Note to self and all other xsi users...

[Bitter Jeweler]

Set something up that is half black, and half white, so that the each of the focus points you are testing for metering land in the black, and white sections.

 

[Overread]

Do the same thing as you would for the focus test - do it indoors where you have constant light and aim the camera at a scene with a bright and dark area (so that there is a clear difference. Then just change the active AF point away from the middle point and half hold the shutter down. That will engage metering and you can see if the meter remains the same or changes. If it remains the same no matter where you set the active point to then its reading from the same point each time (ie the middle point). If it changes a lot then its reading from the active AF point.

 

[KmH]

Can you give me an example of how to set up a test for it though just to be sure?

Easy-peezy.

If you select the center focus point while using Spot metering, then make whatever adjustments to the exposure triad needed to center the in-camera exposure meter (indicating a proper exposure), and then keeping the camera framed the same change to a different focus point that is on a much darker or much lighter part of the scene, the in-camera meter will move right or left of center indicating under or over exposure if the metering spot is concurrent with the focus point.

If the meter doesn't change by selecting a different focus point, the spot is locked to the center of the frame.

 

[JeffieLove]

Okay, so spot metering didn't change the shutter speed or aperture..

However, Evaluative did... I focused on something black and the settings were .5s for shutter speed at an aperture of 1.8. When I set the AF point to the white piece of paper, the shutter speed changed to 1/5 for shutter speed at 1.8 for aperture.

why does that sound backwards to me??? I had the camera on a tripod so I know nothing moved significantly or anything...

 

[KmH]

I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you still don't understand. Focus actually has little to do with metering. By using only a white sheet of paper and an entire black frame, you cannot determine if the active focus point is also used for spot metering.

Evaluative looks at the entire image frame, spot only looks at about 2% of the image frame.

Evaluative is an average of the entire scene, spot is an accurate reading of how much light is being reflected by just 2% of the image frame.

When doing potraiture, your main exposure concern needs to be the facial skin of your subjects, not the entire scene.

 

[JeffieLove]

It wasn't just a white thing on all black. It was on my carpet which is a natural color and there was a black plastic toy and white piece of.paper

 

[Robin Usagani]

Spot metering is like putting jigsaw puzzle together that is made up of spaces in -3 to +3. You meter something and you tell the camera where to put it. So if what you meter you think should be at 0, then put it at 0.

 

[pgriz]

I loved the Hot Shoe Diaries the second time I read it. The first time, it wasn't all that great. Once my head was wrapped around the basics, I read the book through again and loved it.

Another speedlite focused book is Speedliter's Handbook by Syl Arena. I'm currently reading it. Alot of basic information in there. I'd say 50% of the book is focused on the Canon system, but the rest is pretty much general theory (with lots of images)

Hey Pierre, can I borrow the book when you're finished with it? Your choice of McAuslan, Guiness or whatever Les Trois Brasseurs got going as suitable "rent"?

 

[bigtwinky]

lol...might take me a while, there is alot of info in there.
How long do ya need to get throught it? I'm going to be moving in a month or so and won't be needing the book for a while.

I didnt know you were in Montreal

 

[pgriz]

Eh, when I got the time, I speed-read. It's amazing how fast you can go if you don't sweat the comprehension. Of course, if we actually try and do what the books tell us, it might take a little longer. So drop me a PM and maybe we can figure out how to meet up. I'm in the West Island, but I'm all over the city in a regular week, as I'm the principal salesguy for my company. Salut!

 

[enzodm]

Another good book would be "the hot shoe diaries"

I did not know it. Just bought .

... arrived yesterday.
It is pleasant to read like a novel and really funny, although for me, non native english speaker, the amount of slang makes it slightly difficult. Plus I have to translate from nikonian to canonian/cheapflashish, but that's not a problem .