January 29, 2008
In This eNewsletter:
How-To - Light Readings; Metering Patterns & Exposure Control Industry Perspective - The Passing of a Legend What's New This Month - Tamron, Delkin, hueyPro, Kodak, and more! Commentary - A Look Ahead in Shutterbug Vote! - Have you worked with older lenses on your newer DSLR? Workshops & Contests - Learn and Show Shutterbug Forums - Your Photo & Digital Imaging Source
Light Readings
Metering Patterns & Exposure Control
by George Schaub
When we think of exposure our first instinct might be to rely on the metering system in the camera to always provide the correct exposure, regardless of the direction of the light or the conditions under which we expose. And for the majority of shots we would be fine, thanks to the incredible sophistication of the metering systems in cameras today. Whether the automated system is called evaluative, matrix or pattern, the scheme works by way of the system breaking the image up into numerous zones. These zones are then analyzed for not only the light in the zone itself but in the relationship of the brightness of the light in each zone to other zones. All this is then referred all to a complex look-up-table that feeds back an exposure solution. This now works with lighting situations previously considered impossible for an automatic metering system, including backlight, strong sidelight and even bright dominant scenes, such as snowy fields on a bright sunny day.
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