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04/19/2004 11:42:15 AM · #1 |
I am no expert, but I feel like I have managed to get my rebel to do an equivalent. I am not very technical usually, but I hear lots of folks complaining about this so here is my attempt to explain how it works.
1. Put camera on P mode (or other creative)
2. Press AF button (top right of back cam) and make sure it is set to center. (Can change if not by using dial)
3. Point camera to desired exposure, (i.e. if you want a very dark photo point at the sun and press star button.
4. Hold down shutter button half way and compose shot
5. click
here's a sun example (p.s don't recommend using sun, it really hurts the eyes)
71006
Maybe most of you know this, and maybe some don't I am not that eloquent I am happy to try and clarify if need be. I am sure there are limitations to this approach, but with practice and precsion I seem to be getting success with it.
Message edited by author 2004-04-19 11:43:52. |
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04/19/2004 11:44:20 AM · #2 |
[Fixed link/below]:
Originally posted by ellamay:
I am no expert, but I feel like I have managed to get my rebel to do an equivalent. I am not very technical usually, but I hear lots of folks complaining about this so here is my attempt to explain how it works.
1. Put camera on P mode
2. Press AF button (top right of back cam) and make sure it is set to center. (Can change if not by using dial)
3. Point camera to desired exposure, (i.e. if you want a very dark photo point at the sun and press star button.
4. Hold down shutter button half way and compose shot
5. click
here's a sun example (p.s don't recommend using sun, it really hurts the eyes)
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Maybe most of you know this, and maybe some don't I am not that eloquent I am happy to try and clarify if need be.
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04/19/2004 11:52:08 AM · #3 |
Hmmm...I don't see how that's doing anything good. THe AF point has no bearing on metering. Looks like you're just metering a very bright scene and then recomposing. You can do the same simply by going to manual mode and setting a faster shutter speed for x amount of stops. Metering on the sun isn't a good way of getting correct exposure on anything but the shot that you initially composed, and still doesn't solve the spot metering problem. Spot metering is designed to meter on a small point of a scene which you want to expose for, and not to simply vastly underexpose whichever scene you're trying to shoot.
I also wouldn't recommend pointing any optical equipment directly at the sun, if the sun is high in the sky. |
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04/19/2004 11:57:10 AM · #4 |
Just hold the Av+/- down and point the centre point to the 'spot' you want to expose for, then move the camera back to the composition you want. It works just fine.
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04/19/2004 12:06:48 PM · #5 |
| jimmy, just picked an extreme example, it works on more subtle 'spots' than the sun |
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04/19/2004 12:14:54 PM · #6 |
| It works because in P mode - it applies in other modes too - you get partial metering (the closest thing to spot the 300d/10d/d60 have). In default/normal operation, when you press the shutter halfway, you get an exposure (and usually focus) lock based on that partial metering. |
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04/19/2004 12:21:32 PM · #7 |
[quote=jimmythefish] Hmmm...I don't see how that's doing anything good. THe AF point has no bearing on metering.
On the rebel the AF point that is locked has much to do with the exposure.
Greg
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04/19/2004 12:32:37 PM · #8 |
Maybe I misunderstood the intent of the initial post...which I gathered to be 'point the camera at something really bright and recompose'. Sure, I understand using the partial metering and locking the exposure with the * button...that's no secret. If the centre AF point on the Rebel meters (as opposed to the partial metering on the 10D) then it does have spot metering, which is news to me. I guess the workarounds are for the Rebel users, as I just select the metering mode and be done with it.
Message edited by author 2004-04-19 12:39:29. |
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04/19/2004 12:53:42 PM · #9 |
I am less familiar with the 10d, but I did try this on one and I got the same results.
I have tried konadors approach and had less success, but that just means I am dumb, not that it does not work : ), and I will try it again because seems easy enough. |
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04/19/2004 01:01:02 PM · #10 |
Yes, you can fool your camera into using a different shutter time (you COULD of course just use manual exposure and save your eyes from staring into the sun)
But the key of SPOT metering is precision, not guesstimation, and hence this "tip" has nothing to do with spot metering.
The only workaround for spotmetering is to use an external spot meter, and use manual exposure.
h
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04/19/2004 01:05:16 PM · #11 |
If you can zoom in so the entire partial metering circle covers the object you want to meter on then you can use that work around for spot metering (as long as the camera has been set to use partial metering in the first place of course).
Message edited by author 2004-04-19 13:06:41. |
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04/19/2004 01:23:26 PM · #12 |
Sorry, I'm hardly advancing the discussion by venting my frustration with this issue.
Coming from the Sony F717 to the 10D, I don't seem to be able to replicate -never mind intuitively the spot-metering (available on the 717) with any kind of precision. Instead, it remains a crap-shoot.
Neither am I too enthusiastic about having to half-depress the shutter during my, admittedly, lengthly composure and re-composures.
