Originally posted by littledrawe In my attempt to soak up any of the knowledge you have to offer:
First, what is the sunny-16 rule?
mtroute pointed you to a great explanation.
Quote: Second, when you use the term meter as a verb how exactly do you do this with the camera, do I need to change my settings to center weighted metering and then use the AF button to lock the exposure in M mode?
The AF button sets the focus, not the light metering.
To 'meter' is to take a light reading. To "meter off" something is to take a reading of reflected light from an object. In M(anual) mode, press the Green button. This takes a light reading, and stores it as exposure settings. Until you change those settings, or go into an Auto mode (P, Av, Sv, etc) they will be used whenever you press the shutter.
That is the basic action. USING it is something else. One trick: Set metering to center-weighted, and meter off something of middle brightness, or what you want the camera to record as middle brightness. For instance, if your subject is about as bright as your skin, meter off your hand! Or look for a scene that is medium bright, and meter off it. Now SHOOT.
Another trick: Set metering to SPOT. Meter the BRIGHTEST bit of the scene you are shooting. Make a note of the exposure. Now meter the DARKEST bit of your scene. Note that exposure. Now set the camera to halfway in-between. So if your BRIGHT metering is 1/250th second at f/16, and the DARK metering is 1/250 at f/2, set the camera to the halfway point, 1/250th at f/5.6. And SHOOT.
[Think of this f-stop scale:
2--2.8--4--5.6--8--11--16 and note that f/5.6 is three stops faster than f/11, and three stops slower than f/2.]
The basic method is just to point, meter, and SHOOT. That way, or with either of the above tricks, your next step is to CHIMP: review the picture. If it is too dark or light, adjust the exposure by changing the shutter speed or aperture. With a consistently lit subject, once you get an exposure you like, you can keep shooting with the same settings, and everything in the scene will remain the same brightness.
So, going back to my Sedona AZ example: I set M(anual) mode and metered off the Red Rocks, off a mixture of Red Rocks and foliage, and off the foliage (brush and trees). I pointed at each and hit the Green button, then took some test shots. I found that in daytime, settings of ISO 100, 1/200 at f/8 gave me well-balanced exposures, no matter what focal length I used with the DA18-250 lens on my K20D. Yes, I reviewed (chimped) pictures, and sometimes tweaked the aperture to f/7 or f/9 or beyond as needed. But the daylight let me keep consistent exposures.