Help with Elan 7e metering

[pfproductions]

Can someone help me understand the 3 different metering modes my Elan 7e has?

 

Most of my photography has been using a manual camera (Nikon FG) and a flash meter. I

have upgraded to the Elan 7e and love it. The Elan's metering is a billion times better than

the FG's. However, many times I don't have my flash meter with me, so I rely on the

camera's meter which I don't really understand.

 

My old Nikon FG is so basic - take the light coming in, give emphasis to the middle and

make it 18% grey. That I can deal with. If I have a tricky situation, I can aim the camera to

a more "typical" spot to get the reading. The Elan does much better with tricky situations,

but not always.

 

What I don't understand is

-how the 3 different meterings work

-when to select one over the other

-what are the limitations of each

-what lighting condictions are problems for each

 

thanks

Eric

[vandit]

There are 3 metering modes in the Canon:

 

1. Center-weighted: this works pretty much the same way as the CW on your FG. However, the actual weighting applied may be different and it will take you some experience with the camera to get used to it.

 

2. Evaluative: this is a smarter version of CW. It analyzes the scene and, using an inbuilt algorithm that you or I will never know or understand, selects an exposure. Being a smart mode, it can even take into account that the subject is off-center (ie, on another focusing point) and bias the metering based on that off-center focusing point.

 

3. Partial: this is like spot, but spread over a bigger area (central 9% of the frame). With a custom function, you can link it to either the central AF point or the user-selected AF point. This works like any spot meter - point it at an area that has a particular tonality, then adjust the reading accordingly (so if you point it at something that is mid-toned, you're fine; for something like snow, you should dial in 1.5-2 stops additional exposure and so on).

 

I prefer to leave the partial meter on the central AF point - that is b/c this point has a neat little circle that approximates the metering area used by this mode.

 

Generally speaking, as long as there is an even and uniformly lit scene, I find that evaluative works very well.

 

For photographing dark/light subjects in mid-toned (or close enough to it) backgrounds - say, elephants against foliage - I merely point my camera at the background, lock focus and recompose. Works like a charm.

 

Evaluative is at its weakest when the entire scene is dominated by a particular tonality, be it dark or be it light. Also, strong backlighting can throw it off as well.

 

For tricky lighting, I use partial metering. This is the most precise metering mode, but obviously, takes a bit more work: you have to select a uniform tonality to meter (b/c of partial's bigger area than a true spot meter, you cannot select a small speck of the area); then you have to decide what tonality to assign to the metered area and lastly, you have to dial in exposure compensation as appropriate.

 

If I am shooting a bunch of scenes in trickly lighting, I'll do a partial meter and then switch to manual settings and shoot on. Otherwise, my camera stays in aperture-priority for almost the entire time.

 

The only time I use CW is occasionally for sunsets - but with ample bracketing on either side. With sunsets, IMO, there is no "proper" exposure - sometimes overexposing or underexposing can yield more interesting results. So I seldom use partial metering for sunsets... unless I am going for a particular look.

 

My suggestion - for tricky lighting, use partial metering. Otherwise, use one out of evaluative or CW - pick one and stay with it while you have the camera.

 

With either mode, you need to spend time getting to know their quirks and character, and there is no point wasting time (and risking confusion) by learning both modes - thorough knowledge of either will give you equivalent results.

 

I prefer evaluative, as I find it to be correct more often than CW. However, since you are experienced with CW, you may find it better to continue with that.

 

And how do you learn the quirks of your camera's evaluative or CW mode? Simple - meter a scene in evaluative. Then meter the scene again using your partial meter (and after dialing in the appropriate exposure compensation). See when the two disagree. Now you know when to stick with evaluative/CW and when to switch to partial (or when to say fuggit and break open the booze).

 

Hope that helps.

 

Vandit

[jimstrutz]

You also mentioned flash when asking about metering. The Elan 7e uses TTL metering when using the built in flash or older Canon Speedlites like the E and EZ series. It's built in flash meter has four segments, from left to right, and uses two of them for any one flash exposure. If you are using a left or right AF point, the camera uses the two on either the left or right side. If you are using the center AF point(s) it uses the two middle segments. This all means that you have to keep the active autofocus point close to the subject when the flash fires.

 

If you are using a newer EX series Speedlite, the camera uses E-TTL flash metering with it's 35 segments, and HIGHLY biases the flash exposure to the area right around the active AF point. So keeping the active AF point directly over the subject is very important. Also, that subject needs to be of average lightness for this to work well. But with E-TTL flash metering you have the option of setting & holding the flash exposure by pressing the FEL button while the active AF point is over an average lightness subject and then reframing for the shot.

 

When using either TTL or E-TTL the camera ignores the metering pattern that you have selected for metering the flash. The camera still uses the selected metering pattern for the ambient part of the exposure however.

