Metering mode when shooting in manual?

[jjd228]

The distinction is important because if you shoot in manual but leave ISO on auto, then different metering modes WILL affect the final exposure of your shot because the ISO value will be chosen based on the metering. However if you shoot in FULL manual mode, then metering mode has zero outcome on the exposure of your shot. Yes, the meter indicator WILL change based on the metering mode you choose, but that's just the camera showing you what it thinks is the proper exposure in that metering mode. But no exposure changes will be made because you are manually choosing them all. I hope I cleared up my intent

IF the camera is changing the ISO, then the "exposure" is changing.

Yes, that is exactly what I just said: "if you shoot in manual but leave ISO on auto, then different metering modes WILL affect the final exposure"

 

[Braineack]

The distinction is important because if you shoot in manual but leave ISO on auto, then different metering modes WILL affect the final exposure of your shot because the ISO value will be chosen based on the metering. However if you shoot in FULL manual mode, then metering mode has zero outcome on the exposure of your shot. Yes, the meter indicator WILL change based on the metering mode you choose, but that's just the camera showing you what it thinks is the proper exposure in that metering mode. But no exposure changes will be made because you are manually choosing them all. I hope I cleared up my intent

IF the camera is changing the ISO, then the "exposure" is changing.

Yes, that is exactly what I just said: "if you shoot in manual but leave ISO on auto, then different metering modes WILL affect the final exposure"

refresh my reply, i made a large edit.

 

[jjd228]

IF the camera is changing the ISO, then the "exposure" is changing.

Yes, that is exactly what I just said: "if you shoot in manual but leave ISO on auto, then different metering modes WILL affect the final exposure"

refresh my reply, i made a large edit.

I'm just glad i got it right

 

[Gavjenks]

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.

No, the answer is "Yes." If you have auto-ISO enabled, and you switch around between different metering modes, you will get different exposures.

Some people in the thread were questioning why you would want to DO that. But IF you were to, you would get different exposures in a typical complex scene.



Also, this is something for future reference that could be trivially tested at home. Not sure why you wanted to wait for responses on a forum. Just point directly toward your living room ceiling light in manual iso-auto, and switch between spot meter and evaluative metering, and see if there's a difference.

 

[jjd228]

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.

No, the answer is "Yes." If you have auto-ISO enabled, and you switch around between different metering modes, you will get different exposures.

Some people in the thread were questioning why you would want to DO that. But IF you were to, you would get different exposures in a typical complex scene.



Also, this is something for future reference that could be trivially tested at home. Not sure why you wanted to wait for responses on a forum. Just point directly toward your living room ceiling light in manual iso-auto, and switch between spot meter and evaluative metering, and see if there's a difference.

I know, read the latest posts.

 

[unpopular]

It's not silly. If you plan on shooting a few shots in the same area under the same lighting conditions, you can use matrix/evaluative to determine the best exposure and then set your exposure once. Then forget about exposure and shoot a bunch a shots as long as the lighting doesn't change.

Ok, ok. Sure. But at that point you're doing the same thing as in auto mode with AEL.

And why are you emphasizing "once"? If the light doesn't change then there's no need to change exposure no matter what mode you're using.

Usually when I go out shooting, I also don't change my exposure much. I spot meter some reference under "typical" light, compensate, set and forget until the exposure changes. There's nothing about matrix/evaluative nor manual mode that would promote this. Evaluative metering is nice because you don't have to compensate, on the flip side though you're giving up that level of control. Sometimes this is an appropriate tradeoff, sometimes it isn't.

Chances are very high that the spot metering metering style used in auto mode will look like crap on 25 to 30 percent of the frames, whereas the Matrix shots made in AUTO mode will look "decent".

Only if you do not compensate the exposure. The same though is true of manual mode in spot. Of course, if the exposure reference always changes then there isn't much advantage to auto mode.

AE can be sometimes useful with spot when you preset the EC to some specific reference. If I know I'm going to be referencing the brightest part of the clouds (which i do often) I will compensate to +2.3-2.6ev. If I am referencing the sidewalk I will preset EC to +1.6-2.0ev.

In practice, I always forget to take the EC off and then wonder why the hell my camera isn't metering properly. So it's just easier to set the EC to zero and adjust compensation manually.