The means by which a camera automatically determines exposure settings such as shutter speed, aperture, and ISO (sensitivity).
3
votes
2answers
77 views
Can a grey card be used in place of a flash meter?
I've been trying to improve my flash/studio skills. Googling around, I see that some tutorials use a flash meter to set ratios, two stops for white background...
I'd rather not buy another piece of ...
8
votes
4answers
856 views
How can I work around metering issues with adapted lenses on a Canon DSLR?
I have a bunch of Contax lenses (C/Y mount) and a mount adapter with "dandelion" chips. This should allow me to use my lenses on any Canon DSLR using aperture mode and stopping down the lens. Thanks ...
2
votes
1answer
141 views
Why is my Canon EOS 40D getting wrong exposure after focusing screen change?
I have just changed the focusing screen; something I have done now a few times. Now "normal" metering does not occur in auto or manual focus. In live view all ok. Using the eyepiece produces exposure ...
12
votes
2answers
3k views
What is the difference between luminance and illuminance?
The more I read about this, the more confused I become. Illuminance, as I understand it, measured in lux, is the perceived brightness of light on a surface. It's what you'd measure with an incident ...
1
vote
3answers
229 views
How do TTL flash metering systems calculate how much power is needed?
Does anyone know how TTL calculates the amount of power to put in after the preflash is done? I understand that the value is somewhat brand specific, but what is the general logic? Because if you ...
1
vote
4answers
349 views
How to meter for manual bounce flash?
I use a Yungnuo flash in manual mode. I use it mostly indoors, so I bounce the flash off the ceiling. What is a good approach to read the camera metering and make adjustments to flash intensity?
My ...
1
vote
4answers
139 views
What exactly does TTL flash sets its power to?
I understand that TTL flash means the flash will preflash and try to calculate the right exposure for that particular scene. That part makes sense, but what exactly is the "right exposure"? Does it ...
12
votes
3answers
7k views
How well do smart phone light meter apps work?
There are a number of smart phone apps which use the phone's camera as a light meter. How well do these work?
The metering built into most modern cameras is very powerful and accurate, but in some ...
16
votes
4answers
7k views
How do I “focus and recompose” using spot metering?
I usually use the "[auto]focus and recompose" method for taking candid photographs. In situations where there is a high degree of contrast, I would like to use spot metering to correct expose for ...
2
votes
4answers
233 views
Why doesn't my camera capture a dark picture when it looks dark to the human eye?
I tried searching for this, but found nothing on this topic:
is there a way to set the camera to get images in around the brightness a human eye sees?
For example, in bright daylight, I would set it ...
1
vote
2answers
219 views
When to use exposure lock with spot metering and when to use exposure compensation?
I was taking a snap on a sunny day, and the subject was in front of light source and subject was shadowed out(or blackened) In this case is it better to use partial/spot metering mode (zoom in to face ...
9
votes
2answers
334 views
How can I expose a waterfall scene correctly?
Last day, I was photographing a waterfall. It was a bright day and I was shooting around 2-3 in the afternoon.
I set aperture to f/11 and took the meter reading pointing camera towards the sky. ...
7
votes
3answers
765 views
Metering strategies for time lapse
In short, my question is: what are the best metering strategies when shooting a time lapse sequence to avoid visible fluctuations in brightness? I'd like to make the day-to-night transition look ...
1
vote
3answers
508 views
Best metering mode for m42 prime lens?
Recently, I got some old m42 prime lens from Ebay and started playing with them with my Canon T3i/600d. However, it's difficult to get sharp pictures with these manual focus lens as there is no AF ...
12
votes
4answers
3k views
How should I learn to understand Canon's metering?
Spot metering is my preferred metering mode on the Canon 50D. This allows me to nail the exposure first time -- 99% of the time -- by using AE-lock on my subject and applying the desired amount of ...
2
votes
3answers
582 views
What metering mode should one use with autoexposure (AE) lock on the Nikon D700?
I will be visiting Morocco in week's time.
I usually use matrix metering when taking photographs.
However I have read that using the autoexposure (AE) Lock on the Nikon D700 one should use center- ...
