Metering mode when shooting in manual?

jjd228 · Apr 10, 2014

Can someone correct me if my thinking is wrong please?

When shooting in manual mode it doesn't matter what metering mode you select. The camera will still meter the scene to show you what it thinks, but nothing about the exposure will be changed based on metering mode. So far so good?

But what if you shoot in manual mode with automatic ISO? Then the ISO would be chosen based on the metering, so in fact the metering mode will change the exposure. Yes?

Just trying to get it all straight, thanks!

Gavjenks · Apr 10, 2014

The metering mode will affect where the little indicator tells you you are with your metering, but will not actually change the exposure for you if everything were manual.

If you have auto ISO on, then to the extent possible by changing only ISO within the boundaries you allow, it WILL change the exposure in an attempt to completely achieve the metering that the current mode wants to have, using only ISO as a variable.

In other words, manual mode with auto ISO essentially just = "aperture+shutter priority mode"

KmH · Apr 10, 2014

If ISO is set to AUTO you are using a semi-manual exposure control scheme regardless the shooting mode being set to M.
Full Manual mode has shutter speed, lens aperture, and ISO under your direct control.

What make/model camera are you using?

The light meter in Nikon DSLRs will be biased when using Manual mode if the user has set + or - exposure compensation (EC).

Most DSLRs have at least 3 light metering modes:
Spot - which samples a small part of the scene in the viewfinder - say 2% to 5% depending on the make/model camera. When using Spot metering mode we will often want to meter several parts of a scene before finalizing our manual settings. Spot mode gives the most accurate metering because it samples such a small area.
Center-Weighted - which meters the entire scene but gives more weight to how much light the meter detects in the central 70% or so of the scene. Center-weighted metering is recommended for portraiture.
Matix (Nikon)/Evaluative (Canon) - which averages all the light in a scene, so at the extremes - highlights are often over exposed and shadows are often under exposed.

Many Canon DSLR camera have a 4th - Partial metering which is intended for use with back lit subjects and fits in between Spot and Center-weighted metering.

Robin Usagani · Apr 10, 2014

You got it.

shaylou · Apr 11, 2014

Go outside and try the different modes and you will see that it does effect what the camera see in the exposure. Just switch between modes without adjusting the exposure and compare shots. The different modes can be very useful and is worth spending some time on understanding them.

KmH · Apr 11, 2014

Understanding Camera Metering and Exposure

astroNikon · Apr 11, 2014

Yes, as mentioned go out and experiment

One day last year I was sitting on a river, single focus mode, SPOT metering.

I turned the camera to a drainage runoff pipe protruding from the walls. Looking at it the pipe inside was dark by my eyes.

With the SPOT metering and single focus point IN the pipe I took a photo. The photo let me see in the pipe quite clearly, a great picture of the insides of a pipe. Everything else outside of the pipe (river, dirt, trees, plants) was waaaaaaaaaay overexposed from the bright sunlight.

going to centered weighted or matrix it becomes more normal. And don't focus IN the pipe and everything is normal LOL

quite an eye opener back then when I was playing with the metering modes to understand them better.

Braineack · Apr 11, 2014

jjd228 said:
When shooting in manual mode it doesn't matter what metering mode you select. The camera will still meter the scene to show you what it thinks, but nothing about the exposure will be changed based on metering mode. So far so good?

not good so far. The metering mode matters.

This should be written: The camera will meter the scene, based on the mode selected, but no exposure settings (shutter, aperture, iso) will changed.

But what if you shoot in manual mode with automatic ISO? Then the ISO would be chosen based on the metering, so in fact the metering mode will change the exposure. Yes?

yes. The camera will change to ISO, based on it's metering, in relation to your chosen shutter and aperture.

Derrel · Apr 11, 2014

jjd228 said:
Can someone correct me if my thinking is wrong please?

When shooting in manual mode it doesn't matter what metering mode you select. The camera will still meter the scene to show you what it thinks, but nothing about the exposure will be changed based on metering mode. So far so good?

But what if you shoot in manual mode with automatic ISO? Then the ISO would be chosen based on the metering, so in fact the metering mode will change the exposure. Yes?

Just trying to get it all straight, thanks!

Using "Manual" metering mode and using the matrix/pattern/evaluative metering mode is generally NOT a good operating procedure...it makes almost no sense,actually. Manual mode with Matrix is just...dumb. The use of Matrix/Pattern/Multi-area/Evaluative metering mode takes the whole, entire frame into consideration, and so it really is good for automatic metering modes like Programmed Auto, "Green Box" mode, Aperture-priority auto, etc.

In manual metering mode, most experienced shooters would shoot center-weighted metering, and would swing or aim the camera to an area, and get a meter reading, and meter off of that "area".

Nikon allows the user to determine the size of the center-weighted metering circle; it is user-selectable in the menus of the Nikons I have owned. Some users like SPOT metering in manual mode, but it's very hair-trigger. Meter the WRONG spot, and the exposures can vary wildly, often 5,6,7,8,10 EV from where you might wish to be metering, with just a simple,slight mis-aiming of the spot metering area. Spot metering also varies somewhat with the camera manufacturer and model; "spot" might be one-degree, or as I recall, 3.8 degrees in Canon (isn't that what many Canons use, 3.8 degree spot?), which some call semi-spot; spot metering also might be located under the center AF bracket OR under the AF bracket selected, so SPOT metering really needs to be used carefully,and with full understanding of YOUR camera and how it implements spot metering, and I do NOT think it's a good mode for beginner-level shooters.

