Can I use my smartphone’s Pro mode as a light meter for an Olympus OM-1 film camera?
Asked 3/8/2018
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My Olympus OM-1’s light meter battery is dead, and I’m new to film photography. I’m shooting ISO 200 film and noticed my Samsung Galaxy S8 has a Pro mode where I can manually set ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.
If I set the phone to ISO 200 and match the aperture I’m using on the OM-1, can I use the phone’s suggested shutter speed as a guide for the film camera? How close should I expect it to be?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
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In theory, this should work perfectly. The combination of (shutter speed, aperture, ISO) determines the amount of light which falls on the sensor (per unit area), so should be transferable between devices.
In practice, there are a couple of things which mean it might not quite work:
- If you're doing long exposures with film, reciprocity failure means that the exposure transferred from a digital device won't give you the correct exposure.
- Cameras aren't necessarily that exact in their engineering. Shutter speeds, apertures and ISO might not be exactly as written - but this should only be a few percent out.
Originally by user11371. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user11371
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes — as a practical guide, this can work fairly well. Exposure is based on the relationship between ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, so if you match those settings, the phone’s suggested shutter speed should usually be close enough to use.
A few caveats:
- It won’t be exact. Film and digital sensors don’t respond to light in exactly the same way, so ISO matches are only approximate.
- Real cameras and lenses may not be perfectly calibrated, so marked shutter speeds, apertures, or ISO can be slightly off.
- For very long exposures, film reciprocity failure can make the film need different exposure than a digital device suggests.
So for normal shooting, your phone can serve as a rough meter, but expect small differences and bracket if the shot matters.
The bigger issue is convenience: using a phone for every shot gets tedious, and it’s easy to forget to re-meter when the light changes. Replacing the OM-1 meter battery will be much easier and more reliable in regular use.
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