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Posted on 12/06/10 12:31:58 PM |
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chris berry
Overhead Overlord Posts: 724 Reply  |
Metering
Does anyone know how to take a spot meter reading on a Nikon D70? Have set it to spot reading, but don't know how to take a reading. Need an idiot's guide! Cheers Chris |
Posted on 12/06/10 3:15:10 PM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 4019 Reply  |
Re: Metering
Chris, I don't have the D70 but I do have a D100, 200 and 700 and they all work the same way. As you have already selected spot metering just frame the shot, half depress the shutter and read what it says in the viewfinder. The spot meter reads an angle of, if I remember correctly, only 1 degree. I hope I'm not missing anything in your question. Gordon _________________ Why is there only one body to investigate Monopolies ? |
Posted on 12/06/10 6:37:47 PM |
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chris berry
Overhead Overlord Posts: 724 Reply |
Re: Metering
Sorry - I want to take a reading of a close up of a section of the shot, then pull wide and apply that setting to the whole shot. If that makes any sense! |
Posted on 13/06/10 00:24:45 AM |
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GKB
Magical Montagist Posts: 4019 Reply |
Re: Metering
OK, in that case just zoom in on the subject, half depress the shutter and take note of the reading. Set the camera to Manual and apply that reading, frame the shot and take the shot. What you have to remember, though, is that the metering system tries to average out the reading to an 18% grey card. If your subject is darker than that it will overexpose the general scene while correctly exposing the subject and, conversely, if it is lighter it will underexpose the overall scene. As an example, say that your subject was nearly black; the camera will try to figure out what exposure to use to render that black as an 18% grey. This will be quite a large aperture or long exposure or a combination of both. If the rest of the scene was much lighter then it (the scene) would be overexposed. Hope you understand all that. Does that answer the question? _________________ Why isn't 'phonetic' spelled the way it sounds? |
Posted on 13/06/10 00:43:26 AM |
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chris berry
Overhead Overlord Posts: 724 Reply |
Re: Metering
Hi Gordon it does answer the question, but I'm taking shots of a live rehearsal in our theatre, so won't have time to figure this out, but will keep it for future reference. Thanks for taking the time to explain it. I get the theory, but need a more relaxed shoot to put it into practice! Cheers Chris |
Posted on 13/06/10 06:43:47 AM |
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Nick Curtain
Model Master Posts: 1768 Reply  |
Re: Metering
Chris I agree with Gordon, although the method is probably better for subjects which are not moving around. I always use Partial Metering on my Canon's. The system looks at 8% of the viewfinder at the centre, which is excellent for dealing with backlit situations. I've used this successfully when photographing a local dance group on a poorly lit school stage. Evaluative metering, i.e. average over the whole screen, would have failed miserably. How you approach the shoot will depend on the lighting in the theatre. There could be situations where a figure is lit with a single spotlight, in which case I would ask them to allow you to take readings from close up and then, as Gordon says, use manual. If the lighting is even, the same applies and all you have to do is remember a couple of settings and set the camera accordingly. My advice would be to shoot RAW. If you approach taking the pics in the way described, then you shouldn't be a million miles out and and adjustments can be made in the converter. Also, theatres tend to use tungsten lighting, which will give you a horrible red cast and is a nightmare to correct on JPEG, unless you've shot with a grey card. It's possible that there may be a variety of colour temperatures about, confused further by gels etc. Nick |