 Ben F |
Spot Metering Hi all, Just a question in relation to spot metering. I think I have a fair idea, but for you technical guru's out there, could you please explain what its used for, and how its done? I usually use my eos300v on manual settings, either choosing an apperture or shutter speed untill I get the exposure right inside the viewfinder (although I usually drop it by -.5).. Thank you kindly :PPPP
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- Evy Johansen Contact Evy Johansen Evy Johansen's Gallery |
Hi Ben, I don't have your camera... but I often use spot metering - If I want to photografe a dark forground against a light background - f.eks. - landscapes - against a light sky.... It works very well.... My Camera: Olympus C-25500L - Regards Evy
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doug Nelson |
You get accurate metering by knowing what part of the frame your meter is reading, and how it is rendering the part being read. Light meters tend to reduce what they see to a middle gray (even in color). The reason light meters work at all, averaging, partial or razzle-dazzle matrix, is that most scenes average out to a middle tonal value. If your metering is considering only a small part of the scene, you must be careful. I often read off medium green grass, a stone wall, blue sky area, anything that seems to me to be a middle tone. In an extremely contrasty scene, I split the meter coverage between a shadow and a highlight. This works well for me, because my Canon meters are not a true spot, but a 12% rectangle in the middle. What works, too, is a very simplified Zone Sytem, in which you guess how much the part being metered deviates from a middle gray. For example, we know caucasian skin is a zone (a stop) over middle gray, so you can take a reading from the subject's skin, or from your own hand (in the SAME light) and open up one stop. When you have the tme, its wise to bracket your exposure, especially with slide film. With digital there's more of a danger of blowing out highlights, so you might want to underexpose by a half stop, then a stop.
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Michael H. Cothran |
In essence, spot metering is no different than full frame average metering. It just meters on a tiny area rather than the entire image area. This enables you to hone in on a specific area in which you can base your metering. The meter will "assume" that you are aiming it at a middle gray, so you need to be careful if the area is lighter or darker, as this will cause your spot metering to be off. Michael H. Cothran www.mhcphoto.net
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Jon Close |
Doug and Michael covered why... >>"Can anyone with my camera, or knows my camera maybe inform me how I would perform "spot metering"...<< The 300v (aka Rebel Ti) doesn't technically have "Spot" metering. It does have "Partial" metering, which is similar, but measures a larger area (~9.5% at the viewfinder's center instead of 1-3% for spot). Partial metering is only available in the Creative modes (P, Av, Tv, M) and is activated when the AE Lock button is pressed (the "*" thumb button on the upper right side of the camera's back). If you don't have it, the user manual for the 300v/Rebel Ti is available at http://consumer.usa.canon.com/app/pdf/slr/Rebel_Ti_manual.pdf.
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