Glossary

Reciprocity failure

Also called: reciprocity, reciprocity law failure

Film loses sensitivity at very long exposures, so the meter reading is no longer enough.

The reciprocity law says doubling time and halving light should give the same exposure, but for exposures longer than about one second, film stops obeying. A nominal 30-second exposure on Portra 160 might actually need 60 seconds. Each stock has its own reciprocity curve. The app applies the right correction automatically once you select a film stock and the exposure is in the affected range.

Where this shows up in the app

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