[kaustubh]

I will tell you what I know about non-flash metering. I am not too clear on what exactly happens with flash. i always use evaluative while using flash and it is good 99% of the times.

 

the 7e/ 7ne has 35 small squares (or may be rectangles) for metering purposes. Imagine a matrix of 5 rows and 7 columns. The inner matrix of 3 rows and 5 columns is built around the seven focussing points.

 

Note that although this covers most of the frame, it does not entirely cover it....doesn't matter.

 

partial metering: the light from a few (perhaps 5 in the shape of a plus sign) squares including focussing point and around the point u have focussed at (u can set this as center point irrespective of focussing point... as mentioned earlier) is measured. The shutter-speed and/or aperture based on shooting-mode is set accordingly. The light from rest of squares is ignored.

 

evaulative: light from all sqaures is considered. most weightage is given to the few sqaures around the focussing point , a little less weightage to squares further away from the focussing point and the least weightage to squares farthest. What this weightage is and how the algorithms come up with it is largely unknown.

 

Evaluative is pretty good. I used to use elan2e before. I feel that the evaluative of elan 7e beats it by a distance. I have started relying on it in more and mor..even in tough conditions.

 

about ettl metering with flash....

 

I have never found good info on how the metering modes ineract with the shooting modes e.g. everyone says that in Tv and Av mode, camera meters the background and uses the flash only as a fill flash. What if i am using partial metering ? I haven't found an answer to that. May be....the camera uses evaluative metering in Tv and Av modes irrespective of the setting. It doesn't bother me too much because I always use evaluative with flash. In M mode flash is supposed to be the main light source....again don't know how metering modes interact with this.

 

Another thing I am not clear about is " I am using Tv, I set a shutterspeed...based on BG, camera sets the aperture....after pre-flash, does camera alter this shutterspeed-aperture combo ? I haven't seen this happen. or does it just make the decision on the duration of flash that will be required ? "

 

If you cannot get to the bottom of this...dont worry....put the metering mode evaluative and shoot pictures.

 

Kaustubh

[kaustubh]

here is some info regarding metering with flash.

 

http://bobatkins.photo.net/photography/eosfaq/flashfaq.htm

 

However, this does not get into details of the effects of different metering modes.

 

Say, we are concerned about 3 metering modes (center-weighted, evaulative and partial) and 3 shooting modes (Av, Tv, M), then we are looking at 9 combinations. Does someone know how E-TTL metering works for each of these 9 combinations ? and what does the camera exactly do afetr the pre-flash ? change shutter-speed aperture ? or decide power of the output of the flash ? or decide the duration of teh flash? Suppose it works same for Av and Tv. Still...there are six combinations. Can someone throw light on this ?

 

Thanks in advance

Kaustubh

[jimstrutz]

<I>"Does someone know how E-TTL metering works for each of these 9 combinations?"</I>

<P>

Works the same for all modes. Ambient metering changes, but E-TTL flash metering remains the same.

<P>

<I>"and what does the camera exactly do afetr the pre-flash? change shutter-speed aperture? or decide power of the output of the flash? or decide the duration of the flash?"</I>

<P>

Shutter speed and aperture do not change after the pre-flash. Nor does the intensity of the flash. Only the duration of the flash will change to effect the flash exposure.

<P>

When using Tv, Av or M, the camera's ambient metering determines the proper ambient light exposure. Flash is added to this exposure in the proper amount for a normal flash exposure. Theoretically this should result in an overexposure, but at least with print film it doesn't show. On most EOS cameras you can select a custom function to lock the shutter speed to the top sysnc speed in Av mode, but I fail to see the point, as this really is just a crippled M mode.

<P>

In P mode the camera selects a shutter speed between 1/60 and the camera's top sync speed (depends on light levels, but usually selects the 1/60) In this case, the flash is expected to provide the majority of the lighting.

<P>

In some of the newer EOS cameras there is what some have termed "NEVEC." Where the ambient exposure is actually reduced (prior to the pre-flash) any time E-TTL flash is used. I think this effects EOS 30/Elan 7, 3, and possibly the 1v. I'm not sure about the D-SLRs. Some people hate this "feature", since it is just one more way that Canon is controlling their lives. But it actually works quite good in most situations.

[yakim_peled1]

<p> Have a look <a href="http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/cameras.html#metering">here</a> and <a href="http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/#ettl">here</a>. <p>

 

<p>Happy shooting,<br>

Yakim.</p>

[kaustubh]

Yakim...thx a lot...that second link answers a lot of questions that have been troubling me for a while

 

Kaustubh

[john_ellis3]

I'm getting drastic shadows using evaluative mode. For instance, my kids playing in the pool in afternoon sun with a slight shadow on their face will be completely dark. I've noticed this problem since I got my camera over a year ago, but thought I was doing something wrong. My original Elan never had this problem.

 

It seems most people posting to this thread rave about the evaluative mode. Could something be wrong with my camera?<div></div>