How to choose metering mode

At present, the metering methods used by cameras mainly include point metering, center metering, center key average metering, average metering mode, multi-zone metering and so on according to the different areas measured by metering elements within the shooting range.

Users need to choose according to the actual use.

1. Spot metering mode: the metering element only measures a small range in the center of the picture. When shooting, the camera lens is aimed at various parts of the subject many times and its brightness is measured one by one. Finally, the photographer determines the exposure parameters according to the measured data.

Generally speaking, in this mode, the photometric element only measures a small range of the center of the picture. When shooting, the camera lens is aimed at various parts of the subject many times and its brightness is measured one by one. Finally, the photographer determines the exposure parameters according to the measured data. This metering mode is mostly used when the photographer wants to fully express the subject. For example, when shooting people in a studio with uniform light, many photographers will adopt spot metering mode to measure the key parts of the people, such as eyes, face or distinctive clothes and limbs, and focus on their distinctive parts to achieve the artistic effect of highlighting the theme.

2. Central part metering mode: This mode is to meter the area in the center of the picture that accounts for about 12% of the picture.

This mode is actually an extension of the central spot metering mode. The photometry element of the camera will photometry the area in the center of the picture, accounting for about 12% of the picture, and finally get photometry data through average weighting. This metering mode is very suitable for taking landscape photos with various subjects in the center of the picture or with little contrast of ambient light. For example, as we can see from Figure 3, the photographer uses the central metering mode to meter the whole person in the center of the picture because the color contrast between clothes and face is large, while the light contrast between clothes and face is small, thus avoiding underexposure or overexposure that may be caused by the large contrast between clothes and face, and obtaining a photo with correct exposure.

3. Central focus average metering mode: This mode focuses on the center of the picture (about 60% of the picture), taking into account the edge of the picture. It can greatly reduce the phenomenon of poor picture exposure and is the main metering method of SLR cameras at present.

Generally speaking, when using this mode to measure light, the camera will focus on the center of the picture (about 60% of the picture), taking into account the edge of the picture. At present, many SLR digital cameras will have this metering mode. When using this metering mode, when Gao Fancha or different colors appear in the picture, the camera will meter several areas, focus on a certain area according to the photographer's needs, and then carry out weighted average. The image obtained in this way rarely has the problem of underexposure or overexposure in a certain area, but for some key main parts, the image can be clearly reflected, so it is very suitable.

4. Average metering mode: measure the average brightness of the whole picture, which is suitable for the situation that the light intensity of the picture is not much different.

This metering method is probably the most commonly used one among all digital cameras. It measures the average brightness of the whole picture, which is more suitable for the situation that the light intensity of the picture is not much different, and can meet the photometric requirements in most cases. However, the problem is that when the ambient light is complex or the brightness contrast of light is too large, the obtained photometric data is only an average value, which is prone to overexposure in the dark part of the picture and underexposure in the bright part, such as the above picture.

Multi-area metering mode: the picture is metered by independent metering elements in different areas, and the data is processed by the microprocessor inside the camera to obtain appropriate exposure with high exposure accuracy. Backlight photography or when the contrast of the scene is large, appropriate exposure can be obtained without manual correction.

In fact, the essence of this metering method is to divide the whole picture into multiple areas, and then use independent metering elements to measure the light, and then the microprocessor inside the camera processes the data to get the appropriate exposure.

Generally speaking, cameras produced by different manufacturers use different models and names, but in fact the principle is the same. For example, Nikon calls this metering mode matrix metering in its high-end digital cameras, Canon calls it 256-zone multi-zone evaluation metering, and Konica Minolta changes it to cellular metering and so on. No matter what kind of multi-zone photometry, its biggest feature is that they can get appropriate exposure under the condition of backlight photography or large contrast of the scene, and there is no need for manual correction, so it is very suitable for use in various complex lighting conditions. In Figure 6, the contrast between the blue sky and the ground is quite large, but the photographer set the correct combination of aperture and shutter because of the multi-zone metering mode, so that the brightness of the sky and the ground can be properly expressed.