The other method works. I don't mean to be too strong in my opinion and make it sound like a rule. Certainly every mode in the camera has its uses. I just find that spot metering tends to be too unpredictable, for me at least.

Thank you! Will do! :)

Nice! Glad to hear it! :)

Glad you found this vid informative!! :)

Yeah, you can pay attention to the camera's meter when shooting in Manual, but if you're going to do that, you might as well shoot in Aperture mode and then use exposure compensation. To me, this is the same thing. When I shoot in Manual I ignore the camera's meter as this is the main point of shooting manual, for me. The second reason I use manual is to get consistent exposure between shots. If I'm going off the meter, I just use Aperture mode. But anyway, you seem to have a good grasp of these things and have devised a method that works for you, which is great! My goal is to recommend a method that works for most people, especially beginners, without confusing them! :)

My pleasure! :)

Full manual is definitely an option when you stay in one spot. I use that technique as well sometimes. I still wouldn't use spot metering though for another reason: you generally have to focus and meter in the same place and that's not always the case. Although, I guess you can use AE lock to get around that. I can see how it can work, and if it works for you, great!! :)

Yeah, I can totally see how it can work in such situations, but I find it simpler and faster to keep it on Matrix metering and just drop the exposure compensation by -1 or -2 stops. But, if spot metering works for you, don't let me discourage your from using it! :)

I hope it helped!! :)

@@EYExplore Definitely!

I'm sure it's not your imagination! Cameras are just not 100% perfect at metering. Sometimes they nail it, but sometimes they make mistakes. It's good that you are not noticing when your camera requires certain adjustments. This is why we say the most important part of the camera is the 20 centimeters behind it: your brain! :)

My pleasure!! Glad you are gaining an understanding of this. I found it kinda confusing in the beginning as well!

Thank you so much!! :)

Glad to hear that!! :)

I love the D3. I have one too but unfortunately the shutter died and cannot be serviced any longer.

Glad to hear you found it useful! :)

Thank you! I look forward to it! :)

Thank you!! I'm so glad it's easy to understand. Sometimes I fear I over-explain or under-explain.

Thank you!! I'm working on it! :)

Haha, I like this analogy!! :)

Glad you found it useful! :)

Yes, that's right. But as I mentioned when say Manual I mean full manual, including manual ISO. If you leave Auto ISO on, then of course the metering is engaged and will affect the exposure via the ISO (within limits). And you also are correct that the manual ISO settings becomes the minimum ISO when Auto ISO is enabled. It is a soft minimum however. Nikon does not make this very clear in the camera.

Sounds good! :)

Thank you!! We are working on it. We've only really been at it for about 6 months. Full steam ahead! :)

It's cool if it works for you, but I don't see any use of shooting in JPG at all. Raw only is fine, you can always produce JPGs later if you need them. Also, if you compensate in post, it depends on the camera, but in some cases you will see lower quality. This is a complex topic, but ISO invariant cameras, when you compensate if makes no difference to the amount of noise. But in my Nikon for example, photos look much better if I choose the correct exposure first rather than compensating later. This all refers to bringing up the shadows. However, for highlights, if they are blown out, then there is nothing you can do to bring them back. In conclusion, I think it's very important to get the correct exposure in the moment.

EYExplore well Jpegs can be good if You want to put Your photos quickly on social media or sending to friends. Many cameras has wifi today and via smartphone this is quickly done. I shoot Fuji x and the jpegs are very good. Sometimes when taking a lot of photos we want to save them and not correct them in post. Maybe a trip with a family for a week and and you take maybe 500 photos then i prefer to have jpegs. And like i said check the lcd screen after taking the photo is very important. Then normally the exposure is close to perfect and if not raw is good for correcting it later. With my Fuji x i see really no difference in image quality if changing the exposure in post. Cheers

@@gunnarblomquist4412 That's a good point about JPGs! I think Fujis are ISO invariant, which is why you don't see a difference. As I said, it depends on the camera. :)

Thank you for watching! :)

Thanks! :)

Glad it's helpful! :)

Thank you! That's a good question: basically, you have 3 ways to directly control the brightness (exposure) of the image: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Then on top of that, you have exposure compensation. If all three of the basic settings are on manual, then exposure compensation does nothing. If any of the 3 basic settings is on auto, then exposure compensation indirectly controls them. In the case that you have manual shutter and aperture but auto ISO, then exposure compensation will control only the ISO. For example, if the camera choose 800 ISO for a particular photo, then if you change the EC (exposure compensation) +1 it will double the ISO (a 1 stop increase), making the ISO 1600. If you go to -1, (a 1 stop decrease) then the ISO will be half, or 400. In the case that more than one of the 3 basic settings is on Auto, for example on Aperture or Shutter priority, or on P + Auto ISO (all 3 basic settings on auto) then the exposure compensation will change some combination of the 3 settings (apeture, shutter, ISO). But nonetheless, +1 would double the exposure, and -1 would halve the exposure. Hope that makes sense! :)

Totally agree! :)

I just stick with one that is most consistent. The fewer settings I have to change, the better! :)

Thanks!!

Thank you!! Yeah, in full manual mode the metering really doesn't do much. It will still be used by the camera to suggest when it think is the right meter. You'll see the exposure comp indicator move around +/- but you don't have heed its advice. But it will not affect the image at all. :)

Well, we do have this video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aJZ4p7Z1vtnKiKM.html Or do you mean actually in practice, while just walking around and shooting? That is something I'm planning but can't really go out and shoot these days sadly!

