This is exactly my thought. As a hobbyist and have learned so much from many professionals (mostly here on YT) I became clinging too much on an in-camera light meter, afraid of bad exposure and it ruined the flow of street photography I tried to do. Recently I've been learning more of Sunny 16 and put into practice for good photography experience. Thanks for the video.👍
So happy to see this video. Just got back two rolls of film terribly underexposed using camera meter. Then I managed to jam the battery in my new Canonet. I was so sad. Now I'm so excited to get back out there and just try this out and no longer miserable that I no longer have a working meter in the Canonet.
Thank you so much for this, it's a great help. I'm just starting to explore these topics and getting into manual analog photography. I want exactly what you're talking about here, unique and interesting photos instead of the perfect but perfectly generic pics that we all take.
Brilliant advice, my friend! I've been shooting the same as you for the past few months and my shots are so much better and my enjoyment of taking photos so much more. As Fernando Pessoa said, “We worship perfection because we can't have it; if we had it, we would reject it. Perfection is inhuman, because humanity is imperfect.”
But when the camera is measuring the exposure for you perfectly, you can also ignore the light meter and when the weather conditions change it adjusts the settings for you much faster then we would do it manually. Also on a sunny day, the measuring should be different on an open field than for example in town, in a narrow street. So it’s not as easy as you make it sound.
It isn’t always about having a technically perfect exposure. The randomness of using the Sunny 16 rule gives you images that have a different kind of look. It’s all about the beauty in the imperfection rather than trying to get everything technically right.
Very insightful Adam! One of the other benefits of Sunny 16 is that it's the same procedure for any camera and it doesn't stop working due to battery drain.
After several decades with digital, I decided to play at getting back to basics with a beautiful Nikon FM2n body and a few AI primes. The camera has a broken light meter so I was forced into experimenting with Sunny 16. I have been astonished at not only how liberating this experience has been; but also the spot on results achieved most of the time. I know two things for certain, while I will still shoot digital most of the time by far; but, I will also be shooting film, it's just nicer for some subjects. Secondly, I am quite certain that I will not be having the light meter on the FM2 repaired after all.
Even if you prefer to use camera in a point and shoot style, you can still use M mode instead of P mode under daylight. Most digital cameras produced in recent ten years allow for three stops of under exposure and one stop of over exposure with raw files (can be adjusted in post processing without noticiable image quality lost). Thus you can always shoot at f11 with fixed ISO and fixed shutter speed settings. For example, 1/400 or 1/500 (fast enough to freeze a lot of motions), ISO 400, f11, which covers all common light conditions under daylight (f4 to f16) assuming than you are not on beach or desert. (Note that a lot cameras declare their ISO wrongly to cheat the consumers that their cameras are less noisy under high ISO. You can check the real ISO at DxO websites and calculate the shutter speed according to the real ISO.) If you shoot B&W film, the corresponding rule is daylight 5.6 with Ilford XP2 400 (shutter speed 1/500). Ilford XP2 400 has enough latitude to shoot at ISO 50 to 800 with standard C-41 develop (without pull or push). Therefore f5.6 actually covers f4 to f16 for XP2 400.
i want to learn more. What you're saying about Ilford XP2 400: Do you mean that i could shoot an entire roll on 1/500, f5.6, and i would be able to save the images in post, regardless of the actual light? (as long as it is outside and daytime)? Like, i could still save a photo i'd taken at f5.6 of an alleyway that wouldve been better exposed in f4? I could still save a photo of an open sunny street i'd over exposed at f5.6? Or did i understand it all wrong?
@@annagrama24 XP2 has a wide latitude. You can just shoot 1/400 (or 1/500) f5.6 under all common daytime lightning conditions (from sunny to sunset) and develop it normally, no push or pull, no post processing. And you get acceptable (but not optimal, for more grain or less details) photos. XP2 is used in ILFORD Single Use Camera, which has only one fixed exposure combination (1/100, f9.5), and it is still capable of common daylight scenes due to its wide latitude. 1/100 f9.5 is roughly equivalent to 1/400 f5.6.
Interesting. Every camera in existence today has an auto function that works off the Sunny 16 Rule or slight variation of it. The benefit of a modern camera is its intelligence of incorporating the light meter and firing beam with the sunny rule. So to buy a modern camera only not utilize features that you're paying for only to mimic what the camera is designed to do on automatic makes very little sense. The 16 rule was designed to be a guide not something you simply stick to. Unless of course you only want flat images.
If you enjoy it, and you get the images you want without technology getting in the way then that’s great. People only care about the image not the settings.
I love this video , I've been bogged down with too many in camera thoughts the last few months, and this is just what I needed to recharge me .thanks
Glad it was helpful!
This is exactly my thought. As a hobbyist and have learned so much from many professionals (mostly here on YT) I became clinging too much on an in-camera light meter, afraid of bad exposure and it ruined the flow of street photography I tried to do. Recently I've been learning more of Sunny 16 and put into practice for good photography experience. Thanks for the video.👍
Thank you! Really appreciate your comment.
