Please explain this whole M7 AE thing to me again???

Of course, the whole idea of AE is to speed up the sequence of shooting, right? So now I'm in AE because I want to be new M7 quick as a bunny. So now, if your meter off of something that isn't centered, and use the AE lock to hold the exposure, and re-frame and shoot, and then find you want another quick sequence, then how does AE speed things up? So now you re-meter, re-AE lock, re-frame, and shoot, right? Now can someone explain how this speeds things up again? I don't get this whole AE thing!?!?!?!? Couldn't Leica have done something useful by giving us selectable partial(13%) and spot metering(1%)? Then when light is above EV7, I could use the partial metering, and when light is below EV7, then I could use the spot metering.

I agree that having to use AE lock to hold exposure off center seems

to take away much of the advantage of AE in the first place except

for those who like hitting bulls eyes.

i want to apologize in advance for this relevant question...wouldn't

it be cool if the M7 incorporated an INCIDENT meter in addition to a

REFLECTIVE meter instead of that stupid AE? maybe not...or would

it???

built-in incident metering? never heard of that in any camera, what a

great idea! even with an M6TTL I still use a Luna Pro or Sekonic L398

for incident readings. but those meters are nearly as big as an M

body. (L 398 has no battery problems, though!)

Carey

Well Glenn, you inquiry is fair and points to a disadvantage ot AE

in the Leica M7. Of course, the answer is to switch the shutter

speed dial to the desired shutter speed and shoot away.

Glen: I don't think you need a thing explained to you; I think you

have summed the M7 AE up superbly! Meter once and shoot your series

of shots, or meter for each shot... Take your pick!

 

<p>

 

What it might do though, is allow more non-thinking (make that

partial-thinking) photographers the opportunity to get reasonable

exposures with print film from their M just by pressing the

shutter... And if they get reasonable exposures more regularly, then

perhaps they won't be in such a hurry to off-load their mint bodies

that they cannot operate well on the used market. This in turn, would

allow Leica to sell more new cameras to the waiting block of

prospective M shooters. Of course it might then severely limit the

supply of good, cheap (relatively speaking) M's for the rest of us!

 

<p>

 

;-),

A good aperture priority camera does speed things up and allows for

more concentration on the subject and focusing. Of course, it can

also lead to less concentration on the whole picture taking process,

as the camera is starting to do some of the "thinking" for you and

sometimes this can make you stop "seeing the light".

 

<p>

 

After using an AE camera for a while, I find it refreshing to have

full controll in a manual set camera when I go back to one. After

shooting a lot of pictures in changing light with a manual camera, I

am happy to set my CLE or Nikon N90s on auto and shoot away. Its

like an automatic transmission in a car--you don't need it, but

sometimes it makes for a more relaxing ride.

This question actually mirrors the one when AF first came out. What is

the point of a single central AF patch when everytime you shoot you

have to re-AF, re-compose, re-AE lock? So now we have 45 (?) AF points

coupled with X number of AE points in some high end wonderflex:) You

think Leica will go this direction with the M39 say in AD2525 in their

10Giga Pixel Digiluximus? An interesting thought is if it's possible to

zone focus, is it also possible to 'zone' meter? If so, how exactly is

it done. Seriously. I'm sure someone in this forum actually knows and

practice this. Cheers.

Dexter: Need built-in incident readings? Meter off a gray card. ;<)

Dexter,

 

<p>

 

Place a piece of opal glass or similar in front of lens.

As someone else mentioned, a simple AE lock (that locks for more than

1 exposure), such as one incorporated into the new switch around the

shutter release, would have made AE in the M7 a surefire winner.

 

<p>

 

Why?

 

<p>

 

Because all you would have to do to get perfect exposure would be to

aim at an appropriate "grey" zone, press the AE lock and forget about

exposure until the next lighting situation.

 

<p>

 

People may argue that this is completely equivalent to metering

manually in the M6 (or M7) but it is not, ergonomically speaking. You

cannot set aperture and shutter speed manually with one flick of a

finger, which is what AE lock (with a spot pattern) allows you to do.

 

<p>

 

Had the M7 been designed with such a feature (quite obvious, really,

given the 4 decades of AE camera experience out there), it would be a

faster, surer camera than the M6.

 

<p>

 

Without it, AE adds speed, but sacrifices exposure accuracy, because

of the central spot, which may or may not cover the correct area of

the scene for metering, in AE mode.

<i>... You cannot set aperture and shutter speed manually with one

flick of a finger, which is what AE lock (with a spot pattern) allows

you to do.</i>

 

<p>

 

Mani: Have you ever used a camera such as you describe? I just

recently acquired a Contax 645, and that is precisely how they do AE.

