Metering

[cecil_chan]

I am a newbie attending a film course and owns a Nikon Fm2 with a 50mm f1.4 prime Nikon lens. Attached is a shot I took and then developed it and scanned it. My friend said that the metering is wrong, I didn't think so.
What does my fellow pbaser think? Is metering wrong and how can you tell?

[wolfeye]

There are four "meterings" in this path, any one of which could be faulty.

The first is the camera's light meter. If it's faulty, you could be getting incorrect exposure. Second, the camera's shutter speeds could be off, which would also affect your exposure - the meter could be telling the camera that you need 1/500th sec, and you set it so - but the shutter then opens for 1/125th second and your exposure will be off.

Outside of the camera, the development time and temperature can affect how a negative comes out, hence the concept of "push" or "pull" which you do by adjusting development time or temperature.

Lastly, the scanner itself can be off, either too bright or too dark.

So your friend may be right, but where is the culprit? Test things and see...

[cecil_chan]

Thanks wolfeye for the detail answer.