Sunny 16 Rule, Keeping It Within The Exposure Triangle

Sunny 16 Rule: A fully manual exposure session with the Fujifilm Finepix S2 Pro and a legacy Nikon Series E 35mm f/2.5.

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While fully manual shooting is possible with most modern digital cameras fitted with PASM (Program, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, Manual) modes, there are situations with earlier digital SLR cameras, for example, the Nikon D80 and Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro, where the camera does not meter when mounted with legacy lenses.

A way to avoid this situation is to use the 'Sunny 16 Rule' as a guide for estimating the correct exposure for a photograph taken on a sunny day without using a light meter.

The Sunny 16 rule states, 'On a sunny day, set the aperture to f/16 and shutter speed to the [reciprocal of the] ISO film speed [or ISO setting] for a subject in direct sunlight.' So, if you're shooting at ISO 100, set the aperture to f/16 and shutter speed to 1/90 or 1/125 sec. The rule is based on incident light rather than reflected light and is less susceptible to errors caused by high-contrast scenes.

The rule is also flexible, can be interpolated, and should work as long as the camera settings are maintained within the recommendations of the exposure triangle. To adjust to variations of the bright daylight conditions, the aperture should be adjusted to f/11 for a slight overcast, f/8 for overcast conditions, f/5.6 for heavy overcast, and f/4 for sunset or twilight sessions.

For a grainy black-and-white night shot, set the camera ISO speed to 1600, the lens aperture to its widest, and 'chimp' your way through a bracket of shutter speeds (say 1/90, 1/125, and 1/180 sec. or nearest) to get the best exposure possible. Further tweaks and converting the image to black-and-white, if you are shooting in JPEG colors, are recommended on the desktop image editor at a later stage.

The Series E 35mm f/2.5, a legacy lens produced for the Nikon EM (1979), FG (1982), and FG20 (1984) 35mm SLR camera series, is noted as capable of producing sharp images, especially when stopped down, though not for any explicit bokeh quality. A good copy of the lens, which is pretty old by now, may still have its smooth focusing action and the long focus throw that is frequently commented on. The lens focuses down to 0.3 meters with decent macro capabilities.

Legacy lenses, older lenses originally designed for film cameras, such as 35mm or medium format systems, are characterized by their manual focusing capabilities and are frequently sought after for their unique optical qualities. The manual focus lenses group, on the other hand, also includes modern lenses designed without autofocus, which may feature advanced optical formulas and are built with exotic materials, targeted to enthusiasts who prefer the tactile experience of manual focusing or specific artistic effects.

Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro, Nikon Series E 35mm f/2.5

As with the Nikon D80, the Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro's menu system does not list a lens registry item to index the focal length of the lens, and the camera is not fitted with an aperture coupling arm either, a feature, when available on other cameras, enables the aperture of the lens to be controlled by the camera automatically. Shooting with the Series E 35mm f/2.5 lens mounted is fully manual.

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Sunny 16 Rule, Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8

In the community garden, fully manual exposures with a 10MP Nikon D80 and a Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8.

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While some of us may think that the Sunny 16 rule is a leftover from the past, where images captured on older cameras need to be exposed manually, the rule is still valid and usable today, even with a digital camera. This is a case in point where I am using a vintage Nikon digital SLR camera, the 10.2MP CCD Nikon D80, introduced in 2006, mounted with an equally vintage manual focus Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8 lens, introduced in 1995.

The Nikon D80, an entry-level digital SLR camera, does not come with the 'Non-CPU Lens Data' input option, nor does it have the aperture-indexing finger for metering with older 'AI' lenses.

This means that when mounted with a vintage MF lens, say Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8 (an excellent choice for a starter lens), the D80 does not work in any of its automated exposure (Program, Aperture, or Shutter priority) modes. Exposures are executed manually with the mode dial set to M, and the camera prepped with the appropriate ISO and shutter speed settings.

As with images from the community garden where these test shots were taken (and others as well), learning the basics of the Sunny 16 Rule for manual exposures is fairly easy and straightforward.

