metering and exposure for a100

[gideon_imperial]

hi!

 

im trying to understand metering and exposure and i find it a bit confusing.

this is where i struggle a bit in making a shot. sometimes the result is over

or somtimes underexpose. in my mind at the minute, ive got some questions that

i need to ask but i dont know where to start.

 

anyway, ill try one, how do you use metering on this camera apart from setting

it up on the metering menu? do i need to point the camera and halfpress the

shutter botton? and is this the right way to check your exposure b4 u take a

shot?

 

thanks alot!

[weatherman]

If you are using multi segment metering, the camera is at full auto and you almost have no control over exposure. Exposure compensation with segment metering is not recommended since you know nothing about how camera ended up with that exposure. This is why I use spot metering combined with exposure compensation. (Or I use a gray card with no compensation obviously).

You might need to read about basics of metering before you start using your slr. Only then you can use that capable tool to full extent.

Good luck

[gideon_imperial]

thanks for the info.

 

btw, do u use manual mode? 1 more thing, do u use spot af or wide af area? or it depends what ur shooting at?

[gideon_imperial]

can u changed the aperture, shutter and ev scale independently with each other in manual mode? what happen is, everytime i moved the control dial the shutter and ev scale move at the same time.

most of the time when i use manual, after setting the aperture up,i just have to look at the ev scale when i move the control dial b4 i take a shot at least i got control with exposure.

[weatherman]

I can say that I never used the wide af area. I guess I can not see the point of that (Not having the control).

 

I generally don't bother about the ev scale. Unless I'm setting an exposure compensation. I just trust the spot meter at "A" mode.

The EV scale is there to give you an ide of how far you are from the camera's recommended exposure value.

 

You need to read books about basics of exposure. You can even find the info on the internet. Try to find resources that explain exposure in modern SLRs. They all work more or less the same these days.

Good luck.

[dagoimaging]

You might find this site quite useful for understanding quite a few things. Neil does a great job of explaining things.

 

http://www.planetneil.com/faq/index.html

 

Hope it helps you out.

[gideon_imperial]

thanks a lot for ur help. i tried the link and its very informative. ive also downloaded some stuff as well. so im gonna keep myself bz learning metering and exposure.

[gideon_imperial]

i read a couple of articles about metering. one says that i have to set my camera to auto and the other one to manual and get reading from it. in your case wot do you do?

 

can you tell me whether im doing this right?

 

> choose metering mode (multisegment, spot etc..)

> set the camera to manual mode

> point the camera to where u want to get a reading from

> press ael or half press shutter to get a reading

> take the shot

[gideon_imperial]

after a few more readings, this is what i learned and this is what i do 4 the moment.

 

first, i bought myself a grey card and get a meter reading from it. what i do is, set my camera to manual mode, then set it to spot meter point my camera to the grey card. i dont have to go near the grey card and fill the viewfinder with it. just zoom in a bit and i make sure that the middle of the viewfinder is anywhere within the card. half press the shutter button to activate the meter and let go, and set the aperture and shutter according to my needs and overexpose it to 1/3 stop. then press AEL bttn to lock what i just set. then compose and shoot. i make sure that the grey card is with the same light as the subject.

[gideon_imperial]

<p>when you take a meter reading, let say a bright blue sky. u point ur camera up and half press the shutter botton to get a reading. the reading u get from it, is it the reading that u need to follow regardless whether the exposure meter display n the viewfinder saying that ur underexpose 1 stop? or do u need to move the arrow to get to the central mark?<br>

i havent done any special photography. just famil pix for awile.<br>

tnx guys.</p>

 

[gideon_imperial]

<p>in manual mode and when i tried to get a meter reading of a scene the only thing that moves is the arrow underneath the exposure meter display on the viewfinder. to get an accurate reading do i need to move the arrow toward the central mark? is this right?</p>

<p>thanks a lot. pls help..</p>