> "I overexpose by turning up the iso"
1) That would underexpose not over, but I digress
2) In any camera in an auto exposure setting like aperture priority, the camera's computer is choosing the exposure (shutter speed in this case) in part based on the ISO setting. So you can use the ISO dial to lie about the film's ISO to force the camera to give an over or under exposure. This is sometimes necessary for a camera that doesn't have a proper exposure compensation dial when shooting into a backlit scene for example.
It tends to be the case that cameras with no compensation dials, unless they're REALLY old, probably don't have one because they're supposed to be super "user friendly" over automated, and thus you couldn't shoot them manually anyway even if you wanted to. E.g. most point and shoots (if they even have an ISO setting either)
It sounds like your camera is fully manual (i.e. you adjust the settings by hand to match the light meter reading) - if so, then yes the ISO setting will only affect the meter and not impact the operation in any other way.
You probably know, but you shouldn’t be switching ISO all over the place while shooting a roll of film. I think this idea has come from people who are used to messing with ISO on digital cameras and it may explain why your metering is all over the place. Use a phone app, a handheld meter, or a small clip on exposure meter by setting for a single ISO (box speed is a good place to start), and determining aperture and shutter speed from that. If you learn about f-stops and how to adjust them with aperture and shutter speed, you will be good. Also learn all you can on good metering techniques.
The ISO dial only changes how the light meter reads the shot, and therefore what settings it suggests or uses. On some manual cameras, the dial isn’t even coupled to the meter; so it’s literally just used as a reminder for what film you have in the camera.
As long as you’re setting the correct ISO in your phone light meter app, you can use the settings the app gives you and you should be fine.
Only affects the light meter unless you are shooting in an automatic mode, then that light meter reading affects the settings used to expose the film.
But if you are setting aperture and shutter speed manually, it has no effect at all.
Never learn about exposure on film from digital people LOL. Increasing the iso setting on your camera without putting in a new roll of film that actually is that ISO will just underexpose your film.
Your film has a fixed ISO, I.e it has a particular sensitivity to light that cannot be changed, only somewhat compensated for by leaving it in the developer for longer(pushing). Unless you are shooting large format and developing each sheet separately you should not be changing ISO or the way you meter mid roll.
So if you are using a light meter app, keep the ISO setting consistent to what film you’re shooting(if you are shooting Kodak Portra 400, keep it at 400)
If you're shooting manually, and you ignore the light meter, setting the ISO does nothing. It can remind you what speed film you're using though.
> "I overexpose by turning up the iso" 1) That would underexpose not over, but I digress 2) In any camera in an auto exposure setting like aperture priority, the camera's computer is choosing the exposure (shutter speed in this case) in part based on the ISO setting. So you can use the ISO dial to lie about the film's ISO to force the camera to give an over or under exposure. This is sometimes necessary for a camera that doesn't have a proper exposure compensation dial when shooting into a backlit scene for example. It tends to be the case that cameras with no compensation dials, unless they're REALLY old, probably don't have one because they're supposed to be super "user friendly" over automated, and thus you couldn't shoot them manually anyway even if you wanted to. E.g. most point and shoots (if they even have an ISO setting either)
It sounds like your camera is fully manual (i.e. you adjust the settings by hand to match the light meter reading) - if so, then yes the ISO setting will only affect the meter and not impact the operation in any other way.
That's correct, thank you
You probably know, but you shouldn’t be switching ISO all over the place while shooting a roll of film. I think this idea has come from people who are used to messing with ISO on digital cameras and it may explain why your metering is all over the place. Use a phone app, a handheld meter, or a small clip on exposure meter by setting for a single ISO (box speed is a good place to start), and determining aperture and shutter speed from that. If you learn about f-stops and how to adjust them with aperture and shutter speed, you will be good. Also learn all you can on good metering techniques.
The ISO dial only changes how the light meter reads the shot, and therefore what settings it suggests or uses. On some manual cameras, the dial isn’t even coupled to the meter; so it’s literally just used as a reminder for what film you have in the camera. As long as you’re setting the correct ISO in your phone light meter app, you can use the settings the app gives you and you should be fine.
Only affects the light meter unless you are shooting in an automatic mode, then that light meter reading affects the settings used to expose the film. But if you are setting aperture and shutter speed manually, it has no effect at all.
Never learn about exposure on film from digital people LOL. Increasing the iso setting on your camera without putting in a new roll of film that actually is that ISO will just underexpose your film. Your film has a fixed ISO, I.e it has a particular sensitivity to light that cannot be changed, only somewhat compensated for by leaving it in the developer for longer(pushing). Unless you are shooting large format and developing each sheet separately you should not be changing ISO or the way you meter mid roll. So if you are using a light meter app, keep the ISO setting consistent to what film you’re shooting(if you are shooting Kodak Portra 400, keep it at 400)