Metering with Canon Ae-1?

[sarah_michelle_larsen]

Hi !

 

Im not really sure how to use the Canon Ae-1 properly.

 

If I want the picture to be exposed correct, where should the metering needle be

if I use it fully manually?

 

And if I put it on A. The manual for the camera just says that if the metering

needle reaches the red area in the top, then its overexposed and if it hits the

red area in the bottom, its underexposed. But is does not say where it should be

for optimal exposure.

 

/Thanks

[gnashings]

I assume you have the AE1, not the AE1 program.

The AE1 has a simple and reasonably accurate centre weighted averaging meter (it meters the whole image you see on the screen, but gives biggest input to the area around the centre).

Now, in "A" mode, you are shooting in shutter priority - this means, you select the shutter speed, and the camera selects the approporiate apperture. When the needle goes off the scale, there is either no apperture big or small enough to allow for proper exposure with the shutter speed you chose.

To shoot fully manual, you set the speed dial on the shutter speed you want, and the numbers on the scale indicate what apperture to choose - namely, the needle has no "right" location, it rests next to the number indicating approporiate apperture. If this apperture is not desireable for whatever reason (too little or too much depth of field, not optimum lens performance, etc), you move the shutter speed dial to allow your apperture selection.

Of course, be sure to have the ASA set correctly for the film you have loaded.

There is also a stopped-down metering mode for use with older FL lenses and macro bellows and other odd applications, but that is something that you probably don't want to get into unless you get far enough along to realize the need for it. I hope this helps, if not, feel free to email me with further questions.

[sarah_michelle_larsen]

Ahh.. I see.

 

(Yes its the Ae-1 and not the Ae-1 Program.)

 

Thank you very much for your help Peter. Appreciate it.

 

Sarah

[douglas_vitello]

I've owned numerous A Series Canons and have always considered them "print film" cameras because of their solo average metering pattern.Great for general purpose even lighting situations but weak with anything of high contrast lighting or use with narrow exposure latitude slide film.F1's and some of the T Series are what I consider much more precise tools and are great for slide film use because they had a choice of average,partial,or spot metering for those really tough lighting situations.Kudos to Canon for offering a choice back in the day,few other manufacturers offered both series.Likewise for Canon's bias towards shutter priority because most of us shoot hand held and shutter speed is the only game in town hand held,especially in low light or over 85mm focal length.

[pvp]

<a href="http://www.canonfd.com/pdf/ae1.pdf">AE-1 Manual</a>

[jeffrey_e]

Here's some quick and dirty advice: make sure to point the camera at something that is more or less middle grey. Faded blue jeans are good by the way. You can also point the camera at the palm of your hand and take a meter reading. You then open up one stop to get proper exposure. You can either adjust the shutter or the aperture to do this.

[gnashings]

In response to Mr Vitello's comment, although accurate, I think that its a very damning verdict about cameras with this type of metering pattern. I have shot plenty of chrome through cameras with this kind of meter, and although I prefer something like my F1 or a handheld spot meter, they are perfectly capable of delivering very good results with slides.

The issue here is not weather the camera is a "print film camera", but weather you, the operator, are either willing or knowledgeable enough to use the camera's meter while getting around its limitations. There are several ways of getting around the fact that the camera takes an average meter reading - Jeffrey touches on one of them - fill the frame with something more less middle grey in the same light as your main subject. Eventually, you will learn what the meter is telling you IT thinks IT sees, and you can adjust accordingly by looking at the scene in your viewfinder and noticing things that would make an average reading inapproporiate (ie. snow or large areas of bright sky, a backlit subject that takes up a realtively small portion of the frame, etc). I remember that a simple exercise taught me a lot: just walking around and pointing the camera at various things taking meter readings, swinging it around at various subjects and watching how it affects light meter readings. Another good one is to get into a fairly dim room with a single light (like a light bulb or light fixture) and start moving the camera around so that the bulb comes in and out of the frame and observing when the needle moves and by how much. All this will teach you a great deal about your meter's "language".

