Photography is all about light. If you expose your sensor to
too much light, you’ll bleach out the image; whereas not letting enough light
on to the sensor will result in the photo being too dark-and in both cases,
critical detail and colour be lost.
Multi Segment Matering
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| "Multi Segment" |
Multi Segment or Multi Zone matering as it’s otherwise
known, is the most recent addition to range of matering options available and
is the default setting on most cameras. Each manufacturer has their own
specific name for it. Canon call theirs Evaluative for instance, while Nikon
terms theirs as Matrix matering, but in essence, they all operate in a similar
way.
The entire image is metered, but is divided up to sections
to produce a much more accurate reading for the scence as each segment takes
its own reading. It’s so clever, that it knows which areas to give prominence
to and which areas of the image to ignore-bright skies,for instance, that could
fool a meter normally. Information from all segments is then combined and
cross-checked woith database in order to determine the best exposure possible.
Centre Weightd
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| "Centre Weightd" |
Before multi segment came along, centre weighted matering
was the standard matering mode on pretty much any camera, and is still a
reliable option.
Compared to multi segment
matering, centre weighted is quite straightforward in how it works. Using the
whole scene to take a meter reading from, a bias is given towards the centre of
the frame as the name suggest which is normally around 60-70%. As you’d expect,
it’s ideal for subjects that are in the centre of the frame, such as portraits
and action shots, which may otherwise trick multi segment matering if there’s a
light or dark background.
Spot Matering
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"Spot Matering"
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True to it’s name,spot
matering takes a reading from only a very small area of the
frame-roughly between 1% and 5% - andassumes that this point will be the mid-grey
area, and allows you to take a very specific meter reading. Many portrait
photographers use this, taking a reading from the skin, while it’s also popular
with documentary photographers working in poor light and want to ensure that
their subject is exposed correctly.
Spot matering is often linked into the AF point you
have selected, so you can focus and meter from the same point.
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