Metering

[underwater]

Hello
I am very new to this.:(
I need to try metering of the palm of my hand.
The thing I do not understand is how the metering works in the camera?
Can I get a reading from the camera or do I have to use a external light meter?:rolleyes:
I can set the camera to spot metering, partial metering, Evaluative metering and center- weighted average.

Thank you

Sam

[Donald]

Can I get a reading from the camera or do I have to use a external light meter?

Sam

The answer to the key question in your post is - Yes, you can get a reading from the camera. And, for that, I'd use spot-metering.

But for a much better understanding than I can give you, please do read Sean's tutorial on the subject here. If, after reading that, you still have questions, then come straight back on here with them.

[underwater]

Hi Donald

Yes I read the tutorial before I posted my question.
I have a 7D canon camera, so where do find the metering reading?
Is it a actual digital value on the camera?

[Peter Ryan]

Hi Samuel and welcome to CiC,

The camera has a very good light meter and it meter works automatically when you turn on the camera and take the lens cap off. Light passing through the lens will give you an Aperture and Shutter reading that reflects the amount of light required to record an image.

The shutter reflects time in photography and the aperture lets in varying quantities of light depending upon the size of the opening. The aperture also determines the Depth of Field, or area within the image that shows as sharp. Both the shutter and aperture can be adjusted to impart their influence on the end result. They do work in a reciprocal manner where an adjustment in one will yield and equal and opposite adjustment in the other to maintain the correct exposure.

You should also read the tutorials on Shutter and on Aperture to get an understanding of their creative effect on the image.

BTW is Karratha the town in Western Australia?

[underwater]

Hi Samuel and welcome to CiC,

The camera has a very good light meter and it meter works automatically when you turn on the camera and take the lens cap off. Light passing through the lens will give you an Aperture and Shutter reading that reflects the amount of light required to record an image.

The shutter reflects time in photography and the aperture lets in varying quantities of light depending upon the size of the opening. The aperture also determines the Depth of Field, or area within the image that shows as sharp. Both the shutter and aperture can be adjusted to impart their influence on the end result. They do work in a reciprocal manner where an adjustment in one will yield and equal and opposite adjustment in the other to maintain the correct exposure.

You should also read the tutorials on Shutter and on Aperture to get an understanding of their creative effect on the image.

BTW is Karratha the town in Western Australia?

Hi Peter

Yes Karratha is in WA 1600km north.
I do understand aperture, shutter speed, ISO thank you very much.
The question is I have been asked to try metering off the palm of my hand and opening the lens one stop.
I have been using manual mode and this will not give a metering reading of shutter speed, aperture and ISO.
So do I focus on the object in full auto mode first and read the settings like 1/60, f4.0, ISO 400.


Sam

[Colin Southern]

Hi Sam,

We've had a couple of good discussions on metering in the past here and here.

Hope this helps

[Peter Ryan]

Hi Sam,

I get what you want now. Focus and metering are diffferent. You do not need to have the camera focused to get a correct meter reading.

You have read or someone has disucssed that you can get a correct reading of mid tone off the palm of you hand by taking a reading in auto, aperture or shutter priority from the palm of your hand and adding 1 stop of light (as the palm of your hand is ABOUT one stop brighter than mid-tone). This is an alternative to using a grey card to get a correct reading but I would try and use a grey card, if you have one. Once you have the reading your can dial that into your manual settings and should get a correct exposure.

I would read the threads Colin has referred you to as these were quiet recent discussions on the subject.

I have not made it to Karratha yet but I am certainly looking forward to doing so. I hope we can see some of your shots out that way.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Sam,

I think I get what you're asking; a handheld light meter would give readings, or more accurately; suggest values, for shutter speed and aperture for a given iso, whereas a camera doesn't really do that, at least not in manual mode when you'd be wanting to use them.

So do I focus on the object in full auto mode first and read the settings like 1/60, f4.0, ISO 400.

Rather than full Auto, if you switch to Aperture priority A/Av, set an aperture, set the iso, point the camera at the palm of your hand (focus doesn't matter, but I don't think you meant it literally anyway), half depress shutter button and it'll tell you what shutter speed it would use. Now assuming you had no EC (exposure compensation) set, you can either do that now to get it a stop above or do it in your head.

I have to wonder why you want to do this?
Are you trying to use the meter in one camera to set exposure on another?

If you use the camera's meter in Manual mode, it still works, exactly how depends on brand and model, but basically you would now be setting all three sides of the exposure triangle in menus and on knobs and all the camera indicates is whether those settings will result in what it thinks is a correctly exposed mid-grey - so turn the knobs until it zero's out in the centre and that's the 'correct' exposure.

Does that make sense?

EDIT

Actually, thinking about it some more, Program 'P' mode is actually closest to how a digital lightmeter works - set the iso and it suggests a shutter speed and aperture, turn the wheel and it trades one for the other; don't like f/8 @ 1/200 - click, click - ok that's now f/16 at 1/50, see how it goes.

[underwater]

Hi Sam,

We've had a couple of good discussions on metering in the past here and here.

Hope this helps

Hi Colin
Thank you very much.
THe section by Dendrophile on the 10th April 2009 was great, it has helped me 100%.
Thank you again.