Is this camera reading right for 200 asa?

[slashmaster]

I've got a camera with a 170 degree shutter set at 24 fps with a 200 asa black and white cartridge in it right now. It's a bright sunny day now and I was pointing it at the brightly lit ground and it said F16. Then I pointed at the shadowed side of a house and it said F8. Is this about right for 200 asa? I thought those readings would be a bit higher.

[MIKI-814]

There are no ASA 200 in Super8, 160 is the nearest value

[BAC]

There are no ASA 200 in Super8, 160 is the nearest value

I think he is talking about this film:

http://www.pro8mm.com/Merchant5/merchan ... Code=S8flm

If the shutter is 170 degrees and you are shooting at 24 fps then:

24 fps X 360 degrees/170 degrees= 50.8

Your shutter speed is 1/51 seconds.

If you have a light meter you should be able to see if it is reading correctly. Or if you have an iPhone you can use the free light meter app.

[slashmaster]

Yes, that is the film I have. Yes, I thought it would be about 1/50th of a second. I don't have an iphone or light meter but I can be happy with it being close so I was looking at this chart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunny_16_rule Judging by this chart I think my film would be very overexposed if I use the autometer as is right?

[Patrick]

A bit of overexposure is always good for negative film. So don't worry if your camera's meter is not giving you absolutely accurate readings...as long as it's over and not under.

[slashmaster]

A bit of overexposure is always good for negative film. So don't worry if your camera's meter is not giving you absolutely accurate readings...as long as it's over and not under.

I'm using the reversal film on the bottom left of that page, not the negative. Would that be better off a little overexposed too?

[Patrick]

I'm using the reversal film on the bottom left of that page, not the negative. Would that be better off a little overexposed too?

Oops. When I heard the Pro8mm reference, I assumed that it was negative. For reversal, I would prefer to be spot on with regards to exposure. However, there are others here that prefer a slight bit of overexposure on reversal - say third of a stop. On the other hand, there are also others who like a tiny little bit of underexposure for increased colour saturation. Though either way, I obviously wouldn't go too far in either direction.