Sunny 16?

[dwservingHim]

I've heard the term used before that on a sunny day, f/16 is a good rule. What is the sunny 16 rule? Thanks

[RichardTaylor]

Sunny 16 rule - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[dwservingHim]

Thanks, that helps. So it's basically an exposure aid to keep in mind, to more easily find an accurate exposure?

[RichardTaylor]

Now days more like somewhere to start, before using a meter to actually measure the light. .

[OsmosisStudios]

sunny16 was a decent rule of thumb to go by when you had film and cameras had only decent meters. It also allowed you to use the zone system. It's hardly relevant now, unless your meter dies.

[ceremus]

It isn't as relevant as it used to be, but it's still a good thing for beginners to practice, especially if you're not used to thinking in terms of stops.

One of the assignments I did through a photography tutorial run was to manually set all your settings according to Sunny 16, but then futz with two of the settings and still maintain a correct exposure. So you'd start out with f/16 - 1/100 - ISO 100, and I would up the aperture one full stop to f/11, and knock the shutter speed one stop down to 1/200 to maintain equivalent light.

[beetwo77]

Most digital camera / lens combinations do not perform at their best at apertures of F16 or smaller. I rarely shoot at apertures smaller than F11 as all of my lenses are sharpest at apertures between F5.6 and F11.

On most camera / lens systems, F11 will give you ample depth of field whilst maintaining sharpness.

Do a test and shoot the same scene from a tripd at F5.6, F8, F11, F16 and compare the sharpness of the images. I am sure you will see degradation from F8 to F16.

As others have mentioned generally for digital you don't need to worry about it. Use your cameras light meter and also use live view to review shots and see hat you are happy with the m.

[zona5101]

Back in the day they had cameras that would still run if the battery/light meter died. Even had cameras without meters. Handy rule back then... not so much anymore.

[photographyxfactor]

Sunny 16 will put you in the ballpark... pretty close to where you need to be. You can tweak it from there depending on conditions.

[ccting]

F/16 @ sync speed midday + use of flash to reduce overhigh contrast ;D. Overhigh contrast results in lost detail in both too dark and too bright spots.
Now we have alternative to use ND filter, so sunny16 may not as useful nowadays, IMO?? Yes it is still useful for noobs like me who is unwilling to buy any filter...

IMO IMO IMO IMO