Using exposure level indicator ?

[stratt0n]

How many people use exposure level indicator when shooting in manual mode? I use it all the time. But don't really know if it is the correct way to use manual mode. It seems to help . Sorry i was meaning to put this in the beginners section.

 

[astroNikon]

The exposure level indicator is a tool to get the shot exposed correctly quickly. I use it all the time.

When you are in manual ISO, manual Shutter & Aperture you need it to get the proper exposure for your technique, whether that is in f/2.8 or f4, f9 it lets you quickly adjust to the proper Shutter/ISO/exposure level. Or if you want to bump up ISO then Aperture, for a particular shutter speed in various lighting conditions.

The exposure meter lets you get it right and quickly.
Then you can adjust after that whether you like to slightly underexpose, etc.

 

[stratt0n]

Thanks. Makes since.

 

[KmH]

Most cameras will give you 3 or 4 metering mode options - Spot, Center-weighted, Matrix/Evaluative, and Partial.

Understanding Camera Metering and Exposure

 

[minicoop1985]

It also lets you expose backlit things just right. For example, getting the foreground to show up in a sunset shot, or adjusting for night shots. Sometimes you need to over or under expose by a stop or two.

 

[unpopular]

The exposure meter will correspond to exposure levels. When using spot meter, this is most evident. Zero is equivalent to middle grey. It represent's 12-18% (depending) of the total light available being reflected from the subject into the lens. It will render near level 128 in an 8-bit image, in practice, it won't be exactly level 128, but that's the idea. So if you have half the amount of light in one scene than another, you will need twice the amount of exposure to render a subject at 18%, i.e. increase time, aperture or sensitivity by one stop.

+1ev represents one full stop more light reflected off the subject than 0ev. So if you expose something that reflects twice as much light as something that reflects 18% of the total light available at ±0ev, it will be appear too dark. To properly expose such a subject, you would need to increase exposure by one stop.

-1ev represents one full stop less light reflected off the subject than ±0ev. So if you expose something that reflects twice as much light as something that reflects 18% of the total light available at 0ev, it will appear too light. To properly expose such a subject, you would need to decrease exposure by one stop.

The vital thing to remember is that ±0ev does NOT mean "correct". It means that the same circumstances were met as when the meter was calibrated.

 

[unpopular]

It also lets you expose backlit things just right. For example, getting the foreground to show up in a sunset shot, or adjusting for night shots. Sometimes you need to over or under expose by a stop or two.

Or spot meter off the subject and spot meter off the background, and calculate a best scenario for the circumstance given latitude.

 

[minicoop1985]

It also lets you expose backlit things just right. For example, getting the foreground to show up in a sunset shot, or adjusting for night shots. Sometimes you need to over or under expose by a stop or two.

Or spot meter off the subject and spot meter off the background, and calculate a best scenario for the circumstance given latitude.

Pretty much, but I use the meter to determine exactly where I wanna end up. You just worded what I really meant better than I did.

 

[unpopular]

Yeah. As a photographer becomes more familiar with what exposure means, the less guesswork is involved. It becomes more about compromise than "ehh, a stop or two". Even decisions about processing should ideally be made at the time of exposure ("do I want to provide increased exposure and pull shadows to maintain detail? how will this effect headroom?")

I think it's important to get away from this mentality early on. The science behind photography is pretty precise, it's what you do with that precision that makes it art.

 

[benlinus78]

I use the exposure level indicator too. That is how i learn drom the beginning.

 

[cookedpixel]

How many people use exposure level indicator when shooting in manual mode?

I do not because usually when I'm in manual mode it is because I am specifically trying to ignore the camera's exposure suggestion due to unusual lighting conditions or artistic effect.

 

[unpopular]

How many people use exposure level indicator when shooting in manual mode?

I do not because usually when I'm in manual mode it is because I am specifically trying to ignore the camera's exposure suggestion due to unusual lighting conditions or artistic effect.

Then you very clearly do not know how the meter works.

I don't mean to be insulting here, but the assertion that the meter is somehow "suggesting" something, or that it is exclusive to artistic control is completely erroneous - have you read The Negative?

 

[Derrel]

I look at the metering display and center it; or deliberately over-expose; or deliberately underexpose. Sometimes I swing the camera around the scene, using the decades-old system that Nikon uses, which is a scribed, 12mm circle in the viewfinder, using that metering circle to check the values at the brightest spot in the frame, and then to the darkest spot in the frame, and then swing the scribed circle to a point in-between, and then set to that exposure setting.

 

[unpopular]

^^^ Camera swinging. That's kind of a funny mental picture.

 

[cookedpixel]

How many people use exposure level indicator when shooting in manual mode?

I do not because usually when I'm in manual mode it is because I am specifically trying to ignore the camera's exposure suggestion due to unusual lighting conditions or artistic effect.

Then you very clearly do not know how the meter works.

I don't mean to be insulting here, but the assertion that the meter is somehow "suggesting" something, or that it is exclusive to artistic control is completely erroneous - have you read The Negative?

To be honest, that was a bit insulting. Perhaps you misunderstood what I was trying to say because I wasn't clear. Yes, I have read The Camera, The Negative, and The Print, along with many other photography books and frequently utilize the Zone System with black and white film photography. The meter is suggesting an exposure based only on a standard 18% reflectance (Zone V). Sometimes that average works, and other times it does not when the subject is lit differently than much of the scene.

For example, the below photograph was taken with exposure as the meter indicated. The lighting was flat, and the dynamic range was not large. I did use a conservative contrast filter to increase the contrast between the colored panels of the building. That worked for what I was trying to achieve.

The next photograph had some heavy shadow to the right of the mural. Had I exposed to what the meter averaged the entire scene as, some of the highlights in the mural would have crept up to zone IX and lost texture detail. Instead, I exposed a full stop less than the meter indicated to let the right side go dark and let the values of the mural land correctly.