Film cameras that store exposure information

Nicholas O. Lindan wrote:
"Bandicoot" wrote

The Pentax MZ-S prints a range of info. on the film rebate,
Aperture and shutter speed are the most useful ones to have, of course.

I would rather have it print what in the world it was that I
was thinking when I selected such an inappropriate aperture
and shutter speed.


Little pocket notebooks or pocket mini-cassette recorders will take care
of that.

I find noting one's strategy - was I thinking of shadows, motion
blur, the clouds, dof ... and what I did about it - is the most
useful part of my notes as the little details don't apply to
the next shot: I don't take the same picture under the same
circumstances twice.

Of course, if one is taking studio / product shots where the
same setup will be used again and again then detailed notes
are de rigueur.

"Nicholas O. Lindan" wrote in message
k.net...
"Bandicoot" wrote

The Pentax MZ-S prints a range of info. on the film rebate,
Aperture and shutter speed are the most useful ones to have, of
course.

I would rather have it print what in the world it was that I
was thinking when I selected such an inappropriate aperture
and shutter speed.

I find noting one's strategy - was I thinking of shadows, motion
blur, the clouds, dof ... and what I did about it - is the most
useful part of my notes as the little details don't apply to
the next shot: I don't take the same picture under the same
circumstances twice.

Agreed, that is much more useful: I find the practice of many books and
magazines of printing that a picture was shot with an Xmm lens at fY and 1/Z
fraction of a second rather silly as out of context the information is
meaningless. However, since many publishers seem to want it, having it on
the film rebate lets me supply it - whether I personally value the data or
not...


Of course, if one is taking studio / product shots where the
same setup will be used again and again then detailed notes
are de rigueur.

Yes, sometimes useful here. Actually one of the best uses is when getting
familiar with a new lens: knowing the aperture each frame was shot at helps
with speedy familiarisation on what the bokeh looks like, which apertures
are sharpest, and so on.



Peter

Bandicoot wrote:
"Nicholas O. Lindan" wrote in message
k.net...
"Bandicoot" wrote

I would rather have it print what in the world it was that I
was thinking when I selected such an inappropriate aperture
and shutter speed.

I find noting one's strategy - was I thinking of shadows, motion
blur, the clouds, dof ... and what I did about it - is the most
useful part of my notes as the little details don't apply to
the next shot: I don't take the same picture under the same
circumstances twice.

Agreed, that is much more useful: I find the practice of many books and
magazines of printing that a picture was shot with an Xmm lens at fY and 1/Z
fraction of a second rather silly as out of context the information is
meaningless.

Ditto. And, is it just me, or is it a recent trend to attach tripod and
head info?


However, since many publishers seem to want it,
having it on the film rebate lets me supply it -
whether I personally value the data or not...

Again, ditto. But it would be nice to know what the heck is on *their*
minds
when they make this requirement.

I'm involved with a group that critiques each others' pictures
in a round-robin sort of way via email. Nice setup.
But I still feel very weird stating what tripod I was using.
Or what filters.
I suppose there is a certain artistic interest in that --
Maybe a certain filter made the sky more contrasty,
or a using a graduated ND made it possible to capture a high-contrast scene.
Too bad there isn't a way to pass *that* info back to the body to be
recorded.


There's a story I heard about Ansel Adams when he taught classes.
Students routinely asked him the aperture/exposure settings of each of
his images.
He routinely answered according to some pre-memorized formula
that all worked out to the same exposure.
Eventually some clever student would catch him out and call him on it.
And Adams would explain that it was completely irrelevant --
the aperture/exposure settings he used were completely dependent
on the image he was trying to create,
and the conditions under which he was trying to create it.
:-)