FP_v2 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Posted (12 years 3 months 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 588 times:
OK, I am new to SLR cameras. Is the light meter a needle in the viewfinder the goes on either side of a plus or minus sign? If so, when it is between the two does it mean I have selected the propper exposure/F stop? How realiable is this?
Thomasphoto60 From United States of America, joined Jan 2000, 3723 posts, RR: 25 Reply 2, posted (12 years 3 months 2 days 6 hours ago) and read 552 times:
Sounds like you have an older manual focus camera, with a match needle meter. As Joe said, when your meter is in the between the + or - signs you have a correct exposure.
Just watch out though, most meters while correct can give incorrect readings,as the meter can be fooled by pointing it at an excessively bright (underexposed) or dark (overexposed) areas. If you are in a situation where you are for instance pointing your camera to a bright sky to capture a plane or a US Airways jet (the reason I used US Airways as an example is because of their jet black livery), then take a reading of something that is netural in tone, say the ground or the palm of you hand. If your camera is a newer model, then this is not as serious of a problem, still even these 'matrix' meters can be fooled. I still use a hand held meter, even though I use the Canon EOS1n and EOS 3 cameras.
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