Re: White-washed pictures

On 9 Sep 2006 13:57:27 -0700, "Robert" <LR120@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Exposure time [s] : 1/320
F-Number : 5.6
ISO speed ratings : 400

For sunny weather, this is seriously overexposed (by about 4 stops).

Just as a general rule, here's an easy way to check if what your meter
is giving you is sane:

* At mid-day with full sun illuminating your subject, proper exposure
at f:16 is approximately the reciprocal of the ISO speed. *

This is called the "Sunny-16 Rule", and it's a lifesaver for awkward
metering situations.

If you were out in mid-day sunshine shooting at ISO 400, proper
exposure should have been close to 1/400th second at f:16 (1/500th is
close enough). Given that your meter gave you an exposure where the
lens was opened three stops larger (from 16, three stops are f:11,
f:8, and then f:5.6), _and_ a shutter speed that was slower than the
reciprocal, it's quite obvious now why everything looks washed out -
it's way overexposed, which digital sensors and slide film do not
tolerate well at all.

If you're shooting in bright light, know what your "sunny-16" speed
should be. If the values that your meter splashes on the viewfinder
display depart from that significantly, you're going to want to take a
second to seriously think about why, and how you want to handle it.
--
Central Maryland Photographer's Guild - http://www.cmpg.org
Strange, Geometrical Hinges - http://sgh.rnovak.net
.

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