13
votes
8answers
593 views
What exposure mode and techniques should I use when out-and-about?
I'm interested to hear what exposure/metering techniques people use when taking out-and-about shots (no tripod). I almost always have my camera set to Aperture Priority mode, and I suspect most people ...
3
votes
2answers
138 views
How do i set studio flash power for a film camera without TTL/OTF metering
I have just bougnt an old fully manual medium format camera to play with, nothing serious.
anyway on the lens there is a flash attachment point, which got me thinking:
How do i decide on flash and ...
4
votes
2answers
217 views
Do point and shoot cameras have a metering sensor?
I have a Pentax point and shot camera and I tried to convert it to Infrared. I was successful to remove the front IR filter from CCD and then I had a 760 nm IR filter to kick start with the infrared ...
6
votes
1answer
301 views
What is the device held near the subject's face in this picture?
I have seen this device that is used widely in filmmaking. What is this device and what is it used for?
36
votes
5answers
3k views
When best to use Multi-Zone/Matrix, Spot, or Center-Weight?
What are Multi-Zone/Matrix metering, Center-Weighted metering, and Spot metering? What about Partial?
Is there a good rule of thumb, or a few pointers, on when best to use each metering mode?
4
votes
3answers
243 views
Metering mode for fireworks shooting
Following up from this question I would like to know what could be the correct metering mode that I should use to shoot fireworks? Since evaluative mode could be tricked here since the a large area of ...
6
votes
5answers
416 views
Is it usual that a narrow aperture gives a darker picture in aperture priority mode?
I have a Nikon D60 camera here with a Nikkor 35 mm 1:1.8G lens. I don't have any experience with any other digital SLR, so excuse the beginner question.
When using aperture priority mode, a narrower ...
16
votes
4answers
848 views
Where is it best to meter for sunrise and sunsets?
I can never get nice silhouettes and appropriate exposures for sunrise and sunset. How should I meter for this?
3
votes
1answer
111 views
How do dedicated light meters account for light transmittance?
Dedicated light meters seem to be well-regarded for their versatility and accuracy of metering.
What puzzles me about them is how can they account for the different light transmittance of different ...
11
votes
5answers
953 views
How do I effectively photograph when the sun is in the frame?
I have been trying to get a good shot out of direct sunlight but my shots just turn out dark, even if I set my shutter speed to the 1000-4000 range at ISO 200. Another odd thing is that even if my ...
1
vote
2answers
183 views
What settings do I need for shooting a candid against the sky?
I have Canon 1000D. Most of the times I use canon 50MM F1.8.
I use evaluative metering and single point (center) auto focus.
What setting do I need to change to have metering of sky (say red of ...
14
votes
5answers
580 views
What's a good ad-hoc replacement for a gray card?
I know that a real gray card is the best thing to use to determine exposure. But I'd like to know if there are other naturally available features that can be used in a quick and dirty way. Are fields ...
2
votes
1answer
268 views
What is the reason for underexposure in my film photographs?
Thanks to all the quality answers I got here that helped me to buy a film camera. I got my first roll of film processed and printed.
The print results are not as pleasing as looking at the slides ...
2
votes
3answers
365 views
What metering mode should be used for an HDR shot?
Maybe I'm over thinking this, but I think evaluative is the best being that it would give you the "best" balance of light across the scene. Is it dependent on the scene/mood at the time like a ...
4
votes
1answer
216 views
How do I keep the view finder light meter info on, on a Canon EOS1100D?
How do I keep the light meter display on in the view finder while using manual mode? I find that the display only stays on for a short while which is annoying when trying to set aperture and shutter ...
3
votes
1answer
702 views
What is the EV scale?
I have seen an "EV" (exposure value) scale that's sometimes used to express a camera's exposure settings, or scene brightness. How exactly does this scale work?
4
votes
1answer
269 views
Do I need a $600 light meter or will a $250 one do?
I want to learn more about light and I think finally getting a light meter will help do the trick. I'd like to see the amount of light coming from different light bulbs and the differences in the sun ...