Sure, having a sophisticated meter is convenient, but don't let this discourage you from using what you have. First of all, you will be pleasantly surprised how often that average reading is the right one, and secondly, how quickly you learn to compensate when its not.

For now, I would should on full maual mode - I found I learned much more that way, and making the camera do what you want every time, all the time, really teaches you a lot about what needs to get done and how various changes affect the result. Actually, I think that shooting a few rolls of something relatively unforginving like slide film will teach you a great deal about how good (or bad) your ability to interpret the meter readings really is. I highly suggest it, as getting colour prints from a mini-lab gives you "proofs" that cover up a lot of this information with printing that adjust for over and under exposure, where as a slide will show you exactly what you did, in a form much easier to understand (the actual scene)than trying to read a negative.

The AE1 is a good camera as long as it works, and there are plenty of great lenses for the FD system. The beauty of film is that as long as the body is light tight and holds a piece of film flat behind a lens the results will depend solely on the photographer and quality of the glass. What I mean to say is that unlike digital, given the same lens, the cheapest film body will give you the same result as the top of the line pro body, there is no sensors, image processors, code, etc. But I digress. Have fun and don't feel for a minute that your AE1 is limiting you in any way.

[gnashings]

Hmm... in retrospect, I don't think the statement was damning to the camera...

[douglas_vitello]

I really don't use my F1N's most of the time so I can "act" like a pro.I use them because they are a compact package and the metering choices are appropriate for my exclusive use of finicky slide film.I don't consider a T70 a "prestige" model but I use them all the time because they offered partial metering along with average metering, something never offered with the A Series.Lots of newbies are oblivious to these characteristics of proper metering especially when they move beyond print film,and no,a camera body is not just a film holder the attaches to a great FD lens.Canon did not produce great cameras like the T90 just to impress non-photographers, it was all about the correct metering of light in abnormal conditions along with the care free convenience of shooting under normal light conditions,too.

[gnashings]

Wow, Doug - if I knew I would irritate your insecurities in this fashion I would have probably said nothing. You can relax, no one is going to think you are compensating for anyone with you camera choices unless you keep acting so defensive about them. I just wanted to let someone who is new to this know that they don`t have to feel limited by their equipment - if you choose to feel this way, that`s great for you, we are all free to enjoy photography in our own way.

[douglas_vitello]

No Pete,it has nothing to do with ego or insecurity or ignorance on how to work within the limitations of the meter.I just got tired of wasting lots of film substitute metering or bracketing with my AT1,A1,and AE1p because the meter was always a guessing game.A F1N,T90,or T70 with their more sophisticated metering options provided more good hits per roll than any of the A Series.Same story for the EOS line with their very effective evaluation metering modes.Film is no longer cheap like they used to say back in the 70's.Frustration with poor metering results and high film processing costs are the primary reasons more and more folks have gone over to the digital side.

[don_boyd3]

Hi Sarah, I find that in order to properly use a light meter it's essential to know the light

sensor coverage. Could be anywhere from 90 degrees down to 1 degree coverage. In my

view, once that light sensor coverage is known, the technique of using the meter and

making adjustments to the reading for subject tone and reflectivity to determine exact

exposure is the same for any meter. I believe the AE-1 has a center-weighted averaging

meter. I have found the best source of knowledge for that kind of meter is a book by

Bryan Peterson, "Understanding Exposure" and highly recommend it. Be cautious, Mr

Peterson has two editions of that book out and the most useful for film users is the first

edition. You can get it used through Amazon for less that $15. You will never regret

spending that money. Don Boyd

[michael_bizon]

Sarah, good luck with the camera's metering system. I think Pete has explained everything

there is about it, however, when in doubt, go ahead and bracket! it may cost you more in

developed pictures, but it also insures that you'll get the best image, and that's what it's

all about...

[sarah_michelle_larsen]

Thank you once again for all the advices.

I love that camera. For the price its amazing imo.