So happy to see this video. Just got back two rolls of film terribly underexposed using camera meter. Then I managed to jam the battery in my new Canonet. I was so sad. Now I'm so excited to get back out there and just try this out and no longer miserable that I no longer have a working meter in the Canonet.
Glad the video could help you find a new approach!
One of the more helpful Sunny 16 tutorials/explanations I've seen.
Thank you
Thank you so much for this, it's a great help. I'm just starting to explore these topics and getting into manual analog photography. I want exactly what you're talking about here, unique and interesting photos instead of the perfect but perfectly generic pics that we all take.
You're very welcome!
Brilliant advice, my friend! I've been shooting the same as you for the past few months and my shots are so much better and my enjoyment of taking photos so much more. As Fernando Pessoa said, “We worship perfection because we can't have it; if we had it, we would reject it. Perfection is inhuman, because humanity is imperfect.”
An interesting perspective on using the 'rule'. Thanks for posting.
Glad it was helpful!
But when the camera is measuring the exposure for you perfectly, you can also ignore the light meter and when the weather conditions change it adjusts the settings for you much faster then we would do it manually. Also on a sunny day, the measuring should be different on an open field than for example in town, in a narrow street. So it’s not as easy as you make it sound.
It isn’t always about having a technically perfect exposure. The randomness of using the Sunny 16 rule gives you images that have a different kind of look. It’s all about the beauty in the imperfection rather than trying to get everything technically right.
Very insightful Adam! One of the other benefits of Sunny 16 is that it's the same procedure for any camera and it doesn't stop working due to battery drain.
Good presentation and explanation.. understandable... THANKS!
After several decades with digital, I decided to play at getting back to basics with a beautiful Nikon FM2n body and a few AI primes. The camera has a broken light meter so I was forced into experimenting with Sunny 16. I have been astonished at not only how liberating this experience has been; but also the spot on results achieved most of the time. I know two things for certain, while I will still shoot digital most of the time by far; but, I will also be shooting film, it's just nicer for some subjects. Secondly, I am quite certain that I will not be having the light meter on the FM2 repaired after all.
Thanks for great insight
Well said. Period. I want to enjoy my camera, not a computer.
Bang on the money Adam 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you
Holy cow you nailed it! Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
Great explanation
I am using:
f/8
1/800
200iso
Great 👍
Even if you prefer to use camera in a point and shoot style, you can still use M mode instead of P mode under daylight. Most digital cameras produced in recent ten years allow for three stops of under exposure and one stop of over exposure with raw files (can be adjusted in post processing without noticiable image quality lost). Thus you can always shoot at f11 with fixed ISO and fixed shutter speed settings. For example, 1/400 or 1/500 (fast enough to freeze a lot of motions), ISO 400, f11, which covers all common light conditions under daylight (f4 to f16) assuming than you are not on beach or desert. (Note that a lot cameras declare their ISO wrongly to cheat the consumers that their cameras are less noisy under high ISO. You can check the real ISO at DxO websites and calculate the shutter speed according to the real ISO.) If you shoot B&W film, the corresponding rule is daylight 5.6 with Ilford XP2 400 (shutter speed 1/500). Ilford XP2 400 has enough latitude to shoot at ISO 50 to 800 with standard C-41 develop (without pull or push). Therefore f5.6 actually covers f4 to f16 for XP2 400.
Thanks for a great comment!
i want to learn more. What you're saying about Ilford XP2 400: Do you mean that i could shoot an entire roll on 1/500, f5.6, and i would be able to save the images in post, regardless of the actual light? (as long as it is outside and daytime)?
Like, i could still save a photo i'd taken at f5.6 of an alleyway that wouldve been better exposed in f4? I could still save a photo of an open sunny street i'd over exposed at f5.6? Or did i understand it all wrong?
@@annagrama24 XP2 has a wide latitude. You can just shoot 1/400 (or 1/500) f5.6 under all common daytime lightning conditions (from sunny to sunset) and develop it normally, no push or pull, no post processing. And you get acceptable (but not optimal, for more grain or less details) photos. XP2 is used in ILFORD Single Use Camera, which has only one fixed exposure combination (1/100, f9.5), and it is still capable of common daylight scenes due to its wide latitude. 1/100 f9.5 is roughly equivalent to 1/400 f5.6.
Great explanation.
Thank you
Thanks, just what i needed
Interesting. Every camera in existence today has an auto function that works off the Sunny 16 Rule or slight variation of it. The benefit of a modern camera is its intelligence of incorporating the light meter and firing beam with the sunny rule. So to buy a modern camera only not utilize features that you're paying for only to mimic what the camera is designed to do on automatic makes very little sense. The 16 rule was designed to be a guide not something you simply stick to. Unless of course you only want flat images.
I use manual with Auto ISO. Your thoughts?
If you enjoy it, and you get the images you want without technology getting in the way then that’s great. People only care about the image not the settings.
Если камера ругается когда я выставляю правило sunny 16 , можно игнорировать предупреждение камеры?