negative is very dark and the print is very light or washed out then it is underexposed, and we need to open the Aperture or reduce the speed or both....

Isn't a super bright positive considered an over exposure which would require to increase the speed of the shutter to let less light come in? I thought over exposed = bright positive & under exposed = dark murky positive?

[w.slayman]

:blush2: My error, a washed out print indicates overexposure and we need to close the aperture and or increase the speed. Sorry I misspoke.

[Flybye]

No problem. Everything does finally make sense now. TY!

[drg]

Welcome to Photography Review.

I am going to add to your confusion possibly with this comment.

The house photo you posted is not improperly exposed at all. It needs post processing either from the scanning or size reduction.

There is no actual wash out or overexposure.

Possibly slightly out of focus and if anything, underexposed! If you'd like I'll post the same image with minor corrections, but I don't do that without the original posters consent!

Light meters for 75-100 dollars will save you that much in film and bad exposure in a year or less if your in camera meter is no longer accurate.

[Flybye]

drg, the house photo looks exactly like that on print which is why I thought it was over exposed.

I will be sending the camera out to be repaired, though, as it is a great looking classic.

[Flybye]

Thank you all for your helps again. I finally figured out what is going on.

The Konica is not changing the aperture when taking a picture. No matter what I set the aperture at, it stays at the largest opening (smallest f) for that lens. I am in-between jobs right now, but will hopefully be sending the camera in for a full repair within a month or so.

In the mean time, knowing that the aperture stays wide open, I know how to take pictures with it and will have a bit more fun before sending it in.