Do you use the internal metering system in your camera?

[Ysarex]

All modern digital cameras have a light metering system. They read reflected light from the subject. If you use your camera in any of the auto or semi-auto modes (Program (P), Shutter Priority (Tv/S) or Aperture Priority (Av/A) then you use the meter -- answer yes.

If you use the camera only in Manual (M) you may still use the meter to assist in setting an exposure -- answer yes.

I'm looking for a "no" answer from the Manual only users who ignore the meter and couldn't care less if it was there. You use the camera like it was a 1960s Hasselblad and determine exposure entirely by means external to your camera -- answer no.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[jcdeboever]

My most used cameras are the Nikon F and F2 and neither have meters. I sunny 16 or use the flash. I do use them in my digital because they are there and are pretty accurate.

 

[Ysarex]

My most used cameras are the Nikon F and F2 and neither have meters. I sunny 16 or use the flash. I do use them in my digital because they are there and are pretty accurate.

Those old Nikons are like the 1960s Hasselblad I mentioned. They don't have meters at all. I have similar cameras as well but in this case I'm asking about modern digital cameras. Assuming for example that you're so used to using the old Nikons that when/if you pick up a Nikon D500 or D850 you use it the same way in full Manual (sunny 16) and ignore the meter system -- then answer no.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[Original katomi]

For some images like my strobe set I use an external light meter

 

[Ysarex]

For some images like my strobe set I use an external light meter

So do I. My question wasn't do you always use the metering system. Answer no if you never use the metering system otherwise answer yes.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[zombiesniper]

I use the metering in the camera as a guide but don't necessarily listen to what it says depending on what I want as an outcome or if I know in certain circumstances the metering is plain wrong (eg. shooting primarily white/black dominated scenes the metering will normally try to bring the scene to a medium grey and need to be adjusted.)

Controlled environments such as studio I just use my brain. No metering required. Some days this works. Other days I think my brain needs a firmware update.

 

[weepete]

Yes, I normally spot meter with the inbuilt light meter and manual, very occasionally I won't but I'll then chimp for the histogram.

 

[Ysarex]

I use the metering in the camera as a guide but don't necessarily listen to what it says depending on what I want as an outcome or if I know in certain circumstances the metering is plain wrong (eg. shooting primarily white/black dominated scenes the metering will normally try to bring the scene to a medium grey and need to be adjusted.)

That would be a yes then to my question.

Thanks,
Joe

Controlled environments such as studio I just use my brain. No metering required. Some days this works. Other days I think my brain needs a firmware update.

 

[zombiesniper]

Yup, voted.

 

[jcdeboever]

My most used cameras are the Nikon F and F2 and neither have meters. I sunny 16 or use the flash. I do use them in my digital because they are there and are pretty accurate.

Those old Nikons are like the 1960s Hasselblad I mentioned. They don't have meters at all. I have similar cameras as well but in this case I'm asking about modern digital cameras. Assuming for example that you're so used to using the old Nikons that when/if you pick up a Nikon D500 or D850 you use it the same way in full Manual (sunny 16) and ignore the meter system -- then answer no.

Thanks,
Joe

I did for a spell to improve my sunny 16 accuracy. The meters in my digital are very good.

 

[snowbear]

Mostly, yes. If I'm using the Minolta, then no because that battery is not available and I haven't tried the #12 wire adapter.

 

[Derrel]

I voted Yes...Nikon has very good metering, and users can select the size of the central circle, which is where 60% of the center-weighted metering influence is located.

For the better part of two decades Nikon used the scribed 12 mm Circle on most viewfinder screens as the area of 60% influence. With the Nikon F3 release, they went with an 80% / 20% metering weighting.

Around 1986 or so I did a two-roll series of test photographs of a single 75 watt light bulb hung on a wall and took different meter readings with different framings. It was quite enlightening to see how much a single bright light source either influence or did not influence the meter reading, depending upon the placement of said light source against a frame that was basically White Walls.

