hi....i use sometimes the minolta colormeter to balance my colors, and the results differs very much,- to have really control over the situation i normally have to shoot too a 36mm film with varies filters, cause i cannot trust the results of the colormeter. usually the correction it shows is 50% too much, so if it shows to use a magenta 20 filter....i use a mag 10. i am using to meter the light in front of a object which i am going to photograph...a. e. in front of a wall....this should be the right way...isnt it? sure someone here has more experience aroung this stuff...please share it.....thanks

-- rainer viertlböck (viertl@t-online.de), February 22, 2002

Answers

Rainer,

What film stock are you using the ColorMeter 3 F with? "Saturated" colour emulsions with colour inhibitors do not seem to respond in concert with the meter's determinations.

Walter Glover

-- Walter Glover (walterg@netaus.net.au), February 22, 2002.

thanks walter, really a good advice....for which film type is the color meter made? i usually use for slides 4x5" fuji provia, greatimgs from cold germany...

-- rainer viertlboeck (viertl@t-online.de), February 22, 2002.

There is a lot of information on this subject at this link: http://www.shootsmarter.com/pages/CCCG.html

-- Hank Graber (hgraber@narrativerooms.com), February 22, 2002.

Rainer,

Sorry for the delay getting back to you but I went away for a lovely late summer weekend.

I have no problems using the Colormeter IIIF with E100S, E200 or EPY64T. I seldom use Fuji film but at one stage I did use the meter for some time with Velvia and found that I had to "halve" the recommended meter, if you get my drift.

That is to say: if the meter indicated an 81EF for skylit shadows I would give an 81C and so on. I can only imagine that the error is a result of the activity of the colour inhibitors in the emulsion. My understanding (very basic) of how these inhibitors work is that if there is a predominance of any given colour they the the saturation of the complimentary colour - thereby making red more red, green more green, etc. It follows then that the amber (red and yellow) of an 81 series filter fools the colour inhibitors into reducing the complimentary component colours (green and blue) thereby intensifying the amber beyond expectations.

I point out that I never use E100SW because without a null starting point I could not determine where filtration would lie without extensive testing and wherever possible - I am a shooter not a tester.

Best wishes from sunny Bondi,

Walter Glover

-- Walter Glover (walterg@netaus.net.au), February 24, 2002.

hi walter, late summer? wherefrom you are? here in germany slowly by slowly the springtime could come....but at the moment its snowing horribly...

i ma very happy to reaf that you made the same experience about the fuji films. i raelised too, thats a good idea to take mor or less the half of the filter which is showing me the colormeter 3f. and often i dónt have time to shoot testpictures...and i wonder where is the sense of such an expensive instrument if it cant work accurate.....because more or less i know without the colormeter (mostly) too how to filter....especially if i shoot a testfilm before... so i will go and try the e100s kodak...outside i dont like this film for architecture, good to know where to use it in the future... thanks and nice "late" summerdays..

-- rainer viertlboeck (viertl@t-online.de), February 24, 2002.

"hi walter, late summer? wherefrom you are? here in germany slowly by slowly the springtime could come....but at the moment its snowing horribly..."

"Best wishes from sunny Bondi"

Australia by the looks of it - lucky begger - typical aussie - just rubbing it in :-)

tim a (who's married to one, so is used to it...)

-- Tim Atherton (tim@kairosphoto.com), February 24, 2002.

Starve the flamin' lizards and stone the bloody crows Tim,

You reckon I'm a lucky bugger - you got yourself a dinkum shiela. Growse, mate! You don't get to many of them to the dozen.

Hooroo cobber,

Walter Glover

PS: Rainer, ich bien ein Aussie! (sorry if my German spelling and grammar is short of the mark.)

-- Walter Glover (walterg@netaus.net.au), February 25, 2002.