In AUTO modes, like Av,Tv, A,S,P, whatever, spot metering is dangerous in many situations.

Gavjenks · Apr 11, 2014

Using "Manual" metering mode and using the matrix/pattern/evaluative metering mode is generally NOT a good operating procedure...it makes almost no sense,actually.

It makes fine sense...?

If:
1) I want to capture a certain amoutn of blur or lack thereof (fixed shutter)
2) I want a certain background blur for artistic choice (fixed aperture)
3) I am shooting in slightly varying lighting conditions (slightly cloudy day at the skate park or something, sun going in and out a bit)

Auto-ISO would be enough to cover the variation in sun, and manual would be the only dial mode to use to make it meter automatically without touching my aperture or shutter. I guess maybe program mode would too, but for these purposes, they would perform identically. Neither is more reasonable than the other, if I'm not touching aperture or shutter anyway.

Then, I might want to use evaluative metering, since the skateboarders are flying all over the place, and I might not be able to guarantee centering the focus point precisely where I want it (maybe I did zone focus ahead of time)

curtyoungblood · Apr 11, 2014

From the original post, I feel like you don't have a firm understanding of what a metering mode is, and consequently aren't really asking the right question. You're statements are all accurate, but that aren't really related to each other.

The metering mode (center-weighted, spot, evaluative, etc) only affects how your camera's meter reads the scene it sees. So, if you're camera is in manual exposure mode and you change the metering mode, you're exposure won't change. However, if you look in the viewfinder, you may find that the meter reading is very different. Like-wise, in an automatic mode, the camera reads the meter and adjusts to whatever it says. If you change how the meter reads the scene, then the exposure is going to change, but it is related to the meter's reading and not how it got the reading.

TWright33 · Apr 11, 2014

Just put it in auto.

We all know auto works best anyway.

Carry on.

Robin Usagani · Apr 11, 2014

Derrel said:
jjd228 said:

Can someone correct me if my thinking is wrong please?

When shooting in manual mode it doesn't matter what metering mode you select. The camera will still meter the scene to show you what it thinks, but nothing about the exposure will be changed based on metering mode. So far so good?

But what if you shoot in manual mode with automatic ISO? Then the ISO would be chosen based on the metering, so in fact the metering mode will change the exposure. Yes?

Just trying to get it all straight, thanks!

Click to expand...

Using "Manual" metering mode and using the matrix/pattern/evaluative metering mode is generally NOT a good operating procedure...it makes almost no sense,actually. Manual mode with Matrix is just...dumb. The use of Matrix/Pattern/Multi-area/Evaluative metering mode takes the whole, entire frame into consideration, and so it really is good for automatic metering modes like Programmed Auto, "Green Box" mode, Aperture-priority auto, etc.

In manual metering mode, most experienced shooters would shoot center-weighted metering, and would swing or aim the camera to an area, and get a meter reading, and meter off of that "area".

Nikon allows the user to determine the size of the center-weighted metering circle; it is user-selectable in the menus of the Nikons I have owned. Some users like SPOT metering in manual mode, but it's very hair-trigger. Meter the WRONG spot, and the exposures can vary wildly, often 5,6,7,8,10 EV from where you might wish to be metering, with just a simple,slight mis-aiming of the spot metering area. Spot metering also varies somewhat with the camera manufacturer and model; "spot" might be one-degree, or as I recall, 3.8 degrees in Canon (isn't that what many Canons use, 3.8 degree spot?), which some call semi-spot; spot metering also might be located under the center AF bracket OR under the AF bracket selected, so SPOT metering really needs to be used carefully,and with full understanding of YOUR camera and how it implements spot metering, and I do NOT think it's a good mode for beginner-level shooters.

In AUTO modes, like Av,Tv, A,S,P, whatever, spot metering is dangerous in many situations.

What Derrel said. Spot metering should only be used for manual. Well... not always. You can use spot metering with semi auto AND exposure lock. I find that method a little complicated though. A lot of beginners use AV and spot metering (because it was set that way and have no idea). Oh my... several shots from almost the same angle will have exposure totally different. The spot meter may hit someone's dark hair, someone's white shirt, etc. The shots will not be consistent.

jjd228 · Apr 12, 2014

Many of you seem to have not understood the question.

I understand light metering, and how the different modes behave. The question was, simply, when shooting in manual does metering mode even matter (have an effect on the exposure/shot)? And the answer is no. Regardless of what metering mode you select, when shooting in full manual the metering of the scene by your camera has no outcome on the exposure of the shot. In any other mode the metering of the scene is used to determine what settings the camera will choose for shutter speed, aperture, etc. But in manual you are configuring those settings, so metering mode doesn't matter.

TheFantasticG · Apr 12, 2014

jjd228 said:
Many of you seem to have not understood the question. I understand light metering, and how the different modes behave. The question was, simply, when shooting in manual does metering mode even matter (have an effect on the exposure/shot)? And the answer is no.

You didn't ask that, you stated that: