Need Help on ESP, Center Weighted & Spot Metering

stnicholas81 · 11th June 2005

Hi guys, I am training with my E-300 to prepare for my trip to CHINA. Everything is well but I am still a bit lost with ESP, Center Weighted & SPot Metering? I assume general function i use ESP? and for subjects with strong contrast center weighted? Can gurus please guide a lost sheep. I did some reading on the web but still a bit goong. Thanks.

Rgds,
Nic

Edited-> realized i forgot to enquire about pixel compression. May I know which produces the best result? i assume 1/8?

nightpiper · 11th June 2005

i find the ESP not very accurate. i m sticking to the old style of using center weighted. now exploring using spot metering. i wud say its pretty alright to use center weighted most of the time. anyway, with digital cams, u can just delete the scene if the exposure is not good thru verification on the histogram.

i wud recommend shooting in RAW instead. u get more control over the exposures & the colour balance. also RAW gives u more details & u will be surprise!!

i m not sure about the compression ratio of the E300 but i guess if u can confirm the compression by viewing the file size of the jpegs.

have a good trip & post some pics when u get back!!

jamestyemk · 11th June 2005

My system comprises E-300, kit lens, 50mm macro & FL50 flash.

My experience with the metering modes so far was that ESP had generally been OK for flash-assisted indoor shots, and evenly lighted outdoor scenes.

For indoor w/o flash, I tend to use spot metering to ensure that the significant part of the picture is well exposed. I'll use photo-editing softwares to touch up the parts that were over- or under-exposed, where necessary.

For outdoor with harsh lighting such as bright day with lots of sky/cloud in the picture, I use the average metering mode more often. ESP tends to underexposure.

Bottom line is to try all of them if time and opportunity permits.

chancy · 12th June 2005

Originally Posted by stnicholas81

Hi guys, I am training with my E-300 to prepare for my trip to CHINA. Everything is well but I am still a bit lost with ESP, Center Weighted & SPot Metering? I assume general function i use ESP? and for subjects with strong contrast center weighted? Can gurus please guide a lost sheep. I did some reading on the web but still a bit goong. Thanks.

Rgds,
Nic

Edited-> realized i forgot to enquire about pixel compression. May I know which produces the best result? i assume 1/8?

Hello Nicholas,

Training (practice) is a good hedge to getting better photos. Always a good move before an impt trip.

Between the three metering options. An appreciation of scene brightness is needed as one moves from ESP->CW->Spot. A corresponding increase in time from the photographer is needed to determine subject exposure as one gravitates towards spot. This means that when subject movment & environmental lighting changes quickly, ESP & CW will be better suited.

Needless to say, when shooting in Manual where the photographer want the greatest photography control, it would be odd to rely on ESP as a baseline exposure because one does not know how the camera computer determines its exposure results using its own scene analysis algorithm. CW & Spot are far more predictable tools to use in this case.

Just as important is the use of the Auto Exposure Lock (AEL) button especially in Spot mode, since there's the best way to tell your camera that's your intended subject to bias exposure on.

Nothing like practise to get a behavioural feel of the various metering modes to see which is most comfy for you.

As Nightpiper mentioned, shooting in RAW gives you headroom to salvage off-metered scenes at the expense of storage. Plus the WB adjustments. Only if photography is a key ingredient of your trip :-)

If you choose JPEG, and wonder about the compression ratio. Then, lower ratio does equate to retaining more image information during compression, if storage allows ie.

Welcome to the Oly family, glad to hear you've chosen a sleeper amongst the giants. Have a photo opportunity filled trip :-)

stnicholas81 · 12th June 2005

HI guys, thanks for your pointer, it clarified my doubts on metering.

chancy, may i know what exactly does the ael do? i'm not too sure abt that at the moment.

btw, will a custom white balance improve the color? recommeneded to do WB bracketing?

Thanks guys,
Sorry i got so many qns.

edited in -> gurus, is it recommended to mount my Nikon sb-26 onto my e300? i read somewhere here that it can be mounted. i tried twice but decided not to try again, scared will damage the camera. thanks

stnicholas81 · 12th June 2005

gurus, is it recommended to mount my Nikon sb-26 onto my e300? i read somewhere here that it can be mounted. i tried twice but decided not to try again, scared will damage the camera. thanks

nightpiper · 13th June 2005

not recommended to mount other flash head onto the E300. there's just not much communication between cam & flash, u won't get the benefit of a full sync sys just like a Nikon cam with Nikon flash. probably won't damage the cam but u lose quite a few neat features like FP hi-speed sync mode.

get the FL-36, its about S$300, not too expensive for a dedicated entry level flash. besides, u can use the FL-36 together with the built-in flash, this combo gives very pleasing results to your pics/portraits.

i would say a custom WB will give yield to more accurate colours, & keep those qns coming, thou i m no guru.

hope this helps!

bariq · 13th June 2005

Originally Posted by stnicholas81

HI guys, thanks for your pointer, it clarified my doubts on metering.

chancy, may i know what exactly does the ael do? i'm not too sure abt that at the moment.

btw, will a custom white balance improve the color? recommeneded to do WB bracketing?

