Newbie with couple of question here.

[calebk]

thats the idea. Once realize the shot is screwed can immediately make changes to the camera settings for the upcoming moments.

Its insurance compared to blindly just shoot and shoot with the belief that since metered using camera sensor, nothing will go wrong.



I still have yet to see a photographer using incident metering during events such as performances though.

Would be very interesting.

So you doubt the camera meter? I say maybe you need to learn how to use the camera meter.

In events when something on stage happens, and your subject is in very much stronger light than the surroundings, you have a choice between spot metering the subject, or using matrix, shoot with an exposure bias, and hope that it will be okay, relying on your histogram for fallback, which do you think is safer?

If you can honestly tell me you can rewind time after checking your histogram, then I put all my trust in the histogram and will not ever learn how to meter. I grew up on film, so I had no histograms; proper metering takes precedence over histogram checking. Shooting digital gives you the histogram, yes, but it does not allow you to rewind time.

 

[ChenGuy]

Alrite guys thanks so much for the reply and answers to metering. So am i right to say that if i am using spot metering to take a pixs on a candle in the center and a pix of the candle on the side, i shld see a diff in both pix? e.g one is darker compared to another shot?

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

yeah you are sort of right. Depends a bit on how you set the camera up.
Me, I use center-weighted average, coupled with exposure lock when I half-press the shutter release.

If I were to aim at the candle, half-press, then recompose the picture with the candle at the side, I should get a very similar result to placing the candle at the center.
Spot metering is useful in such a situation, where there is a great difference in brightness between the subject (candle) and the background (dark room).
If I'm not mistaken, matrix metering will try to find the average brightness in the room.

 

[Octarine]

Alrite guys thanks so much for the reply and answers to metering. So am i right to say that if i am using spot metering to take a pixs on a candle in the center and a pix of the candle on the side, i shld see a diff in both pix? e.g one is darker compared to another shot?

Provided that AF point and spot metering is NOT coupled (means: spot metering is always done in the center of the image), you will see that the metering at dark background will give an overexposed candle. Metering at the candle will give a proper exposed candle and dark background. The high contrast is a challenge for metering, you might need to adjust exposure bias additionally.
Do read your camera manual about metering modes (areas to be used for the metering), exposure lock (can be separated from AF lock) and coupling of focus point and exposure lock.

 

[catchlights]

Alrite guys thanks so much for the reply and answers to metering. So am i right to say that if i am using spot metering to take a pixs on a candle in the center and a pix of the candle on the side, i shld see a diff in both pix? e.g one is darker compared to another shot?

point here point there and hope to get it right it is not the right way to learn.

you need to know what is exposure and how metering work first? why don't pick up a book and start reading?

 

[ChenGuy]

Thanks guys for the advice. i tried reading manual and some other source. And i really dun understand anything from it. so i decided to pick up the cam and take a couple of shots to see de diff and if i am able to learn from it. Even after so much explanation i am still abit confused haha. anyway i will read thru few more times and try to digest it. As for my flash i realise it will illuminate a organe light den a flash instead of a few low power flash b4 a full power flash in red eye reduction. Is dat normal?

 

[catchlights]

Thanks guys for the advice. i tried reading manual and some other source. And i really dun understand anything from it. so i decided to pick up the cam and take a couple of shots to see de diff and if i am able to learn from it. Even after so much explanation i am still abit confused haha. anyway i will read thru few more times and try to digest it. As for my flash i realise it will illuminate a organe light den a flash instead of a few low power flash b4 a full power flash in red eye reduction. Is dat normal?

do you really want to know why you don't understand, very confuse?

because you don't have basic knowledge about photography, camera user manual is teaching you how to OPERATE a camera, it does not teach you about photography.

for goodness sake, go to the library and find a book to teach you about basic photography, whether is learn XXX over a weekend serise or XXX for dummy serise are fine, you will learn faster and more systematically than to asking more questions to confuse yourself here.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

Thanks guys for the advice. i tried reading manual and some other source. And i really dun understand anything from it. so i decided to pick up the cam and take a couple of shots to see de diff and if i am able to learn from it. Even after so much explanation i am still abit confused haha. anyway i will read thru few more times and try to digest it. As for my flash i realise it will illuminate a organe light den a flash instead of a few low power flash b4 a full power flash in red eye reduction. Is dat normal?

The orange light is the camera body's AF assist illuminator. It's got nothing to do with the flash mode. The fact that the AF illuminator comes on in dark situations (when you're also likely to need the flash) probably confuses you.

Borrow a book on photography basics. Or if you're really lazy, try to find some articles over the net.
Take a number of shots at different settings, and really analyze each shot to see what difference each setting causes. But if you take a candle in a dark room, you set this set that also can't see a significant difference. Then you'll be MORE confused!
I have a suggested location for your 'experiment'... the inside of a multi-storey carpark (quite dark) on a bright day. Should be fun!

 

[ChenGuy]

The orange light is the camera body's AF assist illuminator. It's got nothing to do with the flash mode. The fact that the AF illuminator comes on in dark situations (when you're also likely to need the flash) probably confuses you.

Borrow a book on photography basics. Or if you're really lazy, try to find some articles over the net.
Take a number of shots at different settings, and really analyze each shot to see what difference each setting causes. But if you take a candle in a dark room, you set this set that also can't see a significant difference. Then you'll be MORE confused!
I have a suggested location for your 'experiment'... the inside of a multi-storey carpark (quite dark) on a bright day. Should be fun!

Hi ZerocoolAstra, seems like u are using D80 too? i know the AF illuminator comes on in dark situations and it comes on when i am on half shutter. And dats to aid the cam to AF. My problem now is dat during red eye reduction mode, the cam will illuminate a orange light befor it will shutter and flash instead of a few low powered flash b4 the main flash comes in. Is dat normal? And also i am in MF so i am sure its not the AF assit light.

Thanks for all the advice, will go read up some books too. thanks

 

[calebk]

Hi ZerocoolAstra, seems like u are using D80 too? i know the AF illuminator comes on in dark situations and it comes on when i am on half shutter. And dats to aid the cam to AF. My problem now is dat during red eye reduction mode, the cam will illuminate a orange light befor it will shutter and flash instead of a few low powered flash b4 the main flash comes in. Is dat normal? And also i am in MF so i am sure its not the AF assit light.

Thanks for all the advice, will go read up some books too. thanks

Yes it's normal. I don't know if it's covered in your manual but I believe it is. The light comes on to reduce the retina size of the subject you are capturing, so that red eye does not occur.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

hmmmm you could be right.
I've NEVER used red-eye reduction mode on my camera before, mainly because i'm a huge fan of a bounced external flash in those situations.
Anyway, red-eye is quite easily cured in post-processing.