BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: Exposure Settings

New Zoom Lens (Help!)

	My friends in lava lookout Taken with zoom lens, 200 speed film around 2 o'clock Lisa A. Miller
	Little Three creek lake Taken in evening, but it was still very light out (6-ish), 400 speed film with zoom lens Lisa A. Miller
	Sisters Taken with zoom around 6 with 400 speed film, this picture had no problems except the haze over the mountains (same role as other 400 speed pictures) Lisa A. Miller

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August 20, 2001

I don't think the problem is with the lens. After all, there are very few ways you can actually use a Canon EF series lens - Focus and Zoom. Even Exposure is handled by the camera.

I actually have a Canon A2E, (EOS 5) so I don't have the exact settings on your camera, but it seems the problem you're having is that you're including two objects of very different exposure levels. This means that either the sky is going to be white, or the mountains are going to be black. And in this case, it seems that the mountains are black.

There are two solutions to that - both of them are really a cop out. One is to buy a film with a wider exposure latitude, but that usually means less contrasty. Fuji NPS (portraiture film) has a wide exposure latitude. This will not completely eliminate the problem. Even the best films only have an exposure latitude of 10 stops. IE, meter for the sky, meter for the mountain, if it's more than 10 stops apart, it's not going to capture detail in one of them.

The second one is to expose for the more important feature, and accept that the other is going to be featureless/under/overexposed. So if the blue sky is more important, keep it blue, and have a silhouetted mountain. If the mountain is more important, meter for it, and allow the sky to be whitish.

Hope this helps. Good luck with the learning!

Ken.

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August 24, 2001

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August 24, 2001

I have no idea what the CA setting does, but I can't imagine it causing the problems you've had. (which, if you could be clearer with your complaints, perhaps we can address better) But that's mostly due to my presumption of Canon's minimalist approach.

Canon will send you a manual for $5 if you're in Australia. If you're not, contact your local Canon branch. In any case, People here at Canon North Ryde are always great whenever I've called them over the phone. Prompt, enthusiastic, helpful and accurate. Phone number is +61 2 9805 2000. I wouldn't think that you're in Australia, except that the photo of the 3 sisters looks familiar.

I guess my confusion is - with Canon lenses, all the control is on the camera! I can't see anything you can do wrong that wouldn't be blindingly obvious.

Let me know.

Ken

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August 24, 2001

Anyway, one of my first cameras was an AE1 (not the program though my Dad had one). First of all if you are shooting in Program mode the lens must be set to "A" (Canon lenses are marked "A" perhaps Sears lenses are marked "CA"). I wouldn't be surprised if a Sears lens was causing problems. They are not renowned for optic quality. But I suspect it has more to do with metering. The first shot is predominantly filled with black lava. Your meter read the lava and tried to make it 18% gray. The second shot, the meter exposed the sky correctly which was more brightly lit than Tam McArthur Rim so it came out underexposed. I think you just need to learn how to take better exposures. When I shot with my AE1 (since it has no spot meter) I found it best to meter off of my hand and open a stop. It is the same effect as metering a gray card. All you do is make sure the light falling on your hand is the same as that falling on your subject. Fill you viewfinder with your palm and take a reading. Open up one stop from that reading and you've got it. If you have any questions let me know. jeffsoni@earthlink.net

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August 24, 2001

Regards,

Mike

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August 24, 2001

In looking at your photos, all except the "Little Three Creek Lake" look to be about mid-day. I looked at the larger "Sisters" image to examine the shadows (length and direction) but the image was too small to tell for certain.

Some tips about lighting:
Good landscapes and scenics with a cloudless day are very dependent on light angle and direction. Usually this is early or late in the day with the sun just high enough to eliminate any obtrusively long shadows. Direction should be generally from behind you (in photos like these), but not directly behind you. Offset slightly from over either shoulder works better. Lower light angles put shadows more to the side instead of underneath. Frontal lighting brings the brightness of the scene closer to that of the sky and the offset provides slight side shadowing to bring out dimension and texture.

This is one of the reasons good landscapes are difficult. A perfect point of view may require waiting for a good time of day, or even time of year (daily light directions change with seasons), or it may be almost impossible during daytime (north facing scenes in the northern hemisphere come to mind).

High humidity on a hot day will cause visible "heat haze," the sky is darker blue opposite the sun, and horizons can be hazed by smog or dust, particularly in the afternoon. During mid-day with a very high sun, the sky can be pale in all directions. Next time you're out on a clear sky, take a good look at the sky in all directions early, mid-day and late. Distant haze is not unusual. Best season for deepest blue sky and the least atmospheric haze is usually during a cold Winter day with clear sky (no clouds). During other seasons, cooler drier weather following a storm front also has less haze.

You can get special effects such as sihlouettes with backlighting. Fog and severe haze can also be used for special effect to isolate pure shapes in light earth tones. Also, moonlit landscapes can sometimes work when sunlight doesn't.

-- John

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August 25, 2001