Hi Folks:
Gary Reese's post on the inaccurate metering of OM-1's is very timely. I
have been very dissatisfied with my exposures (seemingly always
over-exposed), even after having a CLA on my OM-1n less than a year ago.
I've been reading John Shaw (his book on close-ups at the moment) and he
deals with exposure and calibrating your meter in the very first chapters
because he feels (knows) it is that important. In case you haven't read it
(sorry to bore you if you have), a thumbnail sketch:
On a clear sunny afternoon, set your camera @ f/16 and the same shutter speed
as the ISO in your camera (i.e. 1/30 sec. for ISO 25). Aim your camera at a
45° angle to the north sky, and then turn the film speed dial until your
meter registers the correct exposure. That is the "correct" setting for that
particular film, but of course test slide will either bear this out or prompt
a slight correction.
I did this with the OM-1n, and low and behold, for Kodak's E100S, my camera
setting was 250!! Test slides at that speed displayed nice, rich colors
(finally!), with very little blocking of shadows. I am not entirely
confident with it yet, and will probably shoot @ ISO 200 and bracket until
I'm convinced, but I was amazed. Shaw says almost all camera manufactures
err heavily on the over-exposure side in their specs. His personal cameras
(Nikons) are all different, but settings of 50 for ISO 25 film (a full stop)
are right in the ballpark. He also states that ISO scales on cameras should
probably be A B C D E--pick the one whose results you like best--rather than
cold hard numbers that seem to dictate duplicating settings marked on film
canisters.
Any thoughts on this? My OM-2n seems much closer, but I haven't had time to
run the test slides yet. The trusty old Weston agrees, too, for the most
part.
-Tim Clark
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