Incident Exposure Questions

[Alex Hawley]

Bump into Prime Time.

[Jorge]

You cannot point your gossen and read the light and dark places and come up with a SBR. You are measuring different things, the reflective readings are measuring luminance of the subject, IOW the light they reflect. The incident metering system relies in measuring the illuminance or light falling on the objects to be able to determine the difference in light strenght (contrast) and expose and develop the film accordingly. Since the incedent meter averages the light falling on the object, it is a more reliable way to expose for the shadows, in addition if you want increase or decrease the contrast of the negative, all you have to do is give a little less or more light to the meter to determine the exposure. All the light meter reading does is determine the contrast range and the required development times for that specific contrast range.

I have found this system far more reliable than the ZS or spot metering. But you do have to do the inital testing, after that, it is a piece of cake.

[photomc]

OK, I'll bite..it sounds from reading Donald and Jorge and others comments that after the intial testing that your exposures become easier and the negatives are easier to print. Is this correct? Now, all the software, curves, and desnitometers are they really needed or is there a 'poor' mans version?

[Jorge]

OK, I'll bite..it sounds from reading Donald and Jorge and others comments that after the intial testing that your exposures become easier and the negatives are easier to print. Is this correct? Now, all the software, curves, and desnitometers are they really needed or is there a 'poor' mans version?

There is a poor man's version, mainly graph paper and french curves, but the ExpoDev is really handy, not only does it do everything for you, it gives you a record at the end with all the information. The plotter allows you to do many more things than just make curves, if you have the data, you can compare different films and how they will print on a certain grade of paper, you can compare the curves for two different films (Phil has done a lot of testing and he includes all his data in the software) hell you can just load his curves in the exposdev, adjust them a little and not even have to do the testing yourself. I recently lost all my files, so I just uploaded his data for TMY and HC110 and got perfect negatives, just for that the price is worth it for me.

Of course, one needs to know how to do all that the expodev does like bellows compensation, filter factors etc. But hey, the older I get the dummer I get, I am glad to have a gizmo to help me out...

[Art Vandalay]

Damn! I thought the thread said Indecent Exposure. I'm outta here.