I have been told, it might take six months to operate the 10D with any kind of ease and dexterity. I'm afraid, it may take longer to do so in my sleep.
Message edited by author 2004-04-19 13:24:06.
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04/19/2004 02:31:23 PM · #13 |
That is because neither the 10D nor the DR have a true spot meter. On the 10D you have only partial metering, so if what you want to meter off of fills 9% of the frame then you are ok but if it is smaller you will need to adjust the metering manually. On the Digital Rebel the metering is linked to the AF points that are locked on but it is still partial metering so you are in the same boat you were in with the 10D.
Greg
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04/19/2004 02:47:52 PM · #14 |
Page 84 of your manual explains the three metering modes available. Page 78 explains AE lock. I've never had any problems with using the partial metering mode, and since I shoot exclusively in RAW mode I have an extra 4 stops of latitude.
N |
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04/19/2004 02:53:27 PM · #15 |
Before I delved in to digital, I used an EOS 3, and then an EOS 1v, both of which have spot meters. I shot thousands of slides with them, and only used spot metering a handful of times. I think if you learn to view light properly, spot metering is highly over-rated, and completely unnecessary. And do yourself a favor, and take it out of P mode.
First, when viewing a subject, if you are in bright outdoor sunlight, know that your camera can not handle that range of light. You are guaranteed either black shadows or blown highlights. With digital, it is easy to get blown highlights. Try to find more subdued lighting if possible.
Once you find even lighting, then ordinary metering should work fine if you think for a moment. Is your overall scene lighter or darker than medium grey? If it is a forest of green trees, then it is darker than medium grey. If it is a field of yellow tulips, it is lighter than medium grey. You get the idea. Use your exposure compensation to adjust for the overall scene, or just shoot it on manual and adjust. Shoot lots and experiment, and you'll soon be able to do this without a second thought.
Really, you'll find that your regular meter works fine 80%-90% of the time. Only unusual conditions like sunsets or snow throws your meter off. I've shot over 20,000 frames on a D60 and now a 10D, and I don't miss the spot meter at all (I do miss my 45 point autofocus, however). |
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04/19/2004 03:10:13 PM · #16 |
May we please see some of your work? I have found for wildlife photography a spot meter can come in VERY handy since you usually can’t ask the animal to move over to a spot where there is even lighting. I can usually get by without a spot meter but it requires some trial and error (looking at histograms…). You are dead right about it being easy to blow the highlights with digital.
Greg
Originally posted by ScottPix:
Before I delved in to digital, I used an EOS 3, and then an EOS 1v, both of which have spot meters. I shot thousands of slides with them, and only used spot metering a handful of times. I think if you learn to view light properly, spot metering is highly over-rated, and completely unnecessary. And do yourself a favor, and take it out of P mode.
First, when viewing a subject, if you are in bright outdoor sunlight, know that your camera can not handle that range of light. You are guaranteed either black shadows or blown highlights. With digital, it is easy to get blown highlights. Try to find more subdued lighting if possible.
Once you find even lighting, then ordinary metering should work fine if you think for a moment. Is your overall scene lighter or darker than medium grey? If it is a forest of green trees, then it is darker than medium grey. If it is a field of yellow tulips, it is lighter than medium grey. You get the idea. Use your exposure compensation to adjust for the overall scene, or just shoot it on manual and adjust. Shoot lots and experiment, and you'll soon be able to do this without a second thought.
Really, you'll find that your regular meter works fine 80%-90% of the time. Only unusual conditions like sunsets or snow throws your meter off. I've shot over 20,000 frames on a D60 and now a 10D, and I don't miss the spot meter at all (I do miss my 45 point autofocus, however). |
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04/19/2004 03:26:20 PM · #17 |
Originally posted by dadas115:
May we please see some of your work? |
Google it like you mean it man!
//www.scottpix.com/ |
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04/19/2004 03:40:27 PM · #18 |
Thanks for the link. From looking at his pictures I agree that for the type of photography that he is doing it doesn’t look like a spot meter is going to make a big difference, or at least they aren’t the types of situations that I would be using a spot meter in.
You have some nice pictures and an interesting site Scott. I envy you for the amount of travelling you appear to do.
Greg
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04/19/2004 04:19:08 PM · #19 |
I find spot-metering very helpful, when you want to emphasize/isolate a subject subordinated to a setting or otherwise make a deliberate and selective creative choice. The ability to preview the result on the fly (in the viewfinder with the F717) has awarded me, precisely, the kind of shots I am now missing with the DSLR.
I am not saying that such elective metering cannot be done with the 10D. I am saying that reading page 84 and 78 of the manual may not provide you with the ability to land certain shots as easily and intuitively. Instead, it seems to me, I will have to fill in the blanks found in manuals with the kind of suffering only a lover can know.
Then, when I'm old and wise about her ways (the10D's), I can return to my own interests, one of which is taking pictures as opposed to test shots. ;-)
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