Thanks guys,
Sorry i got so many qns.

edited in -> gurus, is it recommended to mount my Nikon sb-26 onto my e300? i read somewhere here that it can be mounted. i tried twice but decided not to try again, scared will damage the camera. thanks

AEL is used to get a focus lock on some particular subject and use the same focus setting n metering to snap another subject. Custom white balance gives you more control, use of gray card, expo disk, white objects(nightpipers style), you can do bulk edit more easily if you used custom WB. WB bracketing is individual preference.
using sb-26 on ur cam wont damage it but its not recommended as you wont get major functionality.

stnicholas81 · 14th June 2005

thanks gurus. I have been training with the E300 til some dust particles got into the side swing mirror. My e300 is with oly now for cleaning/ inspection, one final check before i embark on my journey. will post pics when i get back. Take care guys! Btw, anything good to buy in Shanghai? i heard that there is a nikon -> oly convertor. see if i can find there.

chancy · 14th June 2005

Originally Posted by stnicholas81

thanks gurus. I have been training with the E300 til some dust particles got into the side swing mirror. My e300 is with oly now for cleaning/ inspection, one final check before i embark on my journey. will post pics when i get back. Take care guys! Btw, anything good to buy in Shanghai? i heard that there is a nikon -> oly convertor. see if i can find there.

Hello stnicholas81,

Well, the dust busting filter sits infront of the Kodak CCD image chip & does its work for the chip not for the mirror though :-)

May all your precautions payoff with great image opportunities !

Cheers,

11th June 2005	#1
stnicholas81 Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 353	Need Help on ESP, Center Weighted & Spot Metering -> more qns! =( Hi guys, I am training with my E-300 to prepare for my trip to CHINA. Everything is well but I am still a bit lost with ESP, Center Weighted & SPot Metering? I assume general function i use ESP? and for subjects with strong contrast center weighted? Can gurus please guide a lost sheep. I did some reading on the web but still a bit goong. Thanks. Rgds, Nic Edited-> realized i forgot to enquire about pixel compression. May I know which produces the best result? i assume 1/8? Last edited by stnicholas81; 12th June 2005 at 08:41 PM.

11th June 2005	#3
jamestyemk Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Yew Tee Posts: 283	Metering & compression My system comprises E-300, kit lens, 50mm macro & FL50 flash. My experience with the metering modes so far was that ESP had generally been OK for flash-assisted indoor shots, and evenly lighted outdoor scenes. For indoor w/o flash, I tend to use spot metering to ensure that the significant part of the picture is well exposed. I'll use photo-editing softwares to touch up the parts that were over- or under-exposed, where necessary. For outdoor with harsh lighting such as bright day with lots of sky/cloud in the picture, I use the average metering mode more often. ESP tends to underexposure. Bottom line is to try all of them if time and opportunity permits.

12th June 2005	#5
stnicholas81 Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 353	HI guys, thanks for your pointer, it clarified my doubts on metering. chancy, may i know what exactly does the ael do? i'm not too sure abt that at the moment. btw, will a custom white balance improve the color? recommeneded to do WB bracketing? Thanks guys, Sorry i got so many qns. edited in -> gurus, is it recommended to mount my Nikon sb-26 onto my e300? i read somewhere here that it can be mounted. i tried twice but decided not to try again, scared will damage the camera. thanks Last edited by stnicholas81; 12th June 2005 at 08:40 PM.

11th June 2005	#2
nightpiper Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,792	i find the ESP not very accurate. i m sticking to the old style of using center weighted. now exploring using spot metering. i wud say its pretty alright to use center weighted most of the time. anyway, with digital cams, u can just delete the scene if the exposure is not good thru verification on the histogram. i wud recommend shooting in RAW instead. u get more control over the exposures & the colour balance. also RAW gives u more details & u will be surprise!! i m not sure about the compression ratio of the E300 but i guess if u can confirm the compression by viewing the file size of the jpegs. have a good trip & post some pics when u get back!!

13th June 2005	#7
nightpiper Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 1,792	not recommended to mount other flash head onto the E300. there's just not much communication between cam & flash, u won't get the benefit of a full sync sys just like a Nikon cam with Nikon flash. probably won't damage the cam but u lose quite a few neat features like FP hi-speed sync mode. get the FL-36, its about S$300, not too expensive for a dedicated entry level flash. besides, u can use the FL-36 together with the built-in flash, this combo gives very pleasing results to your pics/portraits. i would say a custom WB will give yield to more accurate colours, & keep those qns coming, thou i m no guru. hope this helps!

14th June 2005	#9
stnicholas81 Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 353	thanks gurus. I have been training with the E300 til some dust particles got into the side swing mirror. My e300 is with oly now for cleaning/ inspection, one final check before i embark on my journey. will post pics when i get back. Take care guys! Btw, anything good to buy in Shanghai? i heard that there is a nikon -> oly convertor. see if i can find there.