My photography and lighting calculator

Download:

• my new photographic lighting and depth of field calculator for Windows® 

  • freeware time limited version (expires in 2011) (~475kb zip file) - just unzip to your drive, run and have fun.

  • it is still in its early stages, but hope you will find it useful.

  • current version is 1.11

What it can do:

• once you choose the type of camera film/sensor from a drop down box of possible values, it will determine the sensor size, circle of confusion, and 35mm equivalent crop factor.

• enter an actual lens focal length and f/ratio and it will determine the 35mm equivalent lens focal length & the hyperfocal length.

• enter a camera to subject distance and it will calculate the near and far depth of field.

• now comes the powerful part - studio lighting calculations:

  • enter in the ISO and optionally select a lens filter such as polariser or ND

  • enter in values for the guide numbers (GN) measured in meters for ISO 100 for each of the lights and optionally the power settings, then the effective GN for the selected ISO will be determined taking into account power setting and lens filter.

  • set a fill light fill-ratio in f-stops and it will automatically calculate the needed fill light to subject distance as you alter either the f/ratio of the lens or the main light to subject distance (as this will automatically change the f/ratio).

  • similarly set the hair light desired relative exposure compared to main light and it will calculate the hair light to subject distance.

  • optionally set the colour of the background by right clicking on it

  • determine the approximate effect on the background visually by selecting which light will light it from the drop down box:

    • if you choose the background light, then you will need to adjust the background light to background distance with the slider to get the desired effect

    • if you choose the main light or fill light, then ensure you have the subject to background distance set so when you adjust the light to subject distance, this will appropriately demonstrate the effect on the background.

  • the ambient light setting automatically calculates the approximate shutter speed for the given ISO, lens filter & f/ratio to correctly expose for ambient light.

• it can do lots more, check out the version history (see below).

Installation:

• this is only designed for Win 9x, Win ME, Win 2000, Win XP/XP Pro, it may run in Windows emulation mode on Apple Macs but I have not tested it.

• just download the zip file and open it, extract the exe file and copy to a new folder on your hard drive then run it.

• it does not create any Windows registry entries and can be uninstalled by deleting the folder that you installed it to.

• it does create a ini. file in the same folder to store location information - this may not work if the user does not have write permissions for that folder.

• I have made every reasonable effort to ensure there are no viruses in the zip file

Known issues:

• known issues that will be addressed in future versions:
  • cannot store your own settings to reload
• please email me if you have any comments good or bad (gna@netspace.net.au)

Version history:

• 1.06:
  • added the ability to determine the following information based on a given location and a date & time:
    • moon rise, set time, phase of moon, dates for 1stQ, full moon, 2ndQ, new moon.
    • sun rise, set times, elevation from horizon, visual position on a compass and its angle from north - this will help predict lighting conditions for outdoor work, especially at a location you are not familiar with.
  • added a model comfort calculator:
    • determines "apparent temperature" for shade and sun for a model - just give the air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and sun elevation (this can be automatic from the above calculator).
• 1.05:
  • minor bug fix for international users for bug introduced in v1.04
• 1.04:
  • adds the following features:
    • studio lighting tool now also calculates:
      • angle of view of lens
      • size of subject area at a given focus point from the camera
      • size of backdrop required
      • shutter speed for ambient lighting for different EV values in addition to bright sunlight and allows setting desired exposure level for ambient light
      • use of a reflector as fill light
    • colour temperature conversion filter calculator - you give the film type & the scene & it will determine which filters you need.
    • flash guide number conversion calculator - meters to feet and for converting from one ISO to another
    • determine flash distance or camera f/ratio for a flash GN
    • description of, and calculator for the S+L=A+T (SLAT) exposure system
    • description of the Zone System
    • calculator for macro-photography - calculate magnification and exposure compensation when using extension tubes or bellows
    • calculator for astrophotography:
      • calculate f/ratios, effective focal length & image size of some astronomical objects
      • allows for prime focus, negative projection or afocal methods.
• 1.03:
  • resolves bug in "power setting of 1/32nd"
• 1.02:
  • resolves bug in international use of decimal separators in numbers so Europeans can use comma as their decimal separator
• 1.01:
  • resolves bug in international dates

   

Example of screen: