Metering Options NIKON
Metering Modes CANON
The meter obviously measures the light in your composition but what parts does it look at? What parts does it pay the most attention? What are it's biases?
Camera meters are way better than they used to be as they actually contain a database of image types to compare when calculating the exposure settings for you. But...they still think the world is Middle Gray. They pay more attention to the middle of the frame and the area in focus. And the exposures they give you will sometimes be wrong if you are composing complex, very dark or very light images.
The meter has been tricked here by the snow. The left is 0, middle is +1, right is +2. Plus 1.3 or 1.5 might have been "perfect."
The meter has been tricked by a a black chair and mostly black subject. The left is 0, middle is -1, right is -2. Minus 1.5 would have been "perfect."
Settings:
NIKON |
CANON |
| 3D Color Matrix: Recommended in most situations. Camera meters a wide area of the frame and sets exposure according to distribution of brightness, color, distance, and composition for natural results. | Evaluative: This is a general-purpose metering mode suited for portraits and even backlit subjects. the camera sets the exposure automatically to suit the scene. |
| Spot: Camera meters circle 4 mm (0.16 in.) in diameter (approximately 1.5% of frame). Circle is centered on current focus point, making it possible to meter off-center subjects. Ensures that subject will be correctly exposed, even when background is much brighter or darker. | Spot: This is for metering a specific spot of the subject or scene. The metering is weighted at the center covering about 2.3% of the viewfinder area. |
| Partial: Effective when the background is much brighter than the subject. Partial metering covers about 9.4% of the viewfinder area at the center. | |
| Center Weighted: Camera meters entire frame but assigns greatest weight to area in center of frame (defaults to 12-mm circle in center of viewfinder). Classic meter for portraits. | Center Weighted Average: The metering is weighted at the center and then averaged for the entire scene. |
Nikon notes taken from D3 manual. Canon notes taken from 7D manual.
Confusing Canon Icons:
Nikon Icons:
Matrix
Center Weighted
Spot
When shooting:
When would these different settings be used?
What would be your normal?