Spot Metering...

[CW Jones]

How important is it? I hear the Canon 1000D doesn't have it... even my advanced P&S has it. Is it even possible to get good pictures say of the moon without spot metering?

 

[Dao]

It is nice to have it. My XTi do not have spot metering. So in some situations, the camera cannot give me the correct result that I want. In general. it should be fine without.

As for the moon, it is better to shoot with manual mode.

 

[CW Jones]

right... I usually shoot in manual mode, isnt spot metering tho for the light meter? I thought you could shoot in any mode (well almost any) and still be able to pic your meter mode?

 

[charlie_merrifi]

partial meter works the same as spot. i have the 1000d also

 

[rufus5150]

partial meter works the same as spot. i have the 1000d also

Sorta. Spot metering is an even narrower sample (on the 40d, spot meter is 3%, partial is 9%).

 

[Sarah23]

I only spot meter, unless I am doing a landscape, but those are few and far between.

As rufus5150 said, spot take a meter reading off the center 3%, and partial off the center 9%. It was one thing I hated about my XTi, as it did not have spot metering.

 

[epp_b]

How important is it?

Very. Spot metering is the most accurate metering system in a camera if you know how to use it.

 

[CW Jones]

so if it is so important why would they make a camera without it? I am not asking to be a dick, just trying to figure it all out thats why. I mean 9% is pretty tight... not as tight as 3% obviously. so sorry if I come off like I am questioning what your saying, I am just looking for more knowledge

 

[rufus5150]

To get you to pay $200-$400 more for a camera?

 

[CW Jones]

haha ya I figured someone would chime in with that answer

 

[tsaraleksi]

Don't forget that "spot metering" in most point and shoot cameras is closer to what dSLRs call partial metering, so if you're used to using spot on a point and shoot, you'll be able to use partial on the dSLR without too much difficulty.

 

[dxqcanada]

so if it is so important why would they make a camera without it?

Most User's do not know how to use spot metering effectively.
There are probably a number of User's that shoot with spot metering that do not know exactly why they are using it.

You do not always need spot metering. For most images the matrix metering is sufficient (and getting more intelligent), and partial spot on most camera's is narrow enough with the appropriate lens.

 

[Pure]

Try shooting a theater production where only the subject is lit up on stage. You'll find out how important spot metering is.

 

[RyanLilly]

Try shooting a theater production where only the subject is lit up on stage. You'll find out how important spot metering is.

Very true, my 20D's only have partial, which is 8% iirc, and it can be a bit of an issue, usually when shooting theatre or music I'm shooting manual and just come to expect that the meter is a little off and compensating for it comes pretty easily after a while, but a true spot meter would be nice.

By the way, to make an example of extra $ for basic features,
A spot meter is the only real difference between a 20D and a 30D in functionality. (I don't consider the larger but crappier lcd screen to be a functional difference on the 30D)

 

[bdavison]

Spot metering is useful of course. Perticularly in shots that have a wide variation of contrast between objects as Pure mentioned.

But dont forget about matrix metering. Matrix is very good at metering most scenes, even the complicated ones. As a matter of fact, matrix is better at metering scenes than you are. I probably have only memorized about 30 different combinations of shutter/aperture for different scenes...whereas matrix has thousands built into it. If your camera has matrix metering, try it.

If you dont have spot metering, you can cheat the system and here's how.

Zoom into a spot in the picture that you want to meter from. Do a half-press on the shutter to meter it, and then use AE-lock to hold it. Zoom back out, re-compose and take the shot.