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EXAMPLES OF METERING MODES Cameras generally allow the user to select between ''spot'', ''center-weighted average'', or ''matrix'' metering modes. Spot Metering With spot metering the camera will only take a tiny spot of the scene into account when calculating the exposure. This will typically be the very center of the scene, but some cameras allow the user to select a different, off-center spot, or to recompose by moving the camera after metering. Some cameras, including the Olympus OM-4 and Canon T90 , support a ''Multi-Spot'' mode, allowing multiple spot meter readings to be taken of a scene, which are averaged. Both of those cameras, and others, also support metering of highlight and shadow areas. Spot metering is useful when the scene consists of objects with varying brightness (high contrast). For example, if your subject's back is being hit by the rising sun and the face is a lot darker than the bright halo around their back and hairline. This is called being backlit. Spot metering allows the photographer to measure the light bouncing off of the subject's face and expose properly for that instead of the much brighter hairline and a dark face. The area around the subject's back and hairline will then become over-exposed, but this is usually considered a decent natural highlighting effect, or if that part is to be removed afterwards anyway, then the overexposure is not a problem either way. Spot metering is a method upon which the Zone System depends. Center-weighted average metering In this metering mode the camera will use the light information coming from the entire scene, but will give the light in the center a higher priority. This basically does what one would expect: the camera will ensure that the entire scene is correctly exposed, while taking extra care of the exposure in the center, where one would expect the most interesting subjects to be. Partial area metering Some cameras support metering of just the central area of the frame. This mode meters a wider area than spot metering, and is generally used when very bright or very dark areas on the edges of the frame would otherwise influence the metering unduly. Matrix metering This mode is also called ''multi'' metering mode on some cameras. This metering mode was first introduced by the Nikon FA , where it was called Automatic Multi-Pattern metering. Here the camera measures the light intensity in several points in the scene (more expensive cameras generally measure in more points) and then combine the results to find the settings for the best exposure. How they are combined varies from camera to camera. Many cameras use focus distance from the lens (if that is available) or data from the autofocus system to help with this decision. More advanced cameras with many autofocus points will know what parts of the matrix of metering zones are in focus and thus likely to be part of the main subject. Such metering is sometimes called ''3D Matrix Metering''. On cameras where one finds this setting, it is supposed to give the best general overall result, and is thus the default setting. However, some photographers, including some advanced photographers and some older photographers who are accustomed to more traditional metering methods, may be uncomfortable with matrix metering, as it is not always easy to predict how it meters a given scene. EXTERNAL LINKS
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