Using spot metering all the time?

miha · Sep 9, 2014

When I got a Leicaflex SL camera some years ago, spot was the only option, so I got use to it (I used to use whatever mode was the most foolproof, usually matrix). My later R cameras (R3/R4) are tuned for slides as they tend to pick up every highlight from the scene when in 'integral mode' meaning they tend to underexpose in contrast lighting so I set the meters to spot as well. I use the spot mode now permanently with B&W film. Anyone in the same boat?

RalphLambrecht · Sep 9, 2014

miha said:
When I got a Leicaflex SL camera some years ago, spot was the only option, so I got use to it (I used to use whatever mode was the most foolproof, usually matrix). My later R cameras (R3/R4) are tuned for slides as they tend to pick up every highlight from the scene when in 'integral mode' meaning they tend to underexpose in contrast lighting so I set the meters to spot as well. I use the spot mode now permanently with B&W film. Anyone in the same boat?

No, I'm so impressed with Nikon's matrix meteringthat I don't use anything else unless I'm in the studio for model photography, where I use incidentmetering for the flash.

miha · Sep 9, 2014

I agree. Matrix is probably the best metering mode available.

Regular Rod · Sep 9, 2014

Nearly. My cameras are all manual. So I use a Spotmeter. Unless I'm travelling really light with just a folder in my pocket, then I use the free Light Meter App on my iPhone (also as a Spotmeter).

RR

Xmas · Sep 9, 2014

Incident dome on nose of subject... if you got time.

Poisson Du Jour · Sep 9, 2014

Spot metering has its foundation in sorting out very contrasty light, or where there are many light and dark tones. Single-level spot meters in cameras are not of much use other than to point it at one area then another to assess the difference in luminance, upon which you make a decision on the exposure that will provide a reasonable (if not perfect) balance between preserving highlights and providing for some (but not a lot) of the detail in shadows. Basing a decision on a random, unplanned reading anywhere within the image is not the correct method.

Incident is more generally useful for strongly backlit subjects and this is not just restricted to the obvious settings like portraiture, but also (accessible) landscape / scenic subjects, just that it is a lot more fiddly to scoot around poking the meter about before getting things back to the camera.

Matrix / evaluative / multipattern...call the what you like, are all calibrated along the Zone System and that is why they are so good at sorting out a lot (but not all!) of the difficult scenes which centre-weighted average meters cannot cope with. But hand-held multi-spot or incident metering takes capacity to a higher level.

miha · Sep 9, 2014

I would certainly disagree with 'spot meters in cameras are not of much use' It is a very powerful tool if used correctly. I have no problem exposing slide film with no errors using in-camera spot metering only.

baachitraka · Sep 9, 2014

Incident meter the shadows and adjust according to your taste.

OldBodyOldSoul · Sep 9, 2014

Spot metering all the way. Meter against an appropriate surface (relative to what's important in the frame), lock, recompose, shoot. It's quick and works every time and in every situation. That's in A mode, which I use most of the time. In M mode I don't even meter because that's when speed is much more important than half (or even full) stop error.

zanxion72 · Sep 9, 2014

Me too uses spot metering all the time. I follow a zone system approach to my photos and I need precise metering to get exactly what I want on my negative and latter in my prints. I find setting my camera to M and quickly stepping up or down the exposure quite convenient.

miha · Sep 9, 2014

OldBodyOldSoul said:
Spot metering all the way. Meter against an appropriate surface (relative to what's important in the frame), lock, recompose, shoot. It's quick and works every time and in every situation. That's in A mode, which I use most of the time. In M mode I don't even meter because that's when speed is much more important than half (or even full) stop error.

This is exactly the way I operate my camera.

naeroscatu · Sep 9, 2014

Spot metering for landscapes where I use 6x6 or 4x5 formats and need to develop film according to the exposure. I use incident measurement (white dome) for street photogrpahy and studio (with or without flash).

Mainecoonmaniac · Sep 9, 2014

What I like to do is the see the forest first than look at the trees. I like to take an incident reading (seeing the forest) then use the spot meter to see where the different areas on the scene to see where they fall (the trees). When using a camera with a built in meter like my Canon F-1n that center weighted, I meter with it first then use my spot meter to see check how bright parts of my scene are and I tweak my exposure accordingly. With roll film, I keep in mind how I'm going to process my film.

cowanw · Sep 9, 2014

f8 1/125 sec from a spot meter is the same as f8 1/125 sec from a matrix meter. There are only so many choices, to set the camera at.
Some make it sound that the perfect exposure setting from elaborate systems will open up the shadows; as opposed to the same setting from a spot meter (assuming an understanding of exposure which if you are worried about opening up the shadows then you probably know about exposure).
Now putting everything (and your brain) on auto then sure use a matrix.

moltogordo · Sep 26, 2014

I shoot all of my cameras on manual, even my DSLRs. I use a handheld Sekonic Spot Meter for everything, about 80% of the time on full mode, and when the light is contrasty, on spot mode.

Because I am often shooting B&W film in medium format, if I have the time, I'll meter with the Sekonic, and take a "polaroid" with my Pentax K10, and adjust accordingly for the film camera, using the histogram overlay as a guide.

I generally shoot EVERYTHING at ASA 200 or 400, so I'm pretty good at eyeballing exposure without any kind of metering whatsoever. But I trust my Sekonic the most.

