Related Links:
Night-time Exposure guide
Exposure Chart
SLR controls - aperture/shutter speed (tutorial)
Exposure (Kevin O'Neil) [3/2001]
Sunrises and Sunsets
Sunny 16 Rule [6/2001]

Exposure by Guess

Would you believe you can usually guess the right exposure more accurately than the camera? For one thing, you know when you are shooting a snow scene you want to be white. The camera meter usually tries to set the right exposure for an "average" scene. Many of us may rely on the camera meter recommendation for such "average" scenes (12% to 18% grey). But when we know the conditions are challenging (e.g., backlighting, snow) we take over and use our guess rather than the camera's exposure guesses. So we know when the meter is likely to be wrong, and take over manually with our better exposure guesses.

Many expensive medium format and other cameras don't even have an exposure meter. So how do you determine what exposure to use, especially if you don't have a meter (or your camera meter battery has died)?

You could buy a extra handheld exposure meter, which would be handy in tricky mixed lighting situations, especially if it has an ambient light metering capability. But in a pinch, you can use the rule of Sunny-16 for free!

Rule of Sunny-16

The film you load in the camera has a printed film speed (ISO/ASA rating) that typically is 25 ASA or 25 ISO through 800 ASA or 800 ISO, depending on the film's speed. Simply take the reciprocal of this number as the shutter speed. So for 25 ASA/ISO film, the speed would be 1/25th second (so use the closest standard shutter speed, here 1/30th second on most cameras). For 100 ASA/ISO film, you would use f/16 and 1/100th second (or 1/125th on many cameras). How about 400 ASA/ISO film? 800 ASA/ISO? Did you guess 1/400th second, or 1/500th on most cameras; 1/800th second, or 1/1,000th second on most cameras?

Beyond Sunny-16

Sunny-16 rule applies to "full daylight", with a bright sun and dark shadows with hard or sharp edges.

If the sun is weak or hazy, perhaps due to some thin clouds, then you need to "open up" another stop. So open up from f/16 to f/11, letting in more light through the larger opening of the lens. This larger opening will compensate for the light losses due to clouds causing the sun being weak or hazy, okay?

Are there no shadows, but the sun is well above the horizon? You probably have cloudy-bright conditions. In this case, open up two (2) stops from sunny-16. So open up from f/16 (past f/11) to f/8.

What? The clouds are not only so thick there aren't any shadows, but the clouds are kind of dark? It is time to open up three (3) stops, from f/16 past f/11 and f/8 to f/5.6. If the clouds are so dark that they look like rain and it is really dark and stormy, you may want to provide even more light (another stop or ??).

When the sun is setting, you will need to decide if you want to expose for the sun, and let the clouds and ground be darker. Most of us prefer the sun to be "burned out" if it is in the shot, and the clouds and ground to have some detail in them. For this approach, you can meter the clouds or sky and ground off to the side, away from the sun so the sun isn't in the picture. This trick will prevent the light from the sun fooling the camera meter into thinking the light is really bright, when it is just the direct light of the sun it is seeing. Right after sunset, you will often find you need to stop down four (4) stops or more (e.g., from f/16 to f/11 to f/8 to f/5.6 to f/4).

If a subject is not in direct sunlight, but is in the shade on an otherwise bright and sunny day, you may find that three (3) stops is a good starting point. I find such shaded light to be quite blue in color, since it is coming from the blue sky rather than the yellow sun. I often use a warming filter, an #81b or #812 (#81a is weak, #81b is stronger, they go up to #81EF and beyond).

Speaking of filters, if you use a filter, most cameras with built-in meters will automatically suggest the right settings, taking the filter's light absorption into account. A heavy blue or red filter may "cost" you two or even three stops of light (usually marked on the filter or in its instructions booklet). If you are using a handheld meter, you need to remember to factor this filter loss in too. If you don't know the filter factor, you can simply hold the filter up to the handheld meter and see how much light it is "costing" you.

A few filters use polarizing material, which can vary its light absorption from say 1.5 to 2 or even 2.5+ stops. Polarizers rotate, and so can change the angle and amount of light they absorb. Some dual color (e.g., red-blue) filters also use polarizers, and so vary in their "filter factor" or amount of light absorbed. Most folks use a filter factor of 2 or two stops loss when they add a polarizer to their camera, assuming the camera doesn't have a built-in meter.

What about moonlight exposures or buildings at night. You will find some recommended starting points on our night-time exposure guide pages. You may also want to bracket one or two or even more stops when shooting at night so as to be able to pick the effect you want.

Guessing Games

A favorite trick is to carry a handheld light meter or camera with a light meter, and try to "guess" the light setting for a given lighting condition. You will quickly discover that you can guess the camera meter's recommended setting quite accurately (e.g., with shutter speed set at 1/ASA seconds).

Film Latitude

In most cases, you will be better off with over-exposing rather than under-exposing color (and black and white) print film. When you are printing, the problem is often more one of getting details in shadow areas, which won't be there without some degree of exposure. Over-exposed areas will be printable with some printing tricks, but if there isn't any exposure to work with (under-exposed badly) you can't conjure up silver grains that aren't there.

