What kind of metering to use

[clkgtr37]

The reason I am asking this question is because I have recently been experiencing quite a bit of over-exposure when shooting with my D30. I dont know if it is just my camera or if this happens alot with the D30. I was wondering if it can be helped by using a certain type of metering (ie spot or centerweighted). I am still in search of a way to get the contrast found in most film cameras out of my digital. I just bought a 70-200 2.8 IS in hopes that this will bring out better contrast and an overall better picture, but I am yet to find a solution for my overexposure an low contrast pictures. I would be grateful for any help.

[Roger_Cavanagh]

Blair,

First of all, here a quote from a post on Rob Galbraith's forum explaining how to check exposure is working OK.

Chuck Westfall wrote:
1. Obtain a Kodak Q-14 Color Separation Guide and Gray Scale (CAT 152 7662) from your photo dealer.

2. Set up the Gray Scale indoors in typical overhead room lighting and mount your D30 on a tripod. Position the camera roughly 5 feet from the target and parallel to it. Zoom the lens to fill the frame from left to right. Aim the central focusing point at zone 8 on the Gray Scale. Make sure the subject is focused, then shut off the AF.

3. Set the D30 to Manual mode with Partial metering. (DO NOT use an automatic exposure mode.) Other camera settings will be manually selected center focusing point, auto white balance, single frame advance or self-timer, IS0 100, and any JPEG setting you like.

4. Set an aperture of f/8 and, while looking through the viewfinder, adjust the shutter speed until the exposure level indicator lines up in the middle of the exposure level scale.

5. Take a series of non-flash exposures at, over and under the D30's recommended exposure level, using shutter speed as your adjustment. (Note: the camera defaults to 1/2 stop settings, but you can change this to 1/3 stops if you like by means of C.Fn. 4.

6. Examine the resulting images in Photoshop, using the Info palette set for Grayscale (K) values. The K reading for Zone 8 should be at about 65%. Check your images and see which image matches this figure most closely.

Back to your question assuming your camera is working ok. :) Personally, I use centre-weighted metering. Initially, I was using evaluative, but results seemed to be inconsistent. I read a lot of posts that recommended CW instead. Don Cohen (http://www.dlcphotography.net/index.html) reports metering method on the beautiful images his site and he mostly uses CW. I emailed him about times when he chose different methods. He said that one big problem was blowing the white feathers on birds, but a spot meter was really needed to sort this, but he was experimenting to try to identify situations where using something other than CW would give better results.

I think it is important to pay close attention to the histogram and be prepared to compensate. If you use manual, obviously just adjust shutter/aperture as necessary or with shutter and aperture priority modes dial in some exposure compensation. I often find that I am dialling +/- 0.5 for a series of shots in the same conditions. I _never_use any of the easy shooting modes.

I got the 70-200LIS a little while ago - great lens, you'll love it!

Don't forget that sometimes conditions are such that you won't get good contrast. So you fix things in post-processing. Here's a post that shows precisely this:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3044

Regards,

[lazoj]

I use this mode 100% of the time exposing for the highlights. If a neutral tone is in the shot I meter off of it. Using EC you can adjust for all situations.

[clkgtr37]

Thank you so much for the help Roger. I went out today and shot a few pictures on manual with CW metering and cannot believe the difference. One other question, what parameters do you use while shooting?

[Roger_Cavanagh]

clkgtr37 wrote:
Thank you so much for the help Roger. I went out today and shot a few pictures on manual with CW metering and cannot believe the difference.

:)

One other question, what parameters do you use while shooting?

I set the parameters back to normal. I _always_ shoot raw with linear conversion and process using Pekka's wonderful LinearSharpen, so everything but white balance is irrelevant.

If you have Photoshop and haven't tried LS yet, you really, really should.

Before going exclusively to linear, I still shot raw and used low contrast and sharpening, on the grounds that adjustments were better made in post-processing, and either normal (for people) or high saturation (nature, landscapes, etc.)

Regards,

[jonsimpson]

Speaking of metering.......this response may expose how either "dim" or naive I am...but did you know that the evaluative, center weighted and partial metering modes do NOT move when you move the focusing point.

Duh. Took me long enough to figure that one out.

Shot a guy in a black sweater....using the side focusing point and center weighted.
His black sweater looks stunning. But his face looks like something
from the movie "Ghosts".

[clkgtr37]

Jon, we all go through that, take it as a learning experience. When I was racing shifter karts my team manager gave me some good advice that would apply here....

"If you don't get glory out of it, at least get a laugh"

Good luck in the future.