Sunny 16

I think the worst thing about using Sunny 16 is that it only applies when the light is at its least interesting.

 

And isn't using a lightmeter fun?

If you're going to use an antiquated camera for fun, where's the difference?

 

Many of the older box cameras, maybe from the 1920's, have only two shutter speeds (T and I), and two aperture settings.

 

The instructions have a chart to go with those, which goes something like I (instantaneous) and the larger aperture for outdoors in the sun,

and T with the smaller aperture for sun lit indoors. In the latter case, you open and close the shutter about as fast as you can by hand (with the camera held on a stable surface).

 

The instructions tell you to never use the I setting with the smaller aperture setting, as there was nothing like the ISO 400 films we have now.

Put one of those in (many cameras use 120 film) and use I with the small aperture outdoors in the sun!

For fun, since I am fan of old cameras and lenses (in this case Zeiss f/0.7), natural light, and of Stanley Kubrick:

 

LINK

I live four miles south of the 49th Parallel, so sun angle needs to be taken into consideration most of the year. Summers here are glorious. Looking at the Kodak chart posted above, I see that f/16 is for bright or hazy sun on sand or snow. Most things are green up here, and the beach is a vast mud flat (when the tide is out) and not sandy. Of course I'll use a light meter as I start learning the Sunny 16 Rule (and probably use another camera or the camera's light meter for secondary verification), but just to get started, would I use f/16 on a sunny day up here, or f/11?

Basically it depends on the season and time of day if you want to split hairs. The summer I spent in the BWCA at Voyageurs National Park - I found that during the day, between about 9am-4pm, sunny 16 worked just fine (mostly color transparencies). Had I used negative film its latitude would made little difference. The best way to determine which you want to use on an ongoing basis is simply to do a sacrificial roll of the film you mostly use, with a shot determined using sunny 16 bracketed by a shot at 1 f stop larger. If you're shooting under differing lighting conditions you should get a good indication of not only your estimating exposure, but also whether sunny 16 or 11 works best for you. If you're shooting negative film you may find it difficult to differentiate, whereas positives will usually give you a better indication.

would I use f/16 on a sunny day up here, or f/11?

 

The first time you try it on something important, try both and see which result you prefer for any slide film. For C/N film, it hardly matters. A chromogenic B&W film like Ilford XP2 can pretty much be shot at anything from EI 50 to 800 on the same roll with standard processing.

I live four miles south of the 49th Parallel, so sun angle needs to be taken into consideration most of the year. Summers here are glorious. Looking at the Kodak chart posted above, I see that f/16 is for bright or hazy sun on sand or snow. Most things are green up here, and the beach is a vast mud flat (when the tide is out) and not sandy. Of course I'll use a light meter as I start learning the Sunny 16 Rule (and probably use another camera or the camera's light meter for secondary verification), but just to get started, would I use f/16 on a sunny day up here, or f/11?

@ gordonbennet --

The Sunny 16 rule-of-thumb is tried and true, it will work in the high latitudes. Exposure is like the game of horseshoes, close scores.

Many people increase exposure slightly, maybe a half stop, on negative film.

(Except when the lens is already wide open, and the shutter on a barely hand-hold speed.)

 

Note, though, that when the sun is lower, and behind you, that the lighting is more direct than

when it is higher up in the sky. The subject might be brighter. Side, back, or open shade

might be less.

 

(Latitude here is 47.6N, not so far from you.)

 

Note that the scenery color mostly doesn't matter. You want dark grass to come out dark, and light

sand to come out light. In the case of subjects lit partly be reflected light from sand or snow,

I suppose one stop less might not be bad.

 

At any latitude, when the sun is low enough, you will need a little more exposure.

That happens for more of the day in winter at high latitudes.

 

Some states are considering all year DST, which will move the optimal winter light later

in the day, and probably better for many shots.

A normal colored subject in full sun will be properly exposed following sunny 16, even with

an unusual background.

The Sunny 16 rule-of-thumb is tried and true, it will work in the high latitudes.

So, how come using an actual meter in incident mode sometimes totally disagrees?

 

I'm not arguing that f/16 @ 1/ISO is never the correct exposure, just that it often isn't. And that waiting for the sun to show during the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. might result in missing some good picture opportunities when the lighting is far more interesting.

Edited May 2, 2019 by rodeo_joe|1

So, how come using an actual meter in incident mode sometimes totally disagrees?

 

I'm not arguing that f/16 @ 1/ISO is never the correct exposure, just that it often isn't. And that waiting for the sun to show during the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. might result in missing some good picture opportunities when the lighting is far more interesting.

@ rodeo_Joe -- Even a broken clock is right twice a day!

For good color, one is also supposed to only use light in the middle of the day, which is a

rule that I pretty much never tried to follow.

 

The usual chart that comes with film has a box for sunny and cloudy bright with shadows,

allowing for some latitude. Cloudy without shadows needs extra exposure.

 

Living in the higher latitudes, it is interesting to look at how high the sun (doesn't) get in the sky

in the middle of winter.

My Dad used to say "Set the aperture at f8, the speed at 1/125 and you can't go wrong with any shot"

My Dad used to say "Set the aperture at f8, the speed at 1/125 and you can't go wrong with any shot"

 

For Kodachrome that was often right:)