Nikon D80, Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8

First, prep the camera with the ISO speed setting to 100 or 200, and the Shutter speed similarly to 1/100 or 1/200 (or to the nearest) second. Next, set the lens aperture opening based on the lighting condition of the scene: 1:16 for Sunny, 1:11 for Slightly Cloudy, 1:8 for Cloudy, 1:5.6 for Overcast, 1:4 for Dark Skies, and 1:2.8 for Low Light conditions. Last, frame and focus the scene, and shoot away.

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Sunny 16 Rule, Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 90mm 1:2.5

Image making with a Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 90mm 1:2.5 on a 10MP CCD Nikon D80 with fully manual exposures.

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Still learning the 'Sunny 16 Rule' here, with a set of close-up images from the garden shot on the 10MP CCD Nikon D80 mounted with a manual focus Tamron SP 90mm 1:2.5 Adaptall-2 Macro. The 10MP CCD Nikon D80 does not have the 'Non-CPU Lens Data' menu item or enter information about non-CPU lenses, and the aperture-indexing finger for full-aperture metering with older 'AI' lenses.

When mounted with old-school legacy lenses, the D80 can only be used in fully manual mode, which makes for an interesting challenge and a learning path.

The whole idea here is not to let an excellent vintage enthusiast-grade digital SLR camera, such as the Nikon D80, go to waste by wanting it to be mounted with only CPU AF lenses or letting the cult classic Tamron SP 90mm 1:2.5 Adaptall-2 Macro be mounted only on auto-exposure cameras. Kit the two together, learn to set the exposure manually, and you will enjoy photography more than you expected.

The 'Sunny 16 Rule', which says that 'On a sunny day set aperture to f/16 and shutter speed to the [reciprocal of the] ISO film speed [or ISO setting] for a subject in direct sunlight,' is an easy way to set your camera’s exposure if you are shooting fully manual or with a fully manual camera. These images were exposed at 1/200 second, ISO 200, with the lens aperture opening set to between f2.5 and f5.6.

Nikon D80, Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 90mm 1:2.5

Start with the basic setting of the ISO speed to 100, the lens aperture opening to f/16, and the shutter speed to 1/100 or the nearest available on the camera. When ISO (ASA) 200 film is used, set the aperture at f/16 and the shutter speed to 1/200 or 1/250 second.

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Sunny 16 Rule, Nikon Series E 35mm f/2.5

First take with a Nikon Series E 35mm f/2.5 on a 10MP CCD Nikon D80, fully manual exposures.

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Here I am, looking for a new drift in trying to catch the wind towards re-kindling the interest of doing still photography in fully manual exposure modes, as we did in the early days of film photography, doing it this time, though, with a digital SLR camera that only permits manual shooting mode when mounted with an old-school focus lens.

The Nikon D80, an enthusiast-grade DSLR, launched together with the semi-professional Nikon D200 in 2006, is the model I am referring to, and the lens, an equally vintage Nikon Series E 35mm f/2.5.

The D80 comes with a 6MP CCD sensor, and has the screw-mount autofocus drive, but lacks the 'Non-CPU Lens Data' menu item or entering information about non-CPU lenses, and the aperture-indexing finger for full-aperture metering with older 'AI' lenses. When used with these old-school manual focus lenses, the D80 will only work in Manual mode, with the option of setting the ISO, shutter speed, and lens aperture opening manually.

To get things going, these are the first batch of shots I did earlier in the morning, and as recommended, the shots were taken in color (1/100 second, ISO 100) and converted to monochrome on the tabletop image editor. On the conversion route, the images were tweaked with the green filter overlay and a 50% increase in contrast. 'Chimping' was also used during the shoot, as I did so to bracket the shots.

Nikon D80, Nikon Series E 35mm f/2.5

The Nikon Series E lenses are also acknowledged for their excellent performance and should not be just left aside when they can still be put to good use. To get you started on the same quest as well, the Sunny 16 Rule is the way to go.

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