Photography with a meterless camera.
Some people may think i’m crazy for shooting a Leica M2 (beside the obvious), they’re more astounded when they find out the camera doesn’t even have a meter! Since i’ve shot around 7 rolls with my M2 now, i’ve noticed I change the exposure a whole lot less than i’m used to. While finding some info about a Hannimex Praktica I just picked up (it has a dead meter), I found this post which caught my eye. It just simply makes sense, photography down to its bare essentials makes the act of doing that much more enjoyable.
Yes, a handheld meter might seem like another thing to carry, but it changes the way you work. With the internal meter in an SLR, you’re always twiddling the knobs on your camera trying to get the meter spot on. Then when you use a handheld meter, you realise that the light is usually completely constant. It was just that your SLR was taking readings off darker and lighter objects.
When you use the handheld meter to read incident light, you suddenly realise that you can take a series of shots with the same exposure, all properly exposed, and keep your mind free for more important things.
I prefer meterless cameras because when a built in meter stops working, it bothers me. However, after I’ve managed to forget that the camera had a meter, I feel much better, and the camera seems more simple and reliable.