Alan Gales · Sep 27, 2014

There is nothing wrong with spot meters. I use a Pentax digital spot meter with my 8x10 Wehman, 4x5 Crown Graphic and 35mm Stereo Realist.

For shooting sports with the Nikon D300 I use matrix metering. It is fast and works great going back and forth from shady to sunny areas in a fast pitch softball game.

wiltw · Sep 28, 2014

Yes, all the time. Every camera with a meter that I own has spot metering capability, including my P&S cameras! And for the large format camera with no meter, I have a Minolta Spotmeter F. I use the spotmeter if I cannot handle the situation with an incident meter.

I do use incident meter in studio situations, but also use the spotmeter for product photography shots whose dynamic range must fit within the restrictive reproduction range of the offset press. I also do use the spotmeter along with the incident reading for outdoor shots to confirm that the dynamic range of the scene will fit within the capabilities of the film type or the digital sensor.

For outdoor sports, the incident meter is much better than any reflective light meter which is biased simply by the brightness of the jerseys running in and out of the frame!

I draw the analogy to screwdrivers...meters, like screwdrivers, are NOT 'one size/type fits all'. Different meters have different strengths and weaknesses in different situations.

Alan Gales · Sep 28, 2014

wiltw said:
For outdoor sports, the incident meter is much better than any reflective light meter which is biased simply by the brightness of the jerseys running in and out of the frame!

I have shot a lot of select fast pitch softball with first a D200 and then a D300. I have been amazed at the quality of exposure using matrix metering.

Using an incident meter how do you meter players when some are in the sun and some are in the shade and you are in the shade? You can't just walk out into the outfield during a game. Sometimes the light is constantly changing due to cloud cover moving too.

wiltw · Sep 28, 2014

Alan Gales said:
Using an incident meter how do you meter players when some are in the sun and some are in the shade and you are in the shade? You can't just walk out into the outfield during a game. Sometimes the light is constantly changing due to cloud cover moving too.

Admittedly, when the sky has lots of clouds occasionally obscurring the sun, the appropriate exposure does change. But for full sun, or for cloud-blocked sun, a SINGLE exposure applies in each respective case -- whether the viewfinder is filled with dark jerseys or filled with light jerseys or fill with both! So, shooting with bright sun, I might use ISO 200 1/1600 f/5.6; and when clouds blocking the sun I might shift to 1/400 f/5.6, and shift back to 1/1600 f/5.6 when the sun quits hiding behind the cloud.

The problem with reflective metering is that when dark jerseys predominate in one shot, you need to use EC = +1; and when light jerseys predominate in another shot a second later, you then need to use EC = -1. And if the light is that variable (as you make it seem) how are you coping with appropriate EC adjustment from shot to shot?! Yes, evaluative tends to somewhat 'buffer' the changes from shot to shot, but if the sun stays out from behind the clouds your exposure SHOULD NOT change at all from one shot to another!

So your need to alter EC just for the jerseys in the frame is a far more dynamic and challenging situation than me altering shutter speed or aperture as I notice the sun/cloud situation changing every few minutes, isn't it?!

Alan Gales · Sep 28, 2014

wiltw said:
Admittedly, when the sky has lots of clouds occasionally obscurring the sun, the appropriate exposure does change. But for full sun, or for cloud-blocked sun, a SINGLE exposure applies in each respective case -- whether the viewfinder is filled with dark jerseys or filled with light jerseys or fill with both!

The problem is that when dark jerseys predominate in one shot, you need to use EC = +1 and when light jerseys predominate in another shot, you need to use EC = -1. And if the light is that variable (as you make it seem) how are you coping with appropriate EC adjustment from shot to shot?!

So your need to alter EC just for the jerseys in the frame is a far more dynamic and challenging situation than me altering shutter speed or aperture as I notice the sun/cloud situation changing every few minutes, isn't it?!

I don't alter anything. Matrix metering reads the whole scene and not just the jerseys. It's like the camera takes multiple spot meter readings of the whole scene and then applies the zone system.

I used to shoot a Contax 139 35mm camera for sports. It had the old bottom centered reflective meter. I agree with you that an incident meter was much better than that.

Alan Gales · Sep 28, 2014

With a digital camera you can set it to auto ISO. I pick my aperture and shutter speed and my ISO will go up and down according to the meter reading. I don't worry about noise because I'm outside in plenty of light.

Sirius Glass · Sep 28, 2014

RalphLambrecht said:
No, I'm so impressed with Nikon's matrix meteringthat I don't use anything else unless I'm in the studio for model photography, where I use incidentmetering for the flash.

I too use Nikon matrix metering and Hasselblad matrix metering for almost everything. I will use a spotmeter for some situations.

DREW WILEY · Sep 29, 2014

I use a Pentax HANDHELD Spotmeter for everything. Way more accurate and predictable than any kind of TTL metering, though I do parallel
practice with that from time to time, just in case.

Old-N-Feeble · Sep 29, 2014

MATRIX...

Morpheus: I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?

Neo: The Matrix.

Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is?

Neo: Yes.

Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

Neo: What truth?

Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.

MATRIX...

pentaxpete · Oct 1, 2014

I could never understand that 'Matrix' and how does that bloke FLY with a heavy black coat on ? !!
PS -- My British WESTON MASTER meters with incident light are best !

Using spot metering all the time?

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