Shooting with manual exposure

[technicolour]

halloa everyone, bit of a noob question I'm afraid but I've since aquired a decent camera and I know your not supposed to shoot with auto exposure to get the best results. Im still confused about a few things and I've copied a table of recommended apertures for particular weather conditions from a super 8 film leaflet. I wanted really to know the accuracy of this data, seeing as a lot of you guys must have tried and tested methods of shooting with manual exposure.

For beach, landscape and snow scenes.

Bright Sun
and Distinct shadows F16

Hazy sun
Soft shadows F11

Cloudy
No shadows F8

Dull
Heavily overcast F5.6


For buildings, distant figures
and landscapes with foreground

Bright sun
Distinct shadows F11

Hazy sun
Soft shadows F8

Cloudy
No shadows F5.6

Dull
Heavily overcast F4


People up close

Bright sun
Distinct shadows F8

Hazy sun
Soft shadows F5.6

Cloudy
No shadows F4

Dull
Heavily overcast F2.8

(The above data might not display as I intended seeing as it always has to fit into a space wider then the box that you type it into!)

Is this information fairly accurate or has anyone got anything more elaborate? I read in the manual that for the best results you should go up close to your subject and note what the light meter says, then switch back to manual and use the suggested aperture.

[regular8mm]

Not that I shoot in S8 usually but here goes.
Regular 8mm requires one to use a light meter and shoot manually. So, one learns how to use the skills required to shoot 16mm film. Those cameras do not have on board auto light meters either, at least the ones I have. To that end I have documented in some haphazzard way a testimony of my efforts to learn how to expose film. Regular 8mm Black & White reversal film with a light meter.
There are many clips and camera reports on my web site. Have a look around. Some parts have been more "developed" than others, but, I am happy with my results.
Look at the light meter page to see how I use it:
http://www.16mmoviemaking.com/light_meter.htm

Then look at the first 4 reels of film I've shot, three reels of Fomapan 100 and one of Cine-X 100 foot. Two more were shot, but they havn't returned yet and are again Fomapan but made in a P1, new light meter onboard but manual. problems, Problems. should be interesting.

film 01 http://www.16mmoviemaking.com/01_Traffic.htm
It started that I only got a few shots right and ended that I got a few shots that were bad.
http://www.16mmoviemaking.com/02_Chepstow.htm
pictures link to mpg film clips.
numbers on the shot breakdown lists link sometimes. look for the blue underlined links.
http://www.16mmoviemaking.com/03_Confirmations.htm
Confirmations really shows the exposure data.
Then the fun starts.
http://www.16mmoviemaking.com/04_Meter_&_Roman.htm

This shouldn't be too different from shooting in S8 manually. The same type of problems apply.

Michael Carter

[Greg Crawford]

Back in the early 60's I remember the little card that fit in your camera that had numbers and recommendations like that. It was based on shooting at 16 FPS (REGULAR 8 SILENT SPEED) and using ASA 10 Kodachrome.

If your material is from the mid 60's we can assume it's reflecting the high film speed of Kodachrome ASA 25 and perhaps 18 FPS. If you shoot at sound speed 24 FPS will need to open your lens up 1/3 of a stop more light than what you would need at 18 FPS or 2/3 of a stop more than what you would need at shooting at 16 FPS.

The best advice is get yourself a good light meter. If you need a bargain look on eBay at a local pawn shoppe. Learn how to use it and test it before shooting anything that is important. Even if your meter is a little off you can calibrate it. You will need to know what direction it favors, under or over exposure.