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Old 01-06-2012, 04:17 PM   #201
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Join Date: Dec 1969
Posts: 171
Sunny 16

I think most people here understand the relationship between ISO, shutter and aperture settings. With that in mind, Sunny 16 says that on a sunny day you can set your aperture to f/16 and the correct shutter speed is the inverse of your ISO.

So let's say you're using digital ISO or film @ 100. Your shutter speed should be 1/100 sec (or 1/125 if your camera doesn't have 1/100). Great, but what if you don't want to shoot at f/16 or 1/100 sec? Change your setting, but adjust your other settings accordingly. If you want f/4 (4 stops) for nice DOF, then change your shutter speed 4 stops to 1/1600 sec.

If you are using ISO 400, then your base shutter speed is 1/400 sec and you can adjust from there. If it's slightly overcast, then f/11 is your base aperture and you can adjust from there. Sunny 16 just gets everything into the same playing field. The more you shoot, especially if you typically use the same speed film and have a favorite aperture range, then you get to know settings that suit various conditions.

EDIT: dammit Don, don't edit your post while I'm composing

Last edited by ride365; 01-06-2012 at 04:21 PM.
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