Metering with filters on Fuji GA645Zi

[edward_c._nemergut]

I have recently purchased a Fuji GA645Zi to use as lighter, more

portable option to my Mamiya 645 System. Anyway, I am interested in

using filters with the Fuji--nothing fancy like a polarizer or a ND

grad (which obviously present sepcial problems)--but "simpler" filters

like and 81B or maybe a Singh-Ray enhancer. Anyway, as I understand

it, the camera does not meter TTL, but rather uses a light

sensor somewhere

near the viewfinder. (True???) Therfore, do I need to adjust exposure

compenation when using filters? For example, when using an 81B (which

requires and 1/3 stop f-stop increase) do I need to manually adjust

the exposure compensation by +1/3?

 

Thanks in advance...

[art_haykin]

ANY camera that does not meter through the lens requires thatYOU compensate for any filter with a factor, or ANY devicethat reduces light.

[edward_c._nemergut]

Right - thanks Art. I guess I just want to make sure that the meter isn't TTL. True?

[art_haykin]

Ed, I don't know THAT camera, so I did a search. The Wi has aTTL meter, and the Zi has a center-weighted external meter, soany exposure compensations must be made manually. Surely, your owner's manual states this.

[masatoshi_yamamoto]

I believe it is possible for a camera without TTL metering to compensate fora

filter if the light sensor is inside the filter ring. On this Fuji camera (I don't

have one), I think I remember that it can warn you if the lens cap is on by

blinking the display if it gets no light. Therefore, Maybe the light sensor is on

the plastic part of the front of the lens, next to the glass element. It is not

TTL, but it could be inside the filter ring when a filter is attached. There

maybe are also more than one light sensor, for example, one to tell about the

lens cap, and another for exposure measuring. I don't know, but you could test

easily by holding your finger in front of various windows on the camera front

and seeing which ones change exposure reading.

[rayn]

I used to use filters all the time with mine. It worked great. To my knowledge, none of the Fujis are TTL (never owned the Wi, but seems odd if the "Wi" is TTL and the "i" is not). Just dial in the exposure comp. and shoot away. Polarizers are no problem either. Just hold the filter up to your eye, turn it until it gives the amount of polarization you want, note where the "dot" is on the filter ring (most polarizers have one), attach filter to the lens, rotate until the dot where it was before, dial in compensation (usually +2), and shoot. It sounds a lot worse than it is. In the field it's a piece of cake. Some people keep another polarizer of the same brand in their pocket and just use it to look through, then set the one on the camera to the same setting. Since they are the same brand the "dot" is in the same spot and will give the same degree of polarization. I never bothered with doing it this way, but you might like it.

[nick outram]

I was looking for info on how to do this and landed here. Thanks for all the replies. The Zi is not TTL the meter is mounted on the body, there is an extra sensor to look out for lens cap on. The last answer re: polarizer use is good but I would recommend holding the polarizer over the metering system rather than just plain +2 stops as it will vary between 0 and 2 no? I will give it a try -not used a polariser with my Zi yet but now I feel empowered!