Many of us routinely set a slower film speed than on the printed ASA/ISO guide for the film (i.e., an EI or exposure index). So I might set 80 or even 64 ASA/ISO for color print film with a printed speed rating of 100 ASA/ISO. Naturally, it pays to test the film and see if you like the results from this trick. Some modern films are relatively good at their rated speeds. But most color print films will produce better results from a moderate over-exposure than with a moderate under-exposure. So if you are going to make an error, you know which way to go now!

Slide films are different. The problem with most slide films is that they have a relatively narrow or limited range of film latitude. In color print films, a difference of a stop over or under-exposure may be compensated for during making the print and hardly visible to the consumer. But a stop over-exposure will often make a poorer slide with washed out (absent) bright areas or highlights. An overly bright slide will also tend to impact color fidelity, with colors becoming lighter and more pastel.

So many slide films must be within a stop over or under to produce a reasonable acceptable image. Many pros will bracket their slide shots by taking shots at 1/2 stop or even 1/3rd stop steps over and under the meter recommended settings. Comparable bracketing on print film might be one or two stops above and below the recommended settings. So slide film requires more careful exposure to get optimal results, with less room or latitude for exposure errors.

On the other hand, a slightly underexposed slide will often have richer colors and bluer skies. To get less light or exposure on the slide, you have to pretend the film is more sensitive than it really is. For example, if you set a speed on your camera ASA/ISO dial of 200 ASA/ISO, when you are using 100 ASA/ISO film, you would get half the exposure or amount of light on the film as when you set 100 ASA/ISO on the dial. This setting would be too much under-exposure for most slide films. A setting of 125 ASA/ISO might work better.

This trick has to be tested out with your camera or handheld meter. For one thing, meters vary and are adjusted differently, batteries can age, and settings or component values can drift. Films can vary in their response too, and some manufacturers are more conservative than others. And naturally, people's tastes vary, and what I think is a nicely exposed slide might be under-exposed to your eyes!

From: "roland.rashleigh-berry" [email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: User Guide for Mamiya C33
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2002 


To work with manual cameras just go back to basics. If you rip open a 35mm
film packet you will find an exposure guide inside. Use that. There is the
"sunny sixteen" rule in that for objects front-lit by the sun then the
exposure you use is the inverse of the film speed at f16. So if you have 100
speed film then you set it to a speed of 1/100th sec at f16. If you open up
to f11 then you let in twice as much light so you have got to use 1/200th
sec (or thereabouts) to compensate and so forth. If the sun is shining
through a haze then you open up one stop and so forth. There is plenty about
exposure on the Kodak site. Start here
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/pictureTaking/exposure/exposureMain.
shtml

For indoors work you have got to go into it deeply with flash power and all
that. It gets complicated because you will probably want to use multiple
flash units and diffusers and bounce of the ceiling and what have you. But
for outdoors work you don't really need a meter. If you must have one then
you can pick them up very cheaply secondhand on ebay. Incident light meters
are better than refected light meters so long as you can get up to your
subject or can make a reading in similar conditions to where your subject is
placed.

I take an old folding camera when I go on holiday for those shots that
really count. I NEVER use a meter with one. That is because I only use it in
bright and sunny conditions, never photograph a subject unless it has some
front sunlight on it and only if the sun is bright and shining. So I use the
sunny sixteen rule. But sometimes I stop down one stop for very bright
subjects or sea or snow scenes. The exposure guide inside your 35mm film
package will also tell you to do that.

"Chris Lermanis" [email protected] wrote ...
> Just got hold of a camera to take me into Medium Format after a lifetime
> with 35mm. Could someone please recommend a publication specific to the
> C33 that could lead me by the hand and open up the wonderful possibilities
> of my new medium:-)
>
> The original official Handbook is useless - it assumes the new owner has
> worked with a totally manual camera before.
>
> On the subject of Light Meters Can someone also suggest an inexpensive one
> that I could buy second hand to use with the Mamiya .
>
> Cheers Chris



Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002
From: Lassi [email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Shooting with digital to preview exposure

...
> Sure, but then again, I've been taught the "extended" sunny 16 rule -
> open up some more if you don't get the light directly on (most of) the
> subject ...

"THE ULTIMATE EXPOSURE COMPUTER", http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm,
and scroll close to the bottom.

-- Lassi


From: [email protected] (RD)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Subject: Re: Shooting with digital to preview exposure
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2002 

"Jeff" [email protected] wrote:

>I forgot
>the meter at home, so I decided to use the sunny 16 for my shots. F11 at
>1/125 would have been ideal under open sky condition, but half of my shots
>had treed scenery with lots of shadows. Those shots are definitely
>underexposed by at least 1 stop.

