The Sunny F/16 Rule - Its not working for me!!!,

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Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone out there can help me! I'm in the process of experimenting with the "Sunny f/16" rule for an assignment for a course I'm doing. The trouble is, I'm not getting the results from the camera that one might expect when using this rule.

The rule states (and I quote from George Seper, The Photography Institute) "if working in full sun, set the aperture to f/16 and the shutter speed will be equal to the reciprocal of the ISO. In practice, for example you are shooting at an ISO of 100 in full sun; simply set the aperture to f/16 and the shutter speed to the reciprocal of the ISO, which is 1/100 second.
Some other examples are:
200 ISO = f/16 @ 1/200 sec
800 ISO = f/16 @ 1/800 sec"

I have been shooting in full sun, a wide shot of an unshaded scene and it seems my camera would need more light to get the above results...these are some of my results:-
100 ISO = f/16 @ 1/40 sec
200 ISO = f/16 @ 1/80 sec
800 ISO = f/16 @ 1/320 sec

I'd really appreciate your opinions - what am I doing wrong do you think?
 
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ISO?
 
Hi Everyone - Hi Chivers,

Thanks for your superfast replies!

Have set ISO carefully - don't think I've made a mistake on that but will check. Thanks.
 
Firstly, welcome to the forum.

Don't forget the Sunny 16 rule is just a guide and there is a marked difference between full sun at the height of summer and full sun in October, it's often better to access the strength of the sun by how sharp and defined the shadows are.
 
Ta! It's good to be here!

Ok Thanks very much. Your help is greatly appreciated!
 
AFAIK the sunny 16 rule originated in USA, California?, where the light is brighter. It may work OK in this country at the height of summer (whatever that is :D ) but I am always reminded of the slips of paper that you used to get with film that had pictures of various scenes, bright light with shadows, dark clouds etc. and settings that were applicable for those conditions.
I cannot see a reason for using it if you have a meter and know how to interpret it, adjusting if required.
I do know that other people on here, who know more about taking photos than I do, use it sometimes.
 
Hi - yeah, it seems that British October sunlight doesn't cut it for the Sunny 16!!!!

Thanks
 
I got within about 1/3rd of a stop of Sunny16 a couple of weeks ago, on a brilliantly clear day, early adfternoon. But it's October, and the slightest bit of haze will reduce that.

Also, if you're shooting at f/16, it's not unusual for the aperture to be slighly out. At high f/numbers, the slightest mechanical innaccuracy can put the aperture blades a fraction out.
 
Back in my old film days I used to use 1/125 f8 as a base, with f11 if it was a really bright summers day, so as others have said October light is lower in intensity. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your point of view, our eyes are very good at adjusting to ambient light levels, so in that sense not always a reliable guide. Nice having a biological Auto ISO settting though :D
 
artyman said:
Back in my old film days I used to use 1/125 f8 as a base, with f11 if it was a really bright summers day, so as others have said October light is lower in intensity. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your point of view, our eyes are very good at adjusting to ambient light levels, so in that sense not always a reliable guide. Nice having a biological Auto ISO settting though :D
Click to expand...

A million years ago when an impecunious student, I was (and still am) the proud possessor of a beautiful Voightlander rangefinder. I couldn't afford a lightmeter, but a professional photographer friend suggested 250th at F8 in English sunlight using ISO 100 film. It worked superbly and even allowed me, with a bit of experience, to assess settings for slightly duller conditions. I suspect the above repondants are correct in that English sunlight is a stop or two less bright than the sunny 16 rule allows for.
 
My uncle was a professional photographer. Back in the very early 1970s, when I first showed an interest in photography, he taught me that I'd never get a bad exposure with 1/125 and f8 at ISO 100. I have continued to use that as a basis ever since.
 
Sunny 16 is more of a guideline than a rule. It gives you a pretty good starting point, and should be close enough to deliver a decent image with negative film. I used it all the time when I was growing up and didn't have a meter, or a camera with built in metering, and had to rely on the exposure guide printed on the film box. You can get quite good at this, and make adjustments instinctively after a while.

I agree that there's no clear definition of 'full sun'. I don't use Sunny 16 very often now, but I do play with occasionally to see if I can still estimate exposures with any sort of accuracy. f11 normally works better for me than f16, with 1/125 and 100 ISO; but I used to live in South Africa where 'full sun' can be searing, brilliant, light and I could often use f16 at 1/250 quite easily.
 
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