AF points

I am beginning to use the manual AF point more these days, because of my pub gig moonlighting activities...but have a question about them regarding the use of them in landscape, do you use them on dark areas of what you want to shoot or bright areas?

Focus on the area you want to be in focus regardless of whether it is dark or bright.

Now if you're asking about what areas to meter against when using manual exposure then it's a very different question.

krb wrote in post #9087840
Focus on the area you want to be in focus regardless of whether it is dark or bright.

Now if you're asking about what areas to meter against when using manual exposure then it's a very different question.

Ah, ok, what areas do I meter then, if you don't mind me asking?

For landscapes I:
- set ISO to 100
- select a suitably large aperture
- spot meter the sky, spot meter the darkest area, then adjust the shutter speed to get an exposure halfway between the two
- set auto exposure bracketing to the widest seperation it allows
- do a subtle HDR of the 3 shots.

krb wrote in post #9087885
For landscapes I:
- set ISO to 100
- select a suitably large aperture
- spot meter the sky, spot meter the darkest area, then adjust the shutter speed to get an exposure halfway between the two
- set auto exposure bracketing to the widest seperation it allows
- do a subtle HDR of the 3 shots.

You mean that I should use the AF points manually, and take some readings off the readings?

Metering and auto focus are not related.

I just noticed you're using a Rebel so I'm not sure if you have a spot metering mode. You may have to use something like center weighted. Use whatever gives the smallest metering area (which will always be at the center of the viewfinder) and point it at at the sky to see what the meter says is the correct exposure. Do the same thing with the darkest area of the scene centered in the viewfinder.

krb wrote in post #9087972
Metering and auto focus are not related.

I just noticed you're using a Rebel so I'm not sure if you have a spot metering mode. You may have to use something like center weighted. Use whatever gives the smallest metering area (which will always be at the center of the viewfinder) and point it at at the sky to see what the meter says is the correct exposure. Do the same thing with the darkest area of the scene centered in the viewfinder.

Cheers

The 400D doesnt have spot metering but it does have partial metering (9% IIRC).

This means that you can meter of an area to gauge exposure as opposed to a point.

What i would tend to do is meter the brightest area, take a note of the setting, then meter the darkest and note the setting. If the difference is greater than 5 stops, you need to use HDR or modify the exposure by using filters to reduce the dynamic range (the range of brightness).

If its within 5 stops, just use a setting that is approx halfway between.

Example:
Landscape with mid afternoon sun (f11 for aperture for decent front to rear sharpness) - meter for sky suggests 1/200, meter for shadows suggests 1/10 (4 stops 1/200> 1/100> 1/50> 1/25> 1/10). Use 1/50 and you should get a good exposure for the whole scene.

If its greater than that difference, you need to reduce it by taking 2 or more shots or using filters.