[LargeFormat] RE: Victoria

[Brock Nanson]

> > blue sky overhead, without clouds.  For a perfect exposure,
> > the blue sky
> > is the same as a grey card (18% if I'm not mistaken?).
>
> Really?  I'd never come across this before; that could certainly come in
> handy.  My old rules of thumb on exposure were that lawn grass is about
Zone
> V and the palm of your hand is Zone VI.  Interestingly, according to
Adams,
> human palms are remarkably similar, no matter what your skin colour.

****It works for me.  Another member of the local club agrees, saying he
heard it at a workshop somewhere.  The catch is to learn what part of the
sky to aim at... I look for the deepest blue, generally 90 degrees to the
sun.  Pull out your grey card and spot meter and give it a try sometime...
but perhaps not in the winter - the blue always looks somewhat washed out to
me!  I should check that some time...

> > of B&W in the F, meter the wall with both, then shoot the
> > same exposure
> > with as many combinations of shutter and aperture as you can.
>
> We seem to be thinking along the same wavelength, Brock.  I'm also
thinking
> of shooting most of a roll at *one* combination (say, f/8 @60th), to see
if
> the shutter is consistent.

****Yes, that would help also.  Probably a combination of both to confirm
that it isn't a particular speed that's giving you trouble.

> > Does the F use the same battery as the old Pentax spotmeters?
>
> Yep, I think it's something like PX645.  I used to have one of the old
> Spotmeters with the same battery, but sold that one about 20 years ago.
The
> one I have now (a model III?) takes a completely different pair of little
> button batteries -- thoroughly "modern" <g>.
>
> > can't get anymore?  If the meter was left on with a
> > close-to-flat battery,
> > maybe the meter doesn't rise as far as it should and your exposure
>
> It is all too easy to leave the meter on with an F -- the pushbutton on
the
> side turns it on, and the one on top turns it off.  However, I do tend to
> check it before I start a day's shooting.  This is why I'm thinking that
> perhaps there's a bit of grot on the contacts, or (please, no) a flaky
> wiring connection somewhere.

****I would be surprised if a wiring problem was the cause... that to me
would be either 'it works' or 'it doesn't work'... there wouldn't be much in
between!

I'll be interested to hear what your final diagnosis is!

Brock