You either get continual AE, or there is a switch around the shutter

release that you throw to lock the exposure. Once locked, the

exposure remains constant until you unlock it. Perhaps it is the same

on their 35's. Anyway, I find it either annoying or convenient,

depending on the situation. If I am shooting a series of shots in

the same light, it is a blessing. It is also handy if I want to

bracket, as the shutter speed stays constant as I change the

aperture. However, if I am shooting one shot of something, it becomes

a royal PITA (read slows the process down) to unlock, re-meter and re-

lock for each shot. The continual AE is almost useless for my

applications, as what is in the center of my image that corresponds

to the metering pattern, is rarely what I want to meter. (Here I

sometimes switch from spot ot center-weighted metering, and HOPE the

average works out...) So, for one frame I generally either set a

manual exposure or flip the stupid lock... IMO, it would be MUCH

better if they offered all three options: Continual AE (I'm sure

somebody out there wants it...), single-frame AE lock, and constant

AE lock. However, that being said, If I could only have one option I

would take the the single-frame lock as I think it is the most

intuitive to use.

 

<p>

 

Cheers,

Glenn:

 

<p>

 

You are correct for the bulk of this group. However, IMHO Leica is

working towards building a larger clientle. People with money do not

necessarily know how to meter and shoot pictures the way others do,

or want to take the time to learn.

 

<p>

 

Print film has enough latitude that the average person will be able

to say "Take a look at the shots I took with my LEICA.", and get

reasonable results. Now they can use their Leica, where before it

was like programming a VCR to them.

 

<p>

 

:?

Jack, my post was ambiguous. I meant that they should have had a 1-

flip (multi-frame) AE lock in addition to the press the shutter

button (single-frame) AE lock they already have. I have not used such

a camera in 35mm, but have done so in medium format, and it works

quite well when one takes a series of pictures in unchanging light

(such as when one does portraits).

 

<p>

 

It would have been very simple to implement...

"Now they can use their Leica, where before it was like programming a

VCR to them. "

 

<p>

 

So let them buy Miniluxes.

 

<p>

 

Why compromise the flagship M camera to make it idiot-proof? If

anything, it is less so...

The Contax G2 has the right idea: it gives you the option of either

(1) setting the main switch to "AEL" or (2) as one of the

programmable "custom" functions, it allows you to set autoexposure to

lock each time you press the shutter release halfway and hold it down.

Very good observation. I leave my Hexar on AEL all the time.

AE is only a feature and you don't have to use it all the time.

Besides the convenience of an AE camera is more relevant if you use

it with a motor shooting several frames per second. I don't like the

M motor so I won't worry about it. If you are shooting portraits

with the subject dead center then use AE. If the general scene has

the same exposure value then use AE. No single feature is good for

all situations. I remember all those SLRs with the exposure lock in

the most awkward places I can never reach in the heat of shooting.

the only camera i know of with built-in incident meter is the top

hasselblad 202.

<p><i>Dexter: Need built-in incident readings? Meter off a gray

card.</i></p>

<p>i do that. and you and i both know that it's not the same as

using an incident meter.<p>

<p><i>Place a piece of opal glass or similar in front of lens</i></p>

<p>sorry, sir, i'm an idiot. please explain.</p>

Dexter,

 

<p>

 

They use to sell something, (and I'm guessing the name from 20 years

ago), called the Wallace Lumidisc. It was simply a lens cap made of

a translucent material that as the advertisement said, "turns any TTL

camera meter into an incident meter". Essentially, you mount the

lens cap, go to the subject spot and point the camera to where you

will take the photo from, just like an incident meter. After you set

the exposure, you remove the cap and go do the shot. A couple of the

photo magazines at that time did some test and said it did in fact

work, but it was not the most convenient way of working.

 

<p>

 

The product hasn't been advertised for some time, but the same

company "Wallace" still makes exposure calculators, (non-powered

simple cardboard deals with light levels and ISO speeds), so they

might still make the Lumidisc.

thanks, Al. i learned something new today.

I think you are forgetting why you selected a Leica in the first

place. my EOS-3 does everything like you want with far more ease.

however, it doesn't carry with it those special Leica attributes we

have come to love. like Dan Brown mentioned, what you are calling AE-

lock is as simple as using manual mode. set the aperture, meter, set

the shutter speed and expose the entire roll if so desired.

 

<p>

 

no matter what the metering implementation, it comes down to a

judgement by the photographer .. as it should.

George Wallace has passed on, but his family appears to be still

marketing his device.

 

<p>

 

http://www.expodisc.com/