[clicksworth]

Very few film cameras support spot metering. It is a specialized tool and requires some expertise to use properly.


Steve

Which is why SPOTmatics don't have spot metering as originally intended. The Mamiya DSX1000 was switchable between spot and average, which is why I had one.

[stevebrot]

Which is why SPOTmatics don't have spot metering as originally intended. The Mamiya DSX1000 was switchable between spot and average, which is why I had one.

I have the Mamiya/Sekor 1000 DTL which shares that feature.


Steve

[januko]

It depends on the camera. Most bodies from the 1980s along with some models from the 1970s feature some form of center-weighting. With a few prominent exceptions, most '60s vintage metered SLRs averaged light across the frame. That being said, even "averaging" meters tended to be somewhat more sensitive at the center.
Steve

Thanks for this information!

I have used only a compact camera and I want to level up with a Pentax DSLR. While low funds have kept me from buying one, I am learning as much as I can by observing others, watch tutorials, and read here in the forums. I admit, I felt intimated and I find it more complicated the more I read and learn about using a DSLR. I do not want to buy one if I do not know how to use all the buttons and dials.

[Adam]

With Pentax DSLRs you can do spot or center-weighted with non AF lenses. The only mode that's disabled is matrix metering.

Adam
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[stevebrot]

With Pentax DSLRs you can do spot or center-weighted with non AF lenses. The only mode that's disabled is matrix metering.

Thanks for pulling us out of the rabbit hole.

I must point out though, that I have several manual focus lenses that support matrix metering quite nicely since they have "A" contacts on the mount and allow body aperture control.


Steve

[januko]

With Pentax DSLRs you can do spot or center-weighted with non AF lenses. The only mode that's disabled is matrix metering.

Thanks Adam!

Now for another dumb question, when you do spot metering, do you use the focus points to meter a certain spot?

[mcgregni]

I think there was some rather sophisticated metering available on 'modern era' film bodies ..... I was a Canon user before Pentax, and although I only had a 'consumer grade' SLR, I used to read the magazines and salivate over the latest EOS3 / EOS IV etc models. I seem to recall reading an article about a multi-spot mode, where the user could point the camera at a number of different 'spots', and the metering system would attempt to create an EV that would encompass them all. So really there was quite sophisticated metering available before the digital era.

It perhaps should be pointed out that (as far as I know) with manual focus lenses, the actual metering mode will display as 'multi-pattern' or 'spot' .... but, there is no effect .... only centre weighted will actually be effective. So the user might be tricked into thinking the other modes are actually working .....

[stevebrot]

Now for another dumb question, when you do spot metering, do you use the focus points to meter a certain spot?

You may want to spend some time with the user manuals of the camera you are considering purchasing. English version Pentax manuals are available for download from Ricoh:

Operation Manuals Download : Support & Service | RICOH IMAGING

While it is possible to set some model bodies to have exposure follow focus, that is not the same as spot metering. A good book on exposure will explain how to set exposure based on one or more spot measurements.

Edit: I did not properly read your question. I can't speak for other camera models, but on my K-3, the spot meter point will follow the set AF point when AF is set using SEL 1. I cannot say whether spot metering will follow for modes where the camera chooses the focus point.


Steve

[stevebrot]

It perhaps should be pointed out that (as far as I know) with manual focus lenses, the actual metering mode will display as 'multi-pattern' or 'spot' .... but, there is no effect .... only centre weighted will actually be effective.

Spot works fine with manual focus lenses on my K-3 as well as with lenses lacking the "A" contacts. The display is also accurate as to the metering mode. If multi-pattern (matrix) is active and I change to a non-A contact lens, the camera defaults over to center-weighted mode. Spot is still available and it is possible to toggle back and forth between the two.

Addendum: The basic rule is that matrix metering depends on the body knowing the lens maximum aperture. Spot and center-weighted have no such requirement and are available with all lenses. AF vs. MF is not significant in regards to metering mode support except that all Pentax AF lenses have "A" contacts.


Steve

[victormeldrew]

Now for another dumb question, when you do spot metering, do you use the focus points to meter a certain spot?

Not dumb. When you set the metering mode, the display will show you a representation of where the metering takes place. The choices are the centre area (spot), or a wider area with the centre taking more weight in the calculation (centre-weighted), or the whole frame with the camera making an attempt to keep most of it from clipping (matrix). The mode you use depends a lot on the type of scene you have, which will become more obvious with experience and learning.

[wildman]

I think it should be pointed out with digital there are two fundamentally different definitions of what "proper exposure" means.
1,
Proper exposure for a jpg is defined, more or less, by how much exposure is needed to get a final image that accurately reflects the tonal range that the naked eye sees at the time of exposure. Thus "proper exposure" = a photo realistic tonal range straight out of the camera.
2,
With RAW all you care about is fitting the actual real world tonal DR optimally within DR limits of the sensor for later normalizing in post processing to achieve a photo realistic tonal range. Thus a proper RAW is exposure is, rarely, a photo realistic exposure straight out of the camera.

This difference in what "proper exposure" means radically changes how you may meter.

A RAW file before and after PP.

[Adam]

Thanks Adam!

Now for another dumb question, when you do spot metering, do you use the focus points to meter a certain spot?

Spot is literally a tiny area, so if it lands on something significantly darker than the rest of the scene (say someone is wearing a black shirt), it will completely throw off the metering. Ironically, this happens with smartphones all the time, though they use a different metering system.

Anyway, this is why center-weighted is recommended if you're not using matrix metering (or can't use it). It averages out multiple zones near the center of the frame such that a single dark spot doesn't lead to extreme overexposure.

[Kerrowdown]

Is it possible to do spot metering with manual focus lenses?

Yes as others have already said, it is but it's something personally seldom use.

I only use it "mission critical" shots... say like getting the correct exposure for a face on darkened stage, where the face is the main subject of the image.

[photoptimist]

As others have said, spot-metering is NOT a mode for simple auto-exposure because even small changes of the camera's pointing direction can result in large and undesirable changes in exposure settings. It's best used in conjunction with more deliberate control of the exposure such as fully manual exposure settings (setting an M mode exposure level, looking at how many EV over or under different parts of the scene are, adjusting the exposure as desired) or AE-L (pointing the camera at an 18%-gray part of the scene, locking the exposure, and then recomposing).

Spot metering is useful for:

1. Scenes dominated by excessive darkness (brightly lit performers on a dark stage) or excessive brightness (little gray bird on a bright snowfield).

2. High dynamic range scenes (spot metering the bright parts of the image to prevent clipping of the highlights, or spot metering the subject and letting the highlights blow out).

3. Setting exposure for incident light (holding a small gray card in front of the camera that's lit by ambient light, pointing the camera at the card, and locking the exposure to whatever the spot meter reads).


If you are taking average pictures of average scenes, then center-weighted or matrix works well. But if you are taking extraordinary pictures of extraordinary scenes, then sometimes spot metering does a better job. Spot metering provides a lot more control, but it also takes more time and careful attention to get it right.

[Murfy]

Yes you can do spot meter on manual and You can use focus points on AF lens. I seem to be the only person who uses spot metering but that is mostly what I use, and I make adjustments based on zone system. I meter dark and bright areas and take an average, or I meter a dark area and adjust my setting where I want the dark area to land on zone scale. It's slower and takes more time but more precise for me.