Newbie help

[Sunno]

Hey, after reading the forum for a while I got myselfs Brian Petersons Understanding Exposure. Just a few questions regarding this, in the book and often on the forum I see people saying.. 'i exposed for the sky then took the shot, or i exposed for the foreground and took the shot.

What exactly does this involve?

Also in the book Brian mentions that he sets the relevent aperture for what he wasnt to achieve i.e. f5.6 then adjusts shutter speed untill the cameras viewfinder indicates that this is the correct exposure. I have a 400d and I dont see anything that would indicate that I have achieved 'correct exposure'. Am I missing something or is this option not available on the 400d.

Many thanks for your help guys!!!

[poloman]

I think your camera has a light meter built in. At the bottom of the viewfinder window is a scale. When the pointer is in the middle of the scale, the exposure is correct. I have a 30D so if my info is incorrect, I apologize. I am sure your camera will have a scale someplace visible in the viewfinder.

[PhotosGuy]

OT, but you'll probably like to look at these, too.
Virtual Camera
http://www.photonhead.com/simcam/
Canon: = Enjoy! Digital SLR camera =
http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/index.html
Thomas Hawk's 10 Tips for the New Digital SLR Photographer
http://thomashawk.com/2006/04/10-tips-for-new-digital-slr.html

[StewartR]

Hey, after reading the forum for a while I got myselfs Brian Petersons Understanding Exposure. Just a few questions regarding this, in the book and often on the forum I see people saying.. 'i exposed for the sky then took the shot, or i exposed for the foreground and took the shot.

What exactly does this involve?Often, the range of contrast in a scene is so great that it will be difficult for the brightest parts and the darkests parts to be captured properly by the camera. If the sky is a nice blue colour, the foreground will be too dark. Or if the foreground is a nice colour, the sky will be burned out. What Peterson is saying is that he is deciding which effect he wants (sky OK or foreground OK) and setting the metering on that basis.

Also in the book Brian mentions that he sets the relevent aperture for what he wasnt to achieve i.e. f5.6 then adjusts shutter speed untill the cameras viewfinder indicates that this is the correct exposure. I have a 400d and I dont see anything that would indicate that I have achieved 'correct exposure'. Am I missing something or is this option not available on the 400d.You are missing something. It is covered on page 71 of your manual.

However, you should be aware that if all you do is line up the exposure level indicator against the centre mark, you are setting exactly the same exposure as the camera would in Av or Tv or P mode. The trick is to know when the camera will get it right and when you need to over-ride it. There have been some very good threads here recently about Exposure compensation - you might find it useful to find them and read them.

[Sunno]

Thanks for the help guys appreciate it. I realise now what I was looking for in the viewfinder. I thought that had been showing the exposure compensation.

Great help now to get experimenting.