Bolex- 16mm Film Stock--Please let me know if I'm correct with these camera infos
- Thread starter arma
- Start date
Hunter Hampton
Carbonite Member
You need to get a light meter ASAP. Its not worth it to guess exposure, you will certainly have an image it just may have been over-exposed, that depends on how cloudy it was.
I have a question about using a meter, not sure if I'm going to shoot the same film. But I have a Bolex H16 w/ Switar 16-100 lens. I have a Sekonic Studio Delux II meter, I know how to set my ISO, f/stop, and shutterspeed, but what exactly does the reading mean?? If someone can help me out that'd be great....
cyclone
Well-known member
If I understand your question correctly, the light meter is a calculator. It takes your known values (sensitivity of the film stock, your shutter speed and the amount of light available) and calculates where to set your iris (i.e. your f stop/t stop) so that the proper amount of light enters through the lens and exposes the film.
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
an IE of 250 is pretty fast for shooting outside in daylight and without a meter reading I would be really wary of being over exposed. That being said, the Vision 2 stocks are very forgiving. Get a light meter. I Love my Sekonics L-398, Studio Deluxe meter. I was just looking at the meter and with a shutter speed of 1/60th, ISO 250, F-8, it shows that you would get poper exposure at a hair over 10 footcandles (as a High reading, with the slide in). That's not a lot of light in the day time outside, in many instances.
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
A light meter will give you a reading in the unit of measurement of Foot-candles. Cyclone is right. When you set the ISO of the film stock and the shutter speed on the meter then adjust it to match the reading you have the meter will give you the correct aperture opening to set you lens. Now the reading you get may say "F-stop" but what it really is is the "T-Stop" or "Transmission" stop. This is the actual amount of light that has to reach the film. The "F-Stop" is the mathematical measurement of the size of the aperture opening. As note above, some light gets eaten up by some reflex viewing systems and by the lenses themselves (zooms especially). However most modern lenses, camera systems and film stocks are manufactured to such high standards that the light loss is minor.
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
Ok, I'll bite, what is the "Magic 16 Formula"?
shoot...I don't know...haha
well I said I never did it so I'm not exactly sure.
I've heard the formula once and it was something like, you can shoot anything with f16 when the film speed and shutter speed match...(I could be totally wrong)
does anyone remember the exact formula?
LOL. The magic 16 formula is basically: in Sunny Daylight, you can shoot F16 and use a shutter speed that is twice your ASA. So if your ASA is 200 you set your shutter to 1/400 and your lens to F16 and you should get a reasonably exposed negative.
I don't know why anyone with brains would be shooting F16 if they could just get an ND and put it on their lens so you're not shooting at that extreme, so the formula should be just taken as a guide, and you can decrease your f-stop and increase your shutter speed accordingly. Ofcourse most film movie cameras can't do beyond 1/48 shutter speed since that equates to their 180 degree shutters. With movie cameras, you usually stack on more NDS. The "rule" is more for photo folks without a built in meter who are SOL.
To the original poster who is wondering how to use a light meter: DVXUSER is good for some things, and not very useful for others. I would just take a class or get together with somebody who can show you how to use your light meter. It's a hands on thingamajiggy kind of tactile visual learning experience that class environments are really good for (and dvxuser not so good for). Maybe you can find a video on youtube. For a total newbie it can be daunting, but after a while you see the elegance of the universe in its simplicity and symmetry between optics, mechanics, and light.
I don't know why anyone with brains would be shooting F16 if they could just get an ND and put it on their lens so you're not shooting at that extreme, so the formula should be just taken as a guide, and you can decrease your f-stop and increase your shutter speed accordingly. Ofcourse most film movie cameras can't do beyond 1/48 shutter speed since that equates to their 180 degree shutters. With movie cameras, you usually stack on more NDS. The "rule" is more for photo folks without a built in meter who are SOL.
To the original poster who is wondering how to use a light meter: DVXUSER is good for some things, and not very useful for others. I would just take a class or get together with somebody who can show you how to use your light meter. It's a hands on thingamajiggy kind of tactile visual learning experience that class environments are really good for (and dvxuser not so good for). Maybe you can find a video on youtube. For a total newbie it can be daunting, but after a while you see the elegance of the universe in its simplicity and symmetry between optics, mechanics, and light.
David G. Smith
Steak Knife Member
Oh, so that is the Magic 16 formula.... I'll stack ND filters thank you!. :happy:
I agree, using a light meter and setting proper film exposure is definitely a hands on thingamajiggy... I was lucky enough to have had a few filmmaking classes that actually taught by using film and learned to use a meter there. I would also suggest looking for a class or mentor situation where you could learn it. At least get a meter and experiment with it in actually situations. It is much more intuitive and satisfying than looking at a vector scope, histogram or wave form monitor.