A stupid question not asked before. Since the M6ttl takes exposure reading through the lens, should I need to focus the subject first and adjust the exposure according the the camera's meter - i.e. the light metering will be exact only if the subject is in focus OR I need not to focus and just point to the subject (through the viewfinder) and adjust the exposure rightaway? Thanks and regards,

-- tom tong (tom.tong@ckh.com.hk), March 03, 2002

Answers

This is actually a very good question, but in practice, I've not noticed any systematic metering error in say, focusing on far away objects and then metering off a nearby (defocused) area.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), March 03, 2002.

This is something you could easily check by metering the same scene at one extreme and then racking the lens to the other extreme and seeing if the meter changes. I suspect it will not vary enough to be of practical significance. The timed speed of the M6's shutter will likely vary much more from one shot to the next.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), March 04, 2002.

It is not a factor with the short focal lengths. Longer lenses (90 and up) will lose 1/3 to 1/2 a stop from a reading taken at infinity (or with a handheld meter). When using my M2 or M4-2 with my 90/2, I always add a 1/3 stop more if I focused close.

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), March 04, 2002.

Hello Tom. In practice with a 90mm. or 135mm. focused to their respective close focus distances of 1 metre and 1.5 meters,giving repro. ratio of 1:9, exposure factor (increase of exposure) is 1.2X , which is small indeed. Regards.

-- Sheridan Zantis (albada60@hotmail.com), March 04, 2002.

My 1972 Spotmatic's manual specified to focus first, then set the exposure. However, I cannot say that it ever made much difference.

Regards :-)

-- Alan Purves (lpurves@mnsi.net), March 05, 2002.