So how important is a Spot Meter anyway?

[TexKen]

So one of the more notable improvements of the 30D is the addition of the spot meter. How important do you all think it is (and yes I understand it depends what you'll use it for)?

[ofdphoto]

I'm looking forward to having a spot meter when I'm shooting high-contrast scenes and don't have much time to pick a good neutral area to meter off. Or when I'm shooting landscapes with tricky light and want to just pick an isolated part of the scene to meter. But in the grand scheme of things, it's not like spot metering isn't something you can do without ...

[Mark_Cohran]

Some would say spot metering is useful but not critical. Others will tell you it's a must have. I use it in high contrast scenes when I need to determine the dynamic range of a scene - but, before I had the 1DMKII, I used my Sekonic L508 memter to do the same thing. In some ways, I prefer the Sekonic. For 99% of what I shoot, I don't need a spot meter.

Mark

[grego]

Importance in a lot of features is dependent on what you shoot. Only you can answer that question.

For me it can be useful, for you it might not be.

[mjordan]

I haven't taken my 1DMKII off spot meter since I got it over a year ago. I missed it a lot with my D30 and 10D and am so glad to have it back. To me, the spot meter is very important, especially when I'm shooting in a lot of backlit and high contrast lighting situations.

Mike

[aparmley]

I second Jordans comments - For me its more about knowing exactly where the camera is getting its metering. That way I know how to adjust my EC prior to the shot, if what lies in the center circle is dark, I'm going to need to come off it a little and if whats filling the center meter circle is light I know to increase slighty. . . With my shooting style I get more accurate exposures the first time, rather then taking a shot, chimping, seeing if the camera weighted the light in the scene more or the dark in the scene and adjusting from there. . .and I'm not talking backlit situations - just regular situations Maybe I have it all wrong, I don't care, it works for me and I find spot metering very useful.

[Sweedishcarrot01]

it's pretty much the only light meter I use on my 5D.

[Jim G]

My 20D is permanently set to partial metering - if I had spot it'd be permanently set to that. I much prefer the greater degree of control you have over what you're exposing for and it's quicker & easier than using M mode. I do alot of concert shooting and alot of the performers wear black with brightly lit backgrounds so if I let the camera meter for their clothing or the background it's going to be a horrible shot... gotta ensure that it's metering for their face or whatever's appropriate.

Wish I had it but the temptation isn't enough to upgrade. I'll just have to wait until I get a 5D/1d etc.

[blue_max]

For architectural shots, it is all about setting up on a tripod. In that instance, bracketing the shot is much more useful and would allow for an HDR image later is so desired.

I don't have spot metering, but you get a feel for a scene and allow for it. A spot meter would still need some skill in estimating how much more or less than 18% grey the area you are measuring is.

It's not for general shooting, but a great tool if things get difficult. If you don't have it, it's probably no great loss. If you need it, you will probably buy a camera with it build-in or use an external one.

Graham

[pfogle]

IMO the spot meter is still useful, but has largely been replaced by the histogram.

A spot meter can be used two ways - to select the main subject when it's small, and has a different tone from the background, or to measure the extremes of light and dark areas in the photo. It's here that the histogram does the job, showing the dynamic range of the scene. For a small subject, the spot meter is still the best way.

[JMHPhotography]

I'll be perfectly honest with you here... the circle designated for spot on the 30D isn't much smaller than the circle designated for partial on the 20D. That said... there are far more notable improvements in the 30D besides the addition of a spot meter. Aside from the LCD size increase, there are quite a few new things that I'm enjoying. I like the RGB histo, 1/3 increments to ISO, and actually seeing the ISO in the viewfinder just to name a few.

[Jim G]

yeah, well I'd probabl be upgrading for the 1/3 ISO increments and spot metering mostly if I was to do so.

re: chimping the histogram replacing the spot meter.. It may for some situations but if you're in situations with rapidly changing light and subjects (like gig photography and whatnot) you don't always have time to have a second go at the shot and any tool which helps you get exposure right in the first place makes a difference.... a live histogram, now, that would be a bit different

[Doctor Diesel]

still like my weston and invercone !....but seriously, spot meter is one of those things that until you get it, you didn't know how you managed without it!....Mine are perm. set to spot.

[pfogle]

Originally Posted by Jim G

yeah, well I'd probabl be upgrading for the 1/3 ISO increments and spot metering mostly if I was to do so.

re: chimping the histogram replacing the spot meter.. It may for some situations but if you're in situations with rapidly changing light and subjects (like gig photography and whatnot) you don't always have time to have a second go at the shot and any tool which helps you get exposure right in the first place makes a difference.... a live histogram, now, that would be a bit different

yeah, Jim, that's a good point. For a gig I'd spot off a medium tone from time to time, and stay in manual. For a static setup, I'd probably use the multi-spot on the 1Dm2. I don't know, does the 20D/30D have that? Not many people seem to know about it, even on the 1 series, and it's seriously good

[Wilt]

Originally Posted by aparmley

I second Jordans comments - For me its more about knowing exactly where the camera is getting its metering. That way I know how to adjust my EC prior to the shot, if what lies in the center circle is dark, I'm going to need to come off it a little and if whats filling the center meter circle is light I know to increase slighty. . . With my shooting style I get more accurate exposures the first time, rather then taking a shot, chimping, seeing if the camera weighted the light in the scene more or the dark in the scene and adjusting from there. . .and I'm not talking backlit situations - just regular situations Maybe I have it all wrong, I don't care, it works for me and I find spot metering very useful.

I echo this sentiment, too.

Frankly a true spotmeter is NOT in cameras even claiming spot capability...you need to have a handheld one degree spotmeter not the '2.4% of viewfinder' which gives you an extremely wide area with a wide angle lens! So while every camera I own has spot-like capabilities (even the 20D's Partial is 'spot like' in the context of in-camera meters), I have to use my Minolta one degree spot in some situations and nothing else can substitute! Example...the printed page has lower range from black to white, so one must control the lighting in the studio so that the range of brightness from deepest area in shadow to peak highlight is more controlled than for normal shooting, and a true one degree spot handles this well, the camera 'spot' is a poor imposter!