BLACK CAT Extended Range Exposure Guide - DIGITAL/FILM Start Price USD 9.95 Current Price USD 9.95 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price USD 14.95 Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, November 21, 2008 End Time Friday, November 28, 2008 Location Vancouver, WA, U.S.A. See more about 'BLACK CAT Extended Range Exposure Guide - DIGITAL/FILM' Description This auction is for one Black Cat Extended Range Exposure Guide. This guide is new, in original unopened packaging and includes the manual, Universal Light Code sheet, and Scene Brightness List which extends scene listings to over 135 scenes. This tri-fold water-resistant guide measures 3 3/4 x 7 1/2 inches when folded. The back of the guide has a photographic gray card that measures 3 x 5 1/2 inches. The typical retail price for the exposure guide is US$ 19.95. Please visit this link for more information and an exellent review by Jim Doty: http://www.jimdoty.com/Tips/Exposure_Guide/exposure_guide.html DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY with the Black Cat Exposure Guide: Taking photographs with a digital camera or on film requires getting the correct exposure. If you don’t get this right you will be wasting your time. When shooting film or digital, the same rules and principles of light, speed, aperture and film speed (ISO) still apply. I call this the exposure tetrad. Many photographers assume that exposure is not a problem with digital since your results can be seen quickly. While this is an advantage, it still is necessary to get your exposure in the “ballpark” or extensive testing, reviewing and time will be required (while your batteries take a hit). This guide gives you a much needed starting point for evaluating and adjusting your exposure. For night photography you will need a digital camera that allows Manual mode shutter settings of 3-30 seconds or longer. A Bulb setting allows you to keep the shutter open as long as you depress the shutter button. A shooting mode of Auto (A) or Program Auto (P) may cause your night pictures to come out too dark. All of your shutter speeds may not be available in these modes. Full Manual mode is the preferred setting. It is always best to use the lowest ISO possible for the best image quality. As the ISO increases so does the amount of noise visible in your image. The most common problem in digital pictures is burnt out highlights that can be seen as skies with washed-out detail, or snow and waterfalls with blank white areas. Digital has no tolerance for overexposure, but takes underexposure (by a couple of stops) with ease. You may recall this same concern when photographing with transparency (slide) film. When the highlights are overexposed, there is no way to restore them, either in the camera or with software. Exposure Guide Features: Shutter speeds extend from 1/128,000 second to 27 hours. Apertures are f-1.0 to f-1,024. This aperture range is suitable for pinhole photography. ISO settings are from .1 to 1.6 million. The guide is corrected for reciprocity failure for all films. The Black Cat Extended Range Exposure Guide is comprehensive and easy to use and also works with all digital cameras. It is being used by amateur and professional photographers world-wide. The guide allows you to find the exposure you need without pouring through a maze of cumbersome dials. The guide puts all the information you need into one easy to use tool. The lighting conditions covered in the guide extend through the whole range of natural light that can be perceived by the human eye. The Black Cat arranges these conditions in a handy alphabetical SCENE list for ready reference and categorizes these lighting conditions as SCENES A-Z. These A-Z scenes form the basis for the new light code known as the Universal Light Code. The Black Cat is designed for use with all color print, slide, black and white films and digital cameras with manual controls. You also can use the guide to supplement your camera's exposure meter, your hand held meter, or a spot meter. In addition, the guide has extended exposure settings to prevent it from becoming obsolete because of changes in technology. The exposure guide is a springboard to creative photography, and gives you the confidence to take photographs in lighting situations and environments never dreamed possible. Use the following example (or see Jim Doty's link) to become familiar with use of the Black Cat Exposure Guide (see the photo of the enlarged dial set to follow this example). Assume that the subject is in full sun (what is called AVERAGE SCENE (scene B) in the Scene Listing Chart inside), and that you are using 100 speed film and a 1/125 shutter speed. 1. Guide in hand, swing the movable triangle to the bottom (normal operating position) by pressing your thumb down on the triangle while moving the triangle to the bottom of the guide. 2. Locate the number 100 (FILM SPEED) on the outside of the movable dial. 3. Locate the letter B on the outer fixed circle and line up the B with the 100 (FILM SPEED). hold this setting in place. 4. Swing the triangle so the shutter speed points to 1/125 in the window. 5. Note that the aperture is 16. Had you preferred to use a shutter speed of 1/1000, you would have swung the triangle to a shutter speed of 1/1000 and located your aperture (5.6) in the aperture window. You can choose any shutter speed or aperture combination. The following is an Email I recently received from an Ebay buyer: Dear Jim Lehman I just wanted to say what a great product the exposure guide is. I didn't realize it was "your" product when I bought it or I would have mentioned this in my ebay feedback. I am a beginner in photography and attending a weekly night school. I shall be taking along the exposure meter to my next class and recommending it. I know a lot of the students do not really understand the rules of exposure and I think the guide explains the principles even if you're not using it to take pictures - you can see how film speed, shutter and aperture are all related, so it's a great learning aid. Having bought a camera with full automatic features I find that if I use the auto features less and manual controls more my pictures improve. In fact I'm looking to buy a second hand Canon T70 or similar so I can go back to basics. I'm sure seasoned professionals have the exposure guide built-in to their subconscious but it's exactly what I need. Excellent product and good website too - the 50 rules of thumb are also going to my next class! Regards, Jim Cooke Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire United Kingdom Please see shipping calculator. International orders are accepted. All sales are final. Payment options are: eBay Online Payments via PayPal, with payment to: bcat@teleport.com Or contact: bcat@teleport.com for other options. Location for payment: 3410 Harney St. Vancouver (USA) Washington 98660-1829 Phone: 360-693-3590 Fax: 360-750-1869 Place a Bid!