Metering modes, who could explain them to me?!

Hi People

I do belive, for most part I understand, how my 5D2 works, the thing I was still not able to figure out are the metering modes.

SPOT metering is clear. I know how that works.
Sure, I can read the manual of the camera, how the others work, but can't seem to put them to use. (When to use, what).

Could somebody kindly explain me (with real world examples) when he uses wich mode, and why?!

I mostly use Av and Tv modes depending on if I want to controll depth of field, or shutter speed, and find myself often in a situation when the camera is under or over exposing.

I tried to experiment with different modes, but did not really see a change.
Also I am curious what are others using?! (poll)

I use spot mostly, so I can meter my subject, lock the exposure, then recompose and BBAF.

Sirrith wrote in post #16195853
I use spot mostly, so I can meter my subject, lock the exposure, then recompose and BBAF.

Hmm... Never tough it that way, but will certenly try it out. Sound good.

I use "evaluative" most of the time. The camera "reads" the 60 odd metering sensor points and calculates an exposure setting of about 3 stops below the brightest element in the scene. Most of the time that works OK.
I only use "Spot" meting for bright backgrounds where I have an element in the foreground that needs to be properly exposed: like birds in flight against a bright sky. A group of people with the sun behind them where I cannot use fill flash. I hardly ever use any of the other modes.
Evaluative goes wrong when there are bright white elements in the scene, like snow or white sails of boats or pure white buildings in the sun. Then spot metering helps or some exposure compensation.

Spot meter in manual mode 99.9% of the time. It's the most consistent way to shoot for the quickest workflow.

I typically use Manual exposure and Spot metering to set a good point for exposure. If though you want to use a semi-auto mode then you need to "think out" your exposure!

I use evaluative, most often.

Spot for manual shooting (99% of the time) and evaluative for creative auto modes (seldom used but it has its time and place).
One thing i absolutely love about evaluative is that the focus point chosen will be heavily bias on the given exposure, so keep the focus point on the face with EC set to expose for skin tones, you will get pretty much dead on exposure for all your shots.

boerewors wrote in post #16195895
Spot for manual shooting (99% of the time) and evaluative for creative auto modes (seldom used but it has its time and place).
One thing i absolutely love about evaluative is that the focus point chosen will be heavily bias on the given exposure, so keep the focus point on the face with EC set to expose for skin tones, you will get pretty much dead on exposure for all your shots.

EC?
Can't figure out what EC is...
And I can imagine, once you tell me, I will be like: "Ohh, damn, I was sooo stupid asking this..."

EC is Exposure Compensation, When you use P, Av or Tv modes you can dial the exposure up or down some F stops.

vk2gwk wrote in post #16195909
EC is Exposure Compensation, When you use P, Av or Tv modes you can dial the exposure up or down some F stops.

Thanks, I knew I know what it is, just could not figure it out what it stands for.

Evaluative 99.9% of the time, but Av, Tv and M have their uses. I tend not to use EC, as its easier to simply adjust in M, or aim the camera slightly differently.

Staszek wrote in post #16195863
Spot meter in manual mode 99.9% of the time. It's the most consistent way to shoot for the quickest workflow.

Absolutely the way I'd use the camera's meter when I use it. I tend to use my Sekonic L-358 more than the meters in my cameras, though.

It really depends on what my subject is as to what metering mode I shoot in, though it's typically Partial or Spot.

Spot metering and Partial metering allow for precise exposure of a subject. Such as a single pebble among other pebbles or a person on the beach with the sun behind them.

Evaluative and Center Weighted Average consider the overall exposure of an image, as you compose it. This is good if you want equal exposure of everything or most everything within an image, such as landscapes.

You can go HERE for a good explanation.

I've posted some images below in showing how this works. Camera was in AV mode in showing shutter speed differences. I used center point focus on a dark spot on a leaf within the middle of the flowers.

A) Spot metering exposed the leaf correctly, as I desired, by using a slower shutter speed 1/100. This is better seen with the cropped images on the following page. Partial metering was next at 1/250. Consequently, the background is blown out because I told the camera not to consider that.

B) Center Weighted Average (1/320) and Evaluative metering (1/200) on the other hand considered the exposure of most or all of the image. Those modes used a faster shutter speed in getting the best overall image exposure. Consequently, they underexposed the leaf because the backgrounds were so bright.

You can see the difference in exposure below, as each mode considers a different percentage of the frame, in determining exposure.

God Bless,
Ralph

The camera considers more of the overall image with these and consequently the entire image is better exposed.

.