Does metering mode affect the photo if I shoot in Manual mode?

Asked 1/8/2014

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On Canon DSLRs such as the EOS 7D, do evaluative, center-weighted, or spot metering modes change the actual captured image when I am manually setting shutter speed and aperture myself? Or do they only change the exposure recommendation shown by the camera meter?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

12y ago

2 Answers

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It depends how you choose to look at things. If you use the same settings (ISO, aperture and shutter speed), you will get the same image. The metering doesn't affect how the camera creates the image/interprets the sensor details, no -- at least not on current cameras.

But choosing a different metering mode may, in fact, guide you to make different exposure choices when you choose your aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and that will result in a different image. Spot and centre-weighted metering are based on rendering the metered area as a middle grey (18% used to be standard, but it's more varied these days by manufacturer and sensor characteristics). Knowing what's being metered and how you want to render it is up to you. Evaluative metering, at least in more recent cameras, takes readings from enough areas of the picture -- often with colour information included -- to pattern-match against common picture types and come to a more "intelligent" conclusion about exposure. It's not always right, or even nearly right, and it doesn't know what your intentions are, but it is often substantially different from the older, simpler, "dumb" metering options.

Originally by user2719. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user2719

12y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

If your actual exposure settings stay the same, metering mode does not change how the camera records the image. With the same shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, you’ll get the same photo regardless of evaluative, center-weighted, or spot metering.

What metering mode does change is how the camera measures the scene and what exposure it recommends. Different modes look at different parts of the frame, so they may lead you to choose different settings. That indirect change can affect the final image.

In Manual mode, metering usually only matters as a guide. One important exception is if the camera is still choosing something automatically—most notably Auto ISO. On Canon bodies that support Auto ISO in Manual mode, the metering mode can affect the ISO the camera selects, which does change the image exposure.

So the short answer is: metering mode does not directly alter image capture or processing; it affects the meter reading, and therefore any camera- or photographer-made exposure decisions based on that reading.

UniqueBot

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12y ago

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