D70s Metering

AlanW wrote:

I have been practicing with my D70s for about 3 months now. I am also
trying to improve my photographic skills. In the process, I shoot most
photos in Aperture priority mode; make EV adjustments; and have used
the bracketing feature as well. So far, my results (exposure wise)
have been mixed using the Spot metering feature on the camera. I
consulted the manual and tried using the center weighted metering mode
- results still mixed.

I would welcome insights regarding spot metering versus center weight
metering. Pros and cons as well as any practical guidance regarding
their use.

Thanks,
Alan

I'd be inclined to avoid any automatic exposure modes with spot metering.
All that will do is make whatever is in the spot at the time 18% grey.
Almost guaranteed to be not what you want. I would use the spot meter to
measure several parts of the scene and then decide what exposure I wanted
to use to get the desired effect. Using manual of course.

Having said all that I find that the matrix mode gets it right most of the
time so hardly ever use anything else.

Ronnie

Ronnie Sellar skrev:


I'd be inclined to avoid any automatic exposure modes with spot metering.
All that will do is make whatever is in the spot at the time 18% grey.

Think it is to look at it at a rather rudimentary way. All types of
light measuring (in this connection) are in relation to what equals
12-18% gray


Almost guaranteed to be not what you want. I would use the spot meter to
measure several parts of the scene and then decide what exposure I wanted
to use to get the desired effect. Using manual of course.

Having said all that I find that the matrix mode gets it right most of the
time so hardly ever use anything else.

Ronnie
Ok, but you dont know exactly what you are measuring at. Spot solves
that problem.

--
Med venlig hilsen, Ole Larsen.
New Images And Design 2005-11-17
http://home.tiscali.dk/muggler

Ole Larsen wrote:

Ronnie Sellar skrev:


I'd be inclined to avoid any automatic exposure modes with spot metering.
All that will do is make whatever is in the spot at the time 18% grey.

Think it is to look at it at a rather rudimentary way. All types of
light measuring (in this connection) are in relation to what equals
12-18% gray


Agreed, but my point was that using an auto exposure mode with spot metering
only takes into account what is under the spot at the time of the exposure.
You are almost guaranteed to wrongly expose the rest of the image and quite
possibly the part under the spot too if it's not 12-18% grey (or
equivalent). That's why you should use several spot readings from the
scene to determine the correct exposure and use manual. As to what the
correct exposure is that's another argument. ;-)


Almost guaranteed to be not what you want. I would use the spot meter to
measure several parts of the scene and then decide what exposure I wanted
to use to get the desired effect. Using manual of course.

Having said all that I find that the matrix mode gets it right most of
the time so hardly ever use anything else.

Ronnie
Ok, but you dont know exactly what you are measuring at. Spot solves
that problem.


Agreed.

Ronnie

I've read all the responses and agree. But I had this problem with my
conversion to digital via D70. I use a grey card to read from plus my
understanding of spot metering & the zone system. Generally my RAW photos
are very close to perfect regarding exposure.

So conclusion the old methods of good exposure still apply.

Bruce
"Ole Larsen" wrote in message
...
Ronnie Sellar skrev:


I'd be inclined to avoid any automatic exposure modes with spot
metering.
All that will do is make whatever is in the spot at the time 18% grey.

Think it is to look at it at a rather rudimentary way. All types of
light measuring (in this connection) are in relation to what equals
12-18% gray


Almost guaranteed to be not what you want. I would use the spot meter
to
measure several parts of the scene and then decide what exposure I
wanted
to use to get the desired effect. Using manual of course.

Having said all that I find that the matrix mode gets it right most of
the
time so hardly ever use anything else.

Ronnie
Ok, but you dont know exactly what you are measuring at. Spot solves
that problem.

--
Med venlig hilsen, Ole Larsen.
New Images And Design 2005-11-17
http://home.tiscali.dk/muggler

In message ,
"Bruce" wrote:

I've read all the responses and agree. But I had this problem with my
conversion to digital via D70. I use a grey card to read from plus my
understanding of spot metering & the zone system. Generally my RAW photos
are very close to perfect regarding exposure.

Perfect for what? Perfect like a slide, or perfect for maximum
signal-to-noise and signal-to-digitization_artifacts ratios?

So conclusion the old methods of good exposure still apply.

Not necessarily; not if you want the best shadows. 12-bit digital
cameras have poor shadow quality, and it is advantageous to come just
short of clipping the RAW data. For a low-contrast scene, this could
easily be a couple stops or more hotter than what would be considered
classic exposure for film.
--


John P Sheehy