metering, which is best?

Matt L

Matt L

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Matt
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as my camera doesnt let me specically chose where i want to be 'metered' and as i have never really understood it completely could someone tell me which is the best to use please.

partial, evaluative and spot.

edit: I think i need to be told how to use the metering options on my camera more than which is best tbh :(

thanks in advance
 
You're asking a huge question actually Matt. Taking the simplistic route to answer it, and as you honestly admit your understanding is limited then use evaluative metering - it will get you good to acceptable results most of the time without any grey matter usage on your part. That's not a put down - I use evaluative myself a lot of the time. With evaluative metering your focusing screen is divided into a number of different sections. Each section is metered individually and on board software analyses the results to select an average which should give you a good exposure. It's usually pretty accurate and where it's not, it's usually within the bounds of editing to correct it. Also of course you have the preview screen and histogram to check if you need to take another shot.

Partial and spot metering measure the light on much smaller areas of the screen, but require you to assess the tones in the overall scene to decide where you actually want to place that smaller area to take the meter reading. Without a pretty good understanding of basic exposure technique these methods aren't going to be much practical use to you quite honestly.

Sorry if it sounds like a cop out, which I suppose it is rather, but a book on basic exposure technique would be a great investment for any aspiring photographer. A Google search will throw up a gazillion articles on the subject too no doubt. :)
 
CT's explanation covers all the basic ideas. The best thing you can do is test each metering option in a real situation and see how they work and then through experience you'll learn when each is most suitable.
 
I'll also agree with CT. There are times when it is an advantage to switch to spot metering but you really need to be able to look at what is in front of you and know which part to meter from to get the result you want. Reading and experience are required.

It's one of the huge advantages of digital is that you can change modes and see the results instantly without the need for notebooks and analysing the results when the film got back.
 
I think it's all there in CT's post, ie:

Use evaluative, that will get you close. Check the LCD and histogram (see handbook - v easy) and add some + compensation if it's too dark, or - compensation if it's too light.

But you need to understand what's going on. Read up on that, it's really not that difficult :)
 
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