Metering mode
- Thread starter A_Lee
- Start date
Otakuthugster
Guest
My Nikon D50 has Matrix, Spot, and Center metering modes. I'm guessing Partial is similar to Spot or Center and Evaluative is similar to Matrix. Spot only corrects for lighting exposure when shooting a focused subject, disregarding the surrounding area and other subjects. This means your subject will have a decent exposure, while the surrounding area may be more over/underexposed. As for Matrix, it corrects for exposure of the entire frame, averaging the incoming light from the entire area being shot. Personally, if I only had one subject to shoot, I'd go with Partial, and if you wanted a landscape shot, or a shot with multiple subjects in varying light, I'd go with Evaluative.
phishphood
Guest
Pfft, you guys should just all go back to using manual lenses 
phishphood
Guest
You know, those things that were used with good 'ol SLR's when digital didn't exist
Otakuthugster
Guest
[quote author=A_Lee link=topic=5751.msg72068#msg72068 date=1230703779]
Ah, thanks!
It also sounds as though Partial metering would be a good all around metering mode to be in then, or no?
[/quote]
Well, if my assumption is correct, in that Evaluative = Matrix, then I would stick with Evaluative. It's easier for on-the-go shots when you don't have much time to evaluate the lighting in a scene. But by all means, play around with the Paritial setting. Accurately focusing on a single subject is the key. It just takes a tad bit more time to get used to this setting. Here let me give you some examples:
Here's one where I have to take a very dark, black labrador into account. If I use the Partial setting, and focus on the lab, then I get this:
The detail in the black lab comes out pretty well, but the remainder of the shot is fairly overexposed and washed out, losing detail in my son, the corgi, the car, and the background.
Now, if I use the Evaluative setting, the shot comes out a little better, where the entire scene is better exposed but with loss in detail in the lab:
In this case, I had to sacrifice detail in the lab to compensate the remainder of the scene.
So then what happens when I just want to focus on a single subject. Well, let's take this shot as an example. I'll use and Evaluative setting first and focus somewhere in the background:
The background looks nice and green, but you can hardly see my son or wife.
Now, I'll use a Partial setting:
So, for this scene, I sacrificed the nice green backgound for more lighting towards my son and wife.
I could have, however, used a bit of flash to make the photos a little better, but that's another story.
Hope this clarifies things a little.
Ah, thanks!
It also sounds as though Partial metering would be a good all around metering mode to be in then, or no?
[/quote]
Well, if my assumption is correct, in that Evaluative = Matrix, then I would stick with Evaluative. It's easier for on-the-go shots when you don't have much time to evaluate the lighting in a scene. But by all means, play around with the Paritial setting. Accurately focusing on a single subject is the key. It just takes a tad bit more time to get used to this setting. Here let me give you some examples:
Here's one where I have to take a very dark, black labrador into account. If I use the Partial setting, and focus on the lab, then I get this:
The detail in the black lab comes out pretty well, but the remainder of the shot is fairly overexposed and washed out, losing detail in my son, the corgi, the car, and the background.
Now, if I use the Evaluative setting, the shot comes out a little better, where the entire scene is better exposed but with loss in detail in the lab:
In this case, I had to sacrifice detail in the lab to compensate the remainder of the scene.
So then what happens when I just want to focus on a single subject. Well, let's take this shot as an example. I'll use and Evaluative setting first and focus somewhere in the background:
The background looks nice and green, but you can hardly see my son or wife.
Now, I'll use a Partial setting:
So, for this scene, I sacrificed the nice green backgound for more lighting towards my son and wife.
I could have, however, used a bit of flash to make the photos a little better, but that's another story.
Hope this clarifies things a little.