But the Sunny 16 rule is only the starting point:

Close 1 Stop
Bright Sunny day, scene over snow or light sand

Sunny 16 - Reciprocal of ASA @ f/16
Bright sunny day, *hard shadows*
Open 3 stops shooting into shade

Open 1 Stop
Bright hazy sun, *weak shadows*
Open 3 more stops shooting into shade

Open 2 Stops
Cloudy but bright, *no shadows*
Open 3 more stops shooting into shade

Open 3 Stops
Heavy overcast, medium grey sky
Open 3 more stops shooting into shade

Memorize this list and you'll be able to identify most outdoor shots
from EV16 to EV9. The Ultimate Exposure Computer site that I mentioned
earlier (and someone else here has also mentioned in response to your
post) has descriptions of additional EVs, such as those you might
encounter indoors, or at night.

Incidentally, I have a 35mm with excellent multi-zone metering. It
ruined one of my favorite shots a few years ago. The smallish subject,
completely in the shade, is badly underexposed due to lighter (but
relatively unimportant) surroundings. I know now that using Sunny 16
and opening 3 stops would have taken a perfect picture.

JL




Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 
From: Jim Brick [email protected]
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Subject: RE: [HUG] Sunny 16 rule EV

 Karl Wolz wrote:

>Jim,
>
>Come to Arizona, where it's actually more like the "sunny 22 rule".  We
>have some pretty harsh and direct light out here.  Sunny 16 does work
>great if there's a bit of moisture in the air.
>
>Karl Wolz


Yes. Different parts of the world have different Sunny-16 rules. some are
16, some are 22, some are 11 and some even 32. Barrow Alaska in the
winter... Sunny-2.8 rule...  :-)

Where I am (Silly Cone Valley CA) it is Sunny-16.

Jim



Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2002 
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: [HUG] Re: hasselblad V1 #1773

[email protected] writes:

> PS... The sunny-16 rule was made for, guess what... out in the SUN. Not in
> the shadows. That's why it is called "Sunny", not "Shadowdy". 

In older Kodak dataguides (ca. 1950-65), five "standard" rules were defined
for exposure:

� Bright or hazy sun on light snow or sand - f/22 at the reciprocal of the film speed.
� Bright or hazy sun, distinct shadows - f/16 (the "sunny 16" rule).
� Cloudy bright, no shadows - f/8.
� Heavy overcast - f/5.6
� Open shade (subject shaded from sun but lighted by a large area of sky) - f/5.6.

Having started my photo career in an era when a light meter was simply
unaffordable, I can tell you that I made a lot of nice photographs using
these simple rules, and I still use the Sunny 16 Rule as a check on my Blad
meter prism.

Best regards,

David Hodge, Churchville, MD



Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2002 
From: Tom Christiansen [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Sunny-16 (was Re: [HUG] Re: hasselblad V1 #1773)

Folks,

>In older Kodak dataguides (ca. 1950-65), five "standard" rules were defined
>for exposure:

For a FRONTLIT subject!! Increase exposure by one stop for sidelit
subjects, two stops for backlit.

Tom



From: [email protected] (Hemi4268)
Newsgroups: rec.photo.equipment.large-format
Date: 10 Dec 2002
Subject: Re: formula for relative f stop


>Especially if you follow the info printed inside the film box, or use
>the "f16@ 'direct sun'" rule.

Just thought I would expand on this rule.

The average sunlight is about 5000 foot candles most of the time.  This can
vary from about 10,000 in Mexico in mid summer to 2500 in North Maine at
Christmas time.  This is a full two stop difference.

Most neg films will handle 2 stops.  For slide film I would use slightly more
the f-11 in New York City this time of year and you better use f-22 this summer
at the Flordia beaches.

Larry



From Russian Camera Mailing list:
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 
From: David T Mason [email protected]
Subject: Re: super rangefinder newbie seeks advice

Kate -

If you get tired of trimming film you might want to set aside your FED 2
as a collectable gem/fashion accessory and try shooting with a FED 3 or
5. These sequels are bulkier than the earlier Leica-clone FEDs, but
they're so much easier to load with removeable backs and no film
trimming. They also have convenience features like trigger wind and
one-window viewfinder. 

The FED 3 has a very nice art deco design in its own right. The various
FED 5s (5, 5B and 5C) are uglier but have rewind cranks and hot shoes
that do away with annoying flash cords. Some sub-models of the FED 5
have built-in but uncoupled selinium cell exposure meters.

But better than any low-budget meter, here are URLs for exposure
calculators/guides that go far beyond the Sunny f/16 rule. You might not
want to attempt shooting transparencies with these but they're
consistently good enough for color negative (print) film. 

http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm

http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/index-43.html

http://www.southbristolviews.com/pics/Cameras/JiffyCalc.pdf

With color negative film, whether I'm metering or using a
calculator/guide, I like to give an extra stop or two of exposure because
these films tolerate overexposure very well, whereas published film
speeds are minimums that leave little latitude for underexposure and
often lower shadow contrast. If you do this there's little point in
bracketing exposures. The main exception is that overexposure tends to
lower sky/cloud contrast, so in those situations (and perhaps other
high-contrast situations) bracketing at 2 stop intervals is still a good
idea if you don't need to conserve film.

- Dave Mason


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