How do I meter the aperture in studio on film?

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

07/28/2007 09:08:23 PM · #1

does it work to take a shot with my d50 on iso 400 (i have a kodak pro bw400 film for my nikon f50) and just use the right aperture of the digitally metered result for the film? or are there any essential differences in metering for digital and film?

any suggestions would be awesome!

RainMotorsports

Nikon D60

07/28/2007 09:13:07 PM · #2

Ive metered with my digital alot and the results came out fine on film.

Your using the Kodak BW400CN right? I measured with my point and shoot while using a Yashica FX-3 with a broken light meter. Film is more forgiving and the problem with most of my 35mm Camera's is the lack of shutter speeds. If it meters 1/320 I have to shoot 1/500 or 1/250. But I havent had a problem using the digital as a light meter, or just plain guessing.

The BW400CN comes out with a slight green hue because its really C-41 color film, its great with convenience. It has more grain then color film but thats part of whats great. Either scanning the film or the negatives produces great contrast and u get to change it to real black and white. Ive done both.

Terry tells me that 35mm film is more sensitive to light, so you might meter a stop or so faster.

07/28/2007 09:19:50 PM · #3

ok, but i'm talking about studio portraits, so the only thing matters is the aperture, right? so you're telling me to go down like 1 step to get the exposure spot-on?

and then how about an iso 100 (kodak pro elite chrome) film? my d50's lowest iso is 200, so how do it meter for that?

07/28/2007 09:21:12 PM · #4

Originally posted by Mephisto:

That will work just fine. Just watch your histogram to make sure you're not spiking too much on either end.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

07/28/2007 09:24:30 PM · #5

Originally posted by Mephisto:

ISO 400 is ISO 400, not matter what, if it works on the digital it should work on the film.

For the ISO 100 (metered for ISO 200):
Shoot the shot with your digital at ISO 200. Then on the film camera open the aperture 1 full stop more. If your digital is at f/8 the film should be at 5.6.

RainMotorsports

Nikon D60

07/28/2007 09:26:27 PM · #6

Originally posted by Mephisto:

Good question, your doing a bit mroe then I am. But ISO 200 is +1 Stop from ISO 100. if the shutter speed is 1/500 on ISO 200 then you will be shooting aprox 1/250 on iso 100. That Ive tested with digital.

Might read more of what he said, I adjust shutter speed to compensate for light. I use Aperture based on subject distance, and the background im shooting against and its distance. Wish i had a studio and knew a bit more about lighting!

Message edited by author 2007-07-28 21:28:37.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

07/28/2007 09:28:40 PM · #7

Christoph are you using strobes or hot lights?

If you're using strobes, changing shutter speed isn't going to affect your exposure. It should be set at 1/125 and forgotten about.

RainMotorsports

Nikon D60

07/28/2007 09:29:59 PM · #8

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Christoph are you using strobes or hot lights?

If you're using strobes, changing shutter speed isn't going to affect your exposure. It should be set at 1/125 and forgotten about.

Which is another dumb part on me.... yeah when flash syncing you have to use the aperture to compensate for light thats why u use aperture in studio... told you im stupid.. oh wait i didnt? Now i did!

Message edited by author 2007-07-28 21:30:15.

Nikon AF Nikkor 28-85mm 1:3.5-4.5

07/28/2007 09:34:53 PM · #9

yeah, i know, and yes, i'm using strobes.

Originally posted by Mephisto:

ok, but i'm talking about studio portraits, so the only thing matters is the aperture, right?

i love you guys, thanks a lot! ;)

electrolost

Nikon D200

07/28/2007 09:41:18 PM · #10

why not go out and buy a old lightmeter I have seen them in the local camera store for 40 bucks.

07/28/2007 09:53:18 PM · #11

Originally posted by electrolost:

why not go out and buy a old lightmeter I have seen them in the local camera store for 40 bucks.

Just make sure it's a flash meter or a combo meter that will read flash.

07/29/2007 07:09:18 AM · #12

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Originally posted by electrolost:
why not go out and buy a old lightmeter I have seen them in the local camera store for 40 bucks.

Just make sure it's a flash meter or a combo meter that will read flash.

which means i can trigger my strobes with the flash meter and find the right aperture that way?

07/29/2007 07:32:08 AM · #13

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

If you're using strobes, changing shutter speed isn't going to affect your exposure. It should be set at 1/125 and forgotten about.

When I use the speedlight I've been setting the shutter to 1/250s and the aperture to whatever I need. If it's overexposed I turn the speedlight down to 1/2 or 1/4 power.

However, because the D40 uses an electronic shutter at fast shutter speeds, I found that increasing the shutter speed to 1/2000s or even 1/4000s reduces the exposure as well. This is something I wasn't expecting (I was expecting to see the bottom half of the shot black, where the shutter is closing)

07/29/2007 07:47:22 AM · #14

Originally posted by jhonan:

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
If you're using strobes, changing shutter speed isn't going to affect your exposure. It should be set at 1/125 and forgotten about.

When I use the speedlight I've been setting the shutter to 1/250s and the aperture to whatever I need. If it's overexposed I turn the speedlight down to 1/2 or 1/4 power.

However, because the D40 uses an electronic shutter at fast shutter speeds, I found that increasing the shutter speed to 1/2000s or even 1/4000s reduces the exposure as well. This is something I wasn't expecting (I was expecting to see the bottom half of the shot black, where the shutter is closing)

what kind of flashlight are you using, that you sync your camera with at 1/4000sec?????