1
vote
1answer
915 views
When to use different combinations of TTL/TTL-BL and Spot/Matrix metering?
I am trying to teach myself flash photography, and I am currently confused about metering modes. In what shooting conditions would each the following metering modes be best-suited? (And why do they ...
0
votes
2answers
2k views
Why is exposure meter reading not changing in Manual mode?
I own a Nikon D90.
I am new to exposure setting. In Manual mode, I could see the exposure meter changing towards right of zero and towards left of zero informing about under exposure and over ...
9
votes
6answers
412 views
Why can't digital camera sensors expose each photosite individually?
Why is it impossible for camera sensors to function the way the human eye can?
What I mean is, why does a certain portion of the image have to be over/underexposed if we compensate for dark and light ...
2
votes
1answer
236 views
How important is lack of color matrix metering and 100% viewfinder in Nikon F100 compared to Nikon F5?
I'm planning to buy a film camera. I'm undecided between Nikon F100 and Nikon F5. The major differences that I could figure out from Thom Hogan's review are:
Pro F100:
F100 is lighter than the ...
29
votes
6answers
6k views
How do I use spot metering?
What's the right way to use spot metering? Is it better to use in manual mode than one of the priority modes?
There's a question about when to use spot metering, but none that serves as a tutorial to ...
29
votes
12answers
2k views
What situations are best suited for spot metering?
I have found myself using spot metering on several occasions in order to get the right exposure, such as sunsets and on bright days with a subject in the shade. What other situations are well suited ...
6
votes
3answers
859 views
How to get meter reading for a DSLR if not from a gray card?
I read an article called Expose (to the) Right, which explained why you should try to get the graph of the histogram as much to the right of the scale as possible. The reasoning is that DSLRs record ...
9
votes
0answers
333 views
How do I avoid a dark subject when there's bright sunlight from windows? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do you avoid a dim portrait with a bright background and no external flash?
I recently shot some photos at a friend's wedding. The location was lovely with lots of ...
4
votes
5answers
2k views
How do I check the exposure meter reading on a DSLR?
I'm a beginner, and I have a Nikon D5100. Many times I come across the suggestion to "Check the meter reading for exposure."
Where can I find this reading and how do I read it?
12
votes
2answers
414 views
How do I use the +/- scale of the light meter in my camera?
I have just recently used the metering scale. I assume that if the scale arrow points in the middle, this means that the camera detects that the current exposure settings are the "right" ones.
...
4
votes
2answers
902 views
What is a light meter, how do I use one, and for what sort of digital photography do I need one?
What is a light meter?
How do I use one?
What sort of photography will fool a digital camera's meter? Hence for those you do need to meter.
3
votes
2answers
288 views
How to calculate exposure time for Fuji Velvia RVP 50 using a DSLR spot meter?
I have a couple of RVP 50 rolls I would like to experiment with -
The idea is to set up a tripod and use a Canon 5D MK2 in ISO 50 mode
for composition focusing and exposure metering, then replace the
...
10
votes
1answer
360 views
Why isn't TTL metering accurate when using a non-electronic lens?
I recently bought a Lensbaby lens and I played with it a lot. Then lens is awesome but I have one big and annoying problem and is that TTL metering fails miserably when using P, TV and M modes.
I ...
8
votes
3answers
334 views
Does spot/partial metering always assume 18%?
I'm beginning to work on understanding and hopefully effectively using different metering modes in my photography. I have done some reading and understand the benefit of using spot and partial ...
31
votes
6answers
2k views
Why use a dedicated light meter instead of the one built into the camera?
I know a few people who carry around a dedicated light meter unit (such as this one by Sekonic) and use that to meter photos instead of using the meter built into their cameras (and these are ...
5
votes
1answer
386 views
What is the logic behind “Brother Backlit Sky” in the book Understanding Exposure?
I don't know if this question is too specific, but after reading Understanding Exposure, I can't understand very well the reasons and logic behind Brother Backlit Sky and their brothers. Although I ...
10
votes
6answers
596 views
What are typical situations where you should use auto-exposure lock (AE-L)?
What are the typical situations where you should use AE for locking exposure?
