metering mode for moving objects

What would be A good mode for panning shots?

I'm guessing you meant 'metering mode'? What are you shooting? When I shoot hockey, I meter off the ice, and use manual mode.

I shoot moving cars,airplanes taking off and landing,motorcycles moving. Would spot metering be A good choice.

If you're shooting in manual mode, then spot metering might be a good choice, since you'll do your exposure settings manually and they won't change while the camera is moving around. If you're going to shoot in an automatic or semi-automatic mode, like P, Av, or Tv, then you probably don't want to use spot metering, because the exposure settings will be constantly changing based on the lighting conditions in the tiny circle covered by the center spot in the viewfinder. Even just moving the camera very slightly so that the spot metering circle moves from a dark area of a subject to a lighter area on that same subject will change the exposure settings. Either evaluative (matrix) or center-weighted average metering might be preferable if you're using automatic or semi-automatic shooting modes. You also need to be aware of when you should use exposure compensation.

Here's a good article on metering and exposure:
http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/tutorials/c​amera-metering.htm

The light metering mode isn't a feature on its own. You have to also consider if you are using automatic or manual exposure setting.

If you use an automatic mode, and don't lock exposure, then the metering will change the exposure all the time.
But if you use manual exposure mode, then you can meter one reference to start with, and then dial that or some offset in, and keep on shooting. Then it doesn't matter which metering mode you use when shooting, just when you set up prior to shooting.

The metering patterns can be found in your user's manual.
So depending upon how you work, look there and choose the pattern which will meter whatever is relevant to you at the moment.

Hm, we wrote the same thing at the same time, it seems.

apersson850 wrote in post #10950048
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Hm, we wrote the same thing at the same time, it seems.

Great minds think alike!

The question has already been answered well. But I just wanted to say I think the world "meatering" is awesome. Hahaha it gave me a great laugh. I think it should be the new official word.

picturecrazy wrote in post #10950222
The question has already been answered well. But I just wanted to say I think the world "meatering" is awesome. Hahaha it gave me a great laugh. I think it should be the new official word.

I was thinking the same thing!

I shoot manual for this type of thing and meter for the scene using spot or center.

I do this for two reasons:

First, the Manual setting will ensure that I have a consistent exposure across a series of shots, assuming I'm shooting a stretch that has consistent lighting. Of course, if you change positions or if you are shooting a long stretch so that your lighting parameters change over a series of shots, you may want to change your technique or at least your exposure in Manual to compensate for the light changes.

The second reason is that for good panning I want to my settings to be very specific, not subject to the whims of the meter/Av/Tv/P stuff. So, for cars, motorcycles, prop planes and helicopters, I want a slow shutter speed to show the movement/prop blur and a narrow aperture to give a decent depth of field to show detail on the vehicle (while the background gets blurred by the panning/slow shutter speed). A low ISO typically works with the aperture along with the slow shutter speed. So, setting these things manually means a good exposure reading, which is to me gotten like I said with a spot or center meter reading.

Of course, for say tracking a jet plane things are different -- you are shooting typically into the sky (unless you are doing a takeoff or landing) and a faster shutter speed is likely more important than a slow "show movement" shutter speed, and at a long distance you have more "wiggle room" with your aperture, and you are often covering a broader stretch of sky, so there you have more latitude with your metering and exposure settings -- I wouldn't mind Av, Tv, Evaluative, whatever works.

Thanks all did I mention I dont spell well. Thats kind of catchey spell well