Thanks! The reason is that on manual exposure settings are absolute (and there are times where I prefer manual) while using the automatic metering and then applying compensation of +1 or -1 stop is a RELATIVE adjustment. It means I don't have to keep changing it as I move from location to location as long as the lighting conditions are similar (e.g. lots of shadows like at night in Tokyo). If I use fully manual exposure then I have to adjust settings every single time the scene/light changes. In my opinion this is slow and unnecessary for street photography.

Our pleasure! :)

Exposing for highlights is exactly what you want it to be. You define the highlights. Highlights just means 'the brightest part of the image that you want to expose correctly'. A nice example is the moon. A full moon is very bright, much brighter than the landscape below, but in many cases we don't expose for it. But of course, sometimes you might want to! So it really depends on you and what you're trying to achieve.

Yes, I completely agree!

People are being recommended to stay home and avoid unnecessary contact with other people. But it's not mandatory.

@@EYExplore thanks for the reply. Be safe!!

Yeah so don't use it haha. It's not good for any cases, like at night in the city. It's basically for portraits in pretty even lighting, maybe landscapes too. :)

@@EYExplore Agreed, haven’t found much use for it at night and can’t use it with daylight sky scenes without heavy processing. I’ve found it gives a nice effect if your subject is in bright light and you want to introduce hard shadows.

I think it still does! You want to automate as much as possible. For street photography, it is essential to get your mind OFF the camera, and onto the scene in front of you. Moments are fleeting, and any time spent messing the camera can lead to missing the shot. So, it's still imperative to get the metering as reliable and accurate as possible. I would also never shoot with the histogram in my veiwfinder as I find this to be a huge distraction. I learn to trust myself and my settings to get the exposure right without constantly monitoring it. Actually, I like having as little info in the viewfinder as possible, only the basic stuff: shutter speed, aperture, ISO, exposure comp. That's all I really need to keep an eye on while shooting.

You're thinking -.3 to -.7 (in other words, 1/3 or 2/3 of a stop). I could be wrong, but I assume so because I've never seen a camera that goes to exposure comp more that EVE +/- 5.0. However, I was talking about -1.0 (1 full stop) or even as much as -3.0 (3 full stops).

One whole stop, -1. It is not that mach, but I guess it depends on the camera. :)

Whatever you want. There is no right lens. :)

Yeah spot metering can be very tricky at night as I demonstrated. It's better in the day time but I still prefer not to use it. Good luck!! :)

Thanks for the feedback! Perhaps my wording is strong, but I stand by my reasoning. My issue is that spot metering tends to be quite touchy. And although my goal is also a well exposed subject, there is really no reason to mess up the exposure for the rest of the scene in most cases. To me, the whole scene is the subject. It's certainly possible to get everything well exposed along with the subject, in most cases. If spot metering works for you, then that's great. If you already have a way that works for you, then you can just ignore my advice. I don't think anything I say is 100% universal. But in my experience just using evaluative metering and adjusting exposure compensation accordingly to the scene is more consistent/reliable and therefore faster. And that's why I think it's the best mode overall. I also have anecdotal evidence for this: I regularly see my students struggle with spot metering, and as soon as they switch to evaluative their shooting becomes more consistent and they are wrestling less with the camera. I do admit though, that every setting in the camera can have its use and I could have just mentioned that briefly in the video. I just like to keep my message brief and clear, so I went with my personal recommendation, and I personally literally never use spot metering. One last thing: if I do need a to expose for a very specific object in the scene, then instead of spot metering I prefer to simply switch to full manual exposure and dial in all the settings myself. It doesn't really take much longer than fiddling with spot metering and once I do have the settings dialed in, I can be confident my exposure won't drift if I move the spot a little bit.

@@EYExplore Thank you for a good reply. I can see us having some interesting discussions in a workshop. And I will also tell you something about my shooting setup. I have a FujiFilm X100V and a Sony A7rIV. And here is funny part. On the Fuji I prefer back button exposure lock. And on the Sony, I prefer Back button focus. (I don’t know why, I have just gotten into this habit on different approach between a DSLR and a compact.) On the Fuji I use spot metering, and “freeze” my exposure with the back-button. And I use the shutter release to focus. Often moving the view finder around to find the light. Then I re-compose, do my focus and shoot. While, on the Sony I use the metering mode you mention in the video - Highlight protection. So, for me, that is close enough to what I would do with spot metering. So, with that setup on my Fuji, spot metering is a very reliable setup. I just hold my back-button in and shoot and recompose many times while freezing my exposure. But yes, sometimes I must hunt for the light. Btw, in your video at 04:13 you show an example of an under-exposed image. I personally feel that was the best image. Moody, dark shadows and nice warm color tones on the bright objects. But that’s the thing with photography and you say yourself, its personal. So, I agree. Feel free to check my process on my YT channel, or the finished results on my Instagram: @jtpettersen Have a good day! Stay safe.

@@jtpettersen378 All that makes sense to me!! I can certainly admit that there are many methods that work. I kinda push my method in the video, but it is ultimately only my method and may not be perfect for everyone. Also, having looked at your IG, I can see why you like my 'underexposed' shot, but as you say it does come down to a matter of creative tastes and vision. But that's a topic of another video! :)

Haha! Sometimes I talk funny in these videos because I'm trying to carefully think about what I'm going to say next and it comes out a bit awkward like this. I'm working on it!! :)

Ah, thank you for that info! Like I said, I never use highlight weighted metering personally, but I've heard from some people who used it that it works well. Currently, I just like simple evaluative/matrix metering. Works very well for me!

@@EYExplore Yeah, you are not missing something in my opinion. Try it when you have the opportunity, maybe it works for you. I have the option on my Nikon and I pretty much went back to matrix since testing out highlight metering. Ruined some great shots for me.