PureClassA said:
ahsanford said:
privatebydesign said:
Sorry, don't buy it. How much have you actually shot all those scenarios with AF point linked spot metering? I'd guess little or none.
Obviously, the answer is never. Canon doesn't give me this functionality with my 5D3.
- A
LOL! You gotta give ahsanford some points for that one. ;D Well played.
I do. Not because he points out Canon hasn't put a feature he considers "golden" in his model of camera, but for his honesty in admitting he has never actually used the feature he considers "golden".
As for your dance image, I contend AF linked spot metering would be ineffective in that scenario without constant heavy and accurate EV compensation. On the other hand if you just used Center Weighted Average you'd get a darn good exposure for all your dancers even though they have very different skin tones.
Here is your image with a heavy center weighted Gaussian Blur layer (in color then B&W). I think this illustrates that just because we consider this a difficult metering situation when you look at the scene as the camera metering would it really isn't that tough. These are very close to what the meter 'sees' in the Center Weighted Average mode, the RGB values are 119-99-159, 18% grey in sRGB is 119-119-119.
Of course Canon believe that Evaluative metering is smart enough to work out what your subject is, it's workings are proprietary but we do know distance information is passed to the camera so it could be considered an intelligent linked AF point weighted metering mode. Obviously the 'problem' with Evaluative metering is it is proprietary and we need to learn what to expect from it, and it had changed as the cameras have got smarter.
Don't forget one severe limitation with AF point linked spot metering that those who haven't used it forget when they site heavy backlight situations and difficult exposure scenarios, you are limited to +/-3 stops of EV, tricky lighting, especially backlighting, often needs more than that.
Another is the supposed 2.5% area of the spot, how close is that to covering your subject? How much backlight or dark is impacting the meter reading? It is difficult to calculate your needed EV when you can't be sure how much of that metering spot is on what part of the scene.
Personally in 'difficult' lighting situations I have always considered M mode with Evaluative metering the best of the bunch, even after using AF point linked Spot meteringTo illustrate I am not just talking the talk here I include four images I consider tough from a metering point of view that I found AF point Spot metering really didn't help with, it just got in the way. M mode and Evaluative metering worked very well and left me to do my thing. I know #4 has camera shake but it was a 300mm f2.8 at 1/80sec handheld on a 1D, so give me a break.
So #3 and #4, black singer with a black mic wearing black with a black background, and rapidly changing lighting. #5 and #6, black singer wearing very white suit with rapidly changing light.
I hope this post helps people think a little more about metering, it is not intended to be a bitch slap or putdown of anybody, just an honest exchange of thoughts about a feature few seem to have used but many seem to crave.
I can see the advantages to shooting in manual but I also see some serious challenges for the person who is just learning. However, every bit of advice is taken to heart!
