Brad Linton

Incident and spot meters measure light in different ways, but the principles behind using any method of light reading are the same. ISO (speed of film), F-stop (aperture of the lens), and shutter speed (duration of exposure). These are the basic principles of properly exposing film. There is no difference between Kodak and Fuji, or a still photography and movie camera. Film is film. Yes it is possible to use a 'normal' still photo camera w/ a meter to get you light meter readings. These cameras use a spot meter, so a gray card is a good idea, as a spot meter needs a neutral surface to get an accurate reading. F-stops: This needs to be explained. 1.4 - 2 - 2.8 - 4 - 5.6 - 8 - 11 - 16 - 22 <------ these are f stops. So two stops less than 5.6 would NOT be 3.6, it would be 2.8. Don't be intimidated by all this stuff, you basically know it already and it's pretty simple anyway. A good way to practice exposing film is to take a still photography camera with manual settings and shoot a roll of film. And if you want to jump right into shooting motion picture film on your Krasnogorsk you should be ok too. I say go for it. You'll learn a lot after just one 100' roll. Good luck. And yes, light meters are expensive. -Brad