X pan metering

[ujjwaldey8165]

I have just got back my second roll from X-pan; and, as far as I can see, there is a metering issue with the camera.

I have used it in aperture -priority mode.

Many of the landscape shots are under-exposed - some quite significantly. Especially if there is sky in the shot. The sky seems to be geeting exposed properly, while the foreground is left under exposed. It looks like the camera is reading more off the centre; and the top 1/3 of the frame; rather than the bottom 1/3. My shooting style was no different from how I use the G1; and while G1 produces very, very few underexposed shots ( less than 1%), about 30-40% were underexposed in X pan.

I am not talking of the vignetting in some of the shots, which apparently can be overcome with a dedicated filter - which I dont have.

I am not sure if the issue lies with my particular camera , or its a design issue.

Does anyone know if there is a particular trick to metering in the X pan; or if the camera set to 1 to 1.5 stop over exposure yields a better result when in Aperture -priority mode.

Since there is no AE Lock; the only other way is to do the match-diode metering; and knowing the metering pattern will be a great help.

 

[Knikki]

I have an Xpan as well, the last time I used it was with B&W print film and used aperture priority and found the exposure to be spot on.

I will have a look at some of my older slide films I took with it, but I can't remember any exposure issues with it .

I do not use a centre ND filter, which is recommended as at £150 (used prices) I think it way to much for a 49mm filter.

I have read that if you use the camera at f8 it gets around the need for using the filter anyway, which is what I tend to do. Yep when using 100asa film in dull weather you do need a steady hand .

I have had a quick search but can't see any metering patens for it, but have a search for the Fuji TX which is what the camera actually is. Rebadged as a Hasselbald for European and American markets.

 

[ujjwaldey8165]

Thanks Nick.

Thanks for the tip for f8; will keep that in mind.

I have to test the X pan against the G1.

 

[AlanTW]

I only shoot slide film in my Xpan (Provia & Velvia) and have not found the built in meter to be accurate enough. I use a Seckonic 308 in Incident mode most of the time. For really tricky sunset/sunrise shots I tend to use my D300 as a meter then transfer the readings to the Xpan.

Alan

 

[ujjwaldey8165]

Thanks Alan. This metering issue is really bugging the hell out of me - don't know why.
as an aside, just curious - how do you guys mount and view the Xpan slides?

 

[TheBigYin]

These in a MF Projector ?

 

[AlanTW]

I don't mount them I scan them with a Nikon Coolscan 4000

 

[Knikki]

Like wise view on light box then scan using a Nikon Coolscan IV

 

[joxby]

I have just got back my second roll from X-pan; and, as far as I can see, there is a metering issue with the camera..................

You don't say what film but slide is a bugger sometimes.
The metering on my Mamiya 6 is bang on, it always perfectly exposes the sky, unfortunately slide has a limited dynamic range and a perfectly exposed sky often means an underexposed land, when I say underexposed I mean ruined.
So you need some sunlight on the land or use a grad shooting slide scapes.
Colour neg and B/W have a much better range, you need to check what film you used in which camera.

 

[s162216]

You could of course do it the old fashioned way and meter off a grey card which = pretty good exposures every time in theory. I've just started having a go with doing some metering like this, got myself a Kodak R-27 grey card set and having read the long (and quite detailed but clear instructions) I've taken a couple of pictures so far using it, the problem is that its difficult to hold and adjust a camera (Spotmatic F) with a conventional aperture wheel and hold the card at the correct angle AND look through the viewfinder to see if the needles in the middle. I was able to do it with my Dynax 505si Super as the spot metering meant I could extend my arm a bit as I didn't have the fill the viewfinder with the card. Easiest way though? Either rest the card on a chair or something or get an assistant or use tripod I suppose. Of course you could always do the metering with a camera equipped with a spotmeter and transfer the values.

On a side note its good I got those grey cards for another reason as well, I was able to get off ebay a Vivitar bounce card holder for my 285 flash that uses the white side of the grey card. And for only £6.50! I have been trying to get one for a while.

 

[IainG]

I've had similar issues with underexposed slides, particularly with Velvia 50.

I used to use aperture priority, using the cameras in built meter.

The meter on the xpan performs well when the subject is brightly lit, but I've found that when I'm pushing to handhold, for example f4 at 1/30, it will almost definitely underexpose. Brightly lit, and smaller than f8, it works a treat.

My solution was that I now use a Pentax Spotmeter and use the xpan manually.

Also, I've read that the centre filter is only really needed with the 30mm lens. At £150, I'm happy not to use one!

 

[ujjwaldey8165]

Thanks guys.

Joxby, it was print film - Porta VC 160.

I had a good read of the manual and noticed 3 things
1. The metering is from the central area - so its not centre weigted, just the centre. Sort of a spot with a bit wider are. This is the key for my underexposures, along with the vignetting
2. The exposure gets locked if the shutter is half pressed.
3. Vignetting does not happen for f8 or above.

Here are a few examples of my pretty bad shots.

No1 :

This was taken on a loch in Scotland very late in the evening. f4 ( not f2.8, as pointed out by Iain). Also learnt the hard way that the scotland harbours some lovely little beasts called midgets. Never heard of them before, will never forget them again.

No 2

Same kind of shot, another loch, another day.

No3

The dreaded vignetting is very noticeable.

No4

Bad composition, even by my low standards. The sky was beautiful though, but the foreground is very black, with almost nothing interesting


No5

Carlisle Castle. The vignetting is noticeable, though this was taken at f8.


No6

Atop the Honister pass in lake district. Was getting dark, shot at f4. The vignetting is visible. Just couldn't capture the vastness and the isolation


Any feedback/ suggestions on how these (type of) shots could be improved

 

[IainG]

With No1, I take it that it was f4 if you were using the 45mm lens?

In each shot, the centre does look evenly exposed so I think unless you use a spotmeter, then if using the xpan's own meter, you'll have to rely on shooting at f8 and smaller. An alternative approach may be to shoot +1 when shooting below f8?

Here's mine using the built in meter at probably f8:

Probably f4..

Using a spotmeter...

 

[redsnapper]

I love using my Xpan - it's probably my favourite camera.
Admittedly I shoot mostly B+W but the velvia I've shot in the past has offered up some good results - as mentioned before, correct exposure is difficult to get with slide so bracketing is a must if you use this. Colour neg is not so fickle but I still need to bracket.
Another must with landscapes is grad filters - you simply can't get an even exposure with a high difference in lighting between the sky and the sea/land. A spot meter will only tell you the range of exposure in a scene - the film will record this as it is unless 'helped out'.
I always use the inbuilt meter with no issues - if I briefly run down my routine maybe it will help:-
Find your scene and set up (on a tripod)
Meter using the camera like a spot meter, the sky then the land and note the difference on the display.
Add a grad filter to even out the exposure (usually 2 or 3 stops) and shoot on the given exposure for the land.
Then bracket.
Slide isn't great for it's ability to cope with a wide range of exposure but when it 'gets it' the colours are superb.

As for the centre filter, mine stays on my 45mm permanently unless shooting handheld below f8

Velvia 50 f22 4sec

Not the best image but it's an example of how filtering can overcome a wide range of exposure - the foreground was in deep shadow as the sun was rising and illuminating 'The Famous Mountain'. I used a 0.3 and a 0.6 grad to even the exposure and bracketed.
Btw you can exposure lock by keeping the shutter button depressed half way. (Just noticed you've seen this already!)

Hope this is of some help.

Joe

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