In roughly 1984 or so Nikon invented multi-segment metering which was introduced in their FA camera, which won the camera Grand Prix. Over the ensuing decades camera makers have become much more attuned to light metering systems which can determine the color of an object,as well as its reflectivity. Nikon introduce this, and about a decade later, Canon premiered a system which got around the Nikon patents and which works quite well.

Old fashioned light meters, either hand-held or in-Camera were basically color blind and tended to try and make everything appear 18% Gray... with today's digital cameras metering systems often are completely aware of what the color and the reflective value of an object is and give us extremely accurate meter readings, because they know not only the amount of light that is coming back to the camera, but they have a system with uses one thousand or more sensors, in the case of Nikon economy level DSLR cameras, 1,008, which read the color of objects. When used in conjunction with the location and date and time settings which users program into the camera, camera light meters can make sense of all sorts of situations. For example if you have a camera that is set to December 21 and the location is Seattle Washington USA, the camera metering system realizes that the sun goes down quite early in the day, and so a photo in which there is a large but bright orb in the upper quadrant is recognized not as the sun but as an artificial light source after,say, 4 p.m.

 

[Ysarex]

I voted Yes...Nikon has very good metering, and users can select the size of the central circle, which is where 60% of the center-weighted metering influence is located.

For the better part of two decades Nikon used the scribed 12 mm Circle on most viewfinder screens as the area of 60% influence. With the Nikon F3 release, they went with an 80% / 20% metering weighting.

Around 1986 or so I did a two-roll series of test photographs of a single 75 watt light bulb hung on a wall and took different meter readings with different framings. It was quite enlightening to see how much a single bright light source either influence or did not influence the meter reading, depending upon the placement of said light source against a frame that was basically White Walls.

In roughly 1984 or so Nikon invented multi-segment metering which was introduced in their FA camera, which won the camera Grand Prix. Over the ensuing decades camera makers have become much more attuned to light metering systems which can determine the color of an object,as well as its reflectivity. Nikon introduce this, and about a decade later, Canon premiered a system which got around the Nikon patents and which works quite well.

Old fashioned light meters, either hand-held or in-Camera were basically color blind and tended to try and make everything appear 18% Gray... with today's digital cameras metering systems often are completely aware of what the color and the reflective value of an object is and give us extremely accurate meter readings, because they know not only the amount of light that is coming back to the camera, but they have a system with uses one thousand or more sensors, in the case of Nikon economy level DSLR cameras, 1,008, which read the color of objects. When used in conjunction with the location and date and time settings which users program into the camera, camera light meters can make sense of all sorts of situations. For example if you have a camera that is set to December 21 and the location is Seattle Washington USA, the camera metering system realizes that the sun goes down quite early in the day, and so a photo in which there is a large but bright orb in the upper quadrant is recognized not as the sun but as an artificial light source after,say, 4 p.m.

Thanks Derrel,

Here's more info about why I asked:

I didn't want to bias the responses at first with too much information (motive).

The internal meter systems in cameras read reflected light from the subject. As opposed to an incident meter that is used to measure the light directly. Reflected light meters can be off when the subject is abnormally bright or dark.

I've been doing this for a long time and used to own 3 different hand light meters. I gave the last one away about 8 years ago. I believe the camera internal meters (and camera control systems) have improved to the point where most photographers now, especially out of the studio, are, like me, happy using and do indeed use the camera's metering system.

I'm looking to validate my assumption about most photographers. I teach photography and it's nice to be able to tell a class I have a little more than just my belief when I tell them something.

Joe

 

[Derrel]

Nikon's new highlight tone priority metering introduced in the D810 was that company's latest advance in in camera light metering. I believe Canon introduced highlight tone priority metering a few years before Nikon did.

Light metering in the camera is also connected to how the camera is set up as far as tone curve, and of course these days we are metering for color positive images and not for negative images... as I am sure you know, Ysarex, there are different strategies when one takes a light meter reading depending upon whether one is shooting for a color positive or a black and white negative final image.

 

[Original katomi]

For some images like my strobe set I use an external light meter

So do I. My question wasn't do you always use the metering system. Answer no if you never use the metering system otherwise answer yes.

Thanks,
Joe

Answerd yes