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

07/29/2007 07:56:23 AM · #15

Originally posted by Mephisto:

what kind of flashlight are you using, that you sync your camera with at 1/4000sec?????

It's just a SB-20 in manual mode. I'd usually sync it at 1/250s, but I was playing around with the shutter speed the other night and found I could up the speed to 1/4000s and the effect would be to decrease the exposure (i.e. you don't get that 'half black' effect you'd normally see)

I'm sure this isn't the recommended technique, however. :)

Oh yea, you don't have to worry about triggering the strobes with the flash meter. The flash/light meter detects the peak light output. But, to be honest, if you're setting this up for portrait studio shots, then you should be able to set things up once and then just leave it like that, rather than having to re-meter and re-set for every shot. So, just set the aperture at f/5.6 or whatever suits, the shutter at 1/125 or 1/250 and then bounce the flash or use reflectors to get the desired effect. If you have the ability to increase/decrease the flash output power, then adjust it there if you're getting any blown out areas.

That's my amateurish approach. The pros would be horrified.

Message edited by author 2007-07-29 07:56:54.

Mr_Pants

SiPix Blink

07/29/2007 09:27:58 AM · #16

Originally posted by Mephisto:

Originally posted by jhonan:

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
If you're using strobes, changing shutter speed isn't going to affect your exposure. It should be set at 1/125 and forgotten about.

When I use the speedlight I've been setting the shutter to 1/250s and the aperture to whatever I need. If it's overexposed I turn the speedlight down to 1/2 or 1/4 power.

However, because the D40 uses an electronic shutter at fast shutter speeds, I found that increasing the shutter speed to 1/2000s or even 1/4000s reduces the exposure as well. This is something I wasn't expecting (I was expecting to see the bottom half of the shot black, where the shutter is closing)

what kind of flashlight are you using, that you sync your camera with at 1/4000sec?????

It would be the electronic shutter mentioned above that would permit this to happen. First curtain opens, sensor is fully exposed (even at such high shutter speeds), data is read from the sensor and second curtain closes, as far as I know.

dacrazyrn

Nikon D300

07/29/2007 10:33:59 AM · #17

Originally posted by jhonan:

But, to be honest, if you're setting this up for portrait studio shots, then you should be able to set things up once and then just leave it like that, rather than having to re-meter and re-set for every shot. So, just set the aperture at f/5.6 or whatever suits, the shutter at 1/125 or 1/250 and then bounce the flash or use reflectors to get the desired effect. If you have the ability to increase/decrease the flash output power, then adjust it there if you're getting any blown out areas.
That's my amateurish approach. The pros would be horrified.

I am by no means a Pro (ie: making my living at this), but I am horrified. But then again, I like to try to do things right the first time, not blow off a 2GB card on one pose, then have to wade through all the images. Time is money.

Do yourself a favor and get a light meter. You can usually find a good one on EBay.
Meters?
Light Meter
Light Meter Suggestions

Message edited by author 2007-07-29 10:34:22.

07/29/2007 11:51:11 AM · #18

Originally posted by dacrazyrn:

It's really all about knowing your setup and equipment. With my strobes and my most common setups I can ballpark the aperture, and then take a test shot, look at the histogram and fine tune. Takes me about 4 shots max to complete. Or I can pull out my flash meter and get it dead on in about 3-4 pops of the strobes.

I can't do ratios without the meter, but hell, I can see the shot and see if I like the ratio anyway. No reason to be horrified. Even a shot in the dark is better than taking no shot at all.I can get just as good of results digitally with or without the meter. I choose to use it most of the time, but I don't have to.

I must say I like using the meter around models though. It gives me a chance to get close and out from behind the camera... LOL

07/29/2007 11:52:48 AM · #19

Originally posted by Mephisto:

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Originally posted by electrolost:
why not go out and buy a old lightmeter I have seen them in the local camera store for 40 bucks.

Just make sure it's a flash meter or a combo meter that will read flash.

which means i can trigger my strobes with the flash meter and find the right aperture that way?

You can trigger the strobes anyway ya want, but yes, most flash meters can trigger them too. A flash meter is a bit different than a light meter in that it can capture the short burst of the strobes. A lot of light meters have built in flash meters, but most of the inexpensive units will be either/or.

07/31/2007 09:32:23 AM · #20

I was thinking about this subject again. If you do use a flash meter, and find you're overexposing, which setting is changed? - The shutter is fixed at 1/250s or whatever, so that only leaves two possibilities;

1) The aperture (but you might want to leave it at f/5.6 for example)

or

2) The strobe power output

Would I be correct in saying that when you use a flash meter you are modifying the power output of the strobe, and not your aperture?

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/04/2007 05:33:26 PM · #21

Okay, just one bump for this question. I'm sure there's a simple answer.

If I use a flash meter, what do I change in order to correct the exposure; The flash power output, or the aperture?

Oh, and I found a pepsi can in my wall.

jemison

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

08/04/2007 06:48:33 PM · #22

Originally posted by jhonan:

You can change either the aperture or the flash output or both. It all depends on what you want in the way of depth of field. What I do is set my aperture for the dof I want and then adjust the flash output to match the aperture.

08/04/2007 06:59:15 PM · #23

Originally posted by jemison:

Ah! Thanks for the reply. That's what I suspected, but I just needed confirmation that I'm not going insane.