Metering On An Old Slr

[Answerprancer]

(Eddie/Slapshot?)
I have recently started to explore the world of the older 35mm film SLR using a Fujica ST605N. I would like to go back further in time with something more stripped down and the one I'd like to try is the Zenit B.

I have a load of Zenits (and Prakticas) the former have selenium light meters built in and the latter TTL. My Zenit B has nothing in the way of metering and I was wondering (short of guesswork) what might be the best way to get the metering right.

The reason I'm doing this is twofold 1) I have a whole bunch of redundant SLRs as a result of my searching for old lenses for my DSLR and it seems like a waste to just let them sit there unused. 2) I believe it will help me hone my compositioning and metering abilities on the digital.

TIA for any advice.

[Answerprancer]

Pardon me, I've just remembered that this is almost a duplicate of a post I made recently. I appreciate the answers I got - particularly from Slapshot.
Re light meter, I'll have to seek one out - do they give you shutter speed/aperture figures?

[sandyRoe]

I think they did. Say you got a reading of 1/125 @ f5.6, if you wanted a faster shutter speed, say 1/250, you'd open the aperture by one stop to f4.

[sandyRoe]

why do the words, 'teach', 'grandmother', and eggs suddenly come to mind

[Answerprancer]

LOL - I have no idea SR, I have a feeling I'm just going to have to pick one up from a charity shop and figure it out.

[jno]

I actually managed to sell all my old SLRs this year. Only for about £50 the lot (I think three SLRs and three little compacts) becasue it turned out most had fungus of some sort in them that would have cost more to repair than it was worth. If they hadn't, the price would have been £300+. But I was very lucky: virtually nobody wants them any more; I should have done it five years ago when there was still a bit of a market.

[Fitzer]

You can utilize the Sunny 16 rule (Google it for further info), essentially on a bright sunny day f16, 125th sec, ISO 100 should give a correct exposure, as these are the three corners of the exposure triangle then if you have half as much light you can halve the f-stop to get the same exposure etc etc.

[Answerprancer]

Thanks for that info Fitzer, you're tempting me to go out with the Zenit 'unarmed' now :-)

JNO, some of the lenses I acquired had fungus, including my wonderful Takumar 50mm 1.4 It wasn't that difficult to open it up and clean it out though, if you have any left I'd advise giving it a go. I'd have just hung onto them if it was me.

[Bert]

The card box that the film comes in usually tells you what aperture and shutter speed to use for sunny, cloudy, and overcast conditions. For night shots you need longer exposures than a light meter tells you (unless it's a very good one), because of the failure of the reciprocity law.

[Answerprancer]

If I do go out 'naked' with my Zenit B, I'll probably just start by keeping it at 125th and fiddle with the aperture to suit then take a note of what settings I used.

[jno]

no, they'd been in the drawer for nearly 10 years and I realised I'd gone fully digital yonks ago. That's why I wish I'd unloaded them way back, when the money was bigger and the fungus smaller.

Along with that I've realised I can't remember anything about metering them, the way I can't do pounds-shillings-pence sums in my head any more.

Good luck anyway, your photos are great.