Blog

Metering Modes

From time to time I frequent photography groups on Facebook.  A discussion ensued the other day that was asking what the best metering mode was for a particular camera.  My point was the metering mode in Manual Mode is not relevant.  Regardless of your metering mode, the correct exposure is the correct exposure.  Metering modes only matter when you're in Auto mode or one of the quasi-auto modes like Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority.

Consider the following examples:

Spot Metering, 1/6th of a second, ISO 100, f/2.8

Spot Metering, 1/6th of a second, ISO 100, f/2.8

Partial Metering, 1/6th of a second, ISO 100, f/2.8

Partial Metering, 1/6th of a second, ISO 100, f/2.8

Evaluative Metering, 1/6th of a second, ISO 100, f/2.8

Evaluative Metering, 1/6th of a second, ISO 100, f/2.8

Center Weighted Metering, 1/6th of a second, ISO 100, f/2.8

Center Weighted Metering, 1/6th of a second, ISO 100, f/2.8

No difference.