30D meter question

Hi all

I've been reading this forum for a while but never posted. I got a 30D a couple of months ago and I'm still trying to get used to reading the exposure meter, hopefully someone can help me out

Basically my problem is that when I'm in manual mode using flash in dark environments, the meter is pretty much useless. Even if I'm in spot metering on the face of a subject, the camera tells me I'm underexposing though the subjects are well exposed with flash once I take the shot.

This means that I end up ignoring the meter and taking test shots, then looking at the screen and the histogram to judge exposure. In places where the lighting is different throughout the room this means I'm reviewing and adjusting FEC all the time...as shutter speed can't get any lower (usually 1/80 to 1/125 depending on how much background I want) and aperture is the minimum necessary for acceptable depth-of-field. Adjusting the ISO does affect the metered values but then my subjects get too bright though the background is better (again, even when spot metering on their faces)

Soooo my question is....is this normal? Is there a better way to use the meter under difficult lighting conditions?

In the forum section for flash and studio lighting is a tutorial. It is listed at the beginning and is labeled EOS flash.
Hope this helps you.

Hi and welcome!

The meter isn't for the flash exposure, the flash exposure is calculated when you take the shot which is why even though the meter says you're under the subject is still well exposed.

It may seem pointless having the meter in these conditions but what it means is you can meter for the how bright you want the background to be and let the flash deal with the subject. Imagine a different situation where your subject is backlit in strong sunlight. You can meter for correct background exposure and the flash will then act as fill for the subject thereby balancing the extremes of the lighting into a exposure that works for both parts of the scene.

Going back to your situation, if you meter so, for example, street lights are correctly exposed then the flash will light your subject and the final shot will your subject in a lit street rather than against an almost black background.

Welcome to the Forum. Yes, you are correct, the metering is useless when using a flash. The meter only can meter with what it sees with out the flash. Just start out with 400 ISO - f 5.6 or so and 125th shutter and see where the center of the white blob of the histogram falls after you take the picture and adjust accordingly.

pxl8 wrote in post #2471088
The meter isn't for the flash exposure, the flash exposure is calculated when you take the shot which is why even though the meter says you're under the subject is still well exposed.

Ahhh I see, thanks for the explanation, I see how it works now

Papaw wrote in post #2471144
Welcome to the Forum. Yes, you are correct, the metering is useless when using a flash. The meter only can meter with what it sees with out the flash. Just start out with 400 ISO - f 5.6 or so and 125th shutter and see where the center of the white blob of the histogram falls after you take the picture and adjust accordingly.

Yeah, that's basically what I'm doing now - though it makes my 430EX eat battery power very quickly!