Spot meter

Spot meter
A meter that takes measurements from a one degree angle. Some advanced SLR cameras have an integral spot meter with the measuring pattern marked on the viewing screen.
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Spot Meter
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Spot meter
Techniques Glossary Spot meter
A meter that takes measurements from a one degree angle. Some advanced SLR cameras have an integral spot meter with the measuring pattern marked on the viewing screen.

Spot Metering
Spot metering measures only a small area in the center of the frame. Typically, this area is a spot that's only about two or three percent of the entire area of the picture (hence the term 'spot' metering).

Spot metering

Meters only an area at the very center of the frame, as indicated by the spot metering circle on the viewfinder focusing screen.
Center-weighted average

Meters the majority of the frame but puts a emphasis on the center area.

Spot Metering
Much like center weighted metering, spot metering emphasizes the center of the frame. The only difference is the width of the sample area.

Spot metering is a further refinement of center-weighted metering, but spot meters read only a tiny portion at the center of the frame—usually from 3-5 percent of the frame.

Spot Metering
Spot Metering is the metering mode in which the Through-The-Lens (TTL) light meter (or specific handheld light meter) measures light via small angle of exposure (usually between 1 to 3% of the viewfinder; ...

Spot Meters
A camera with a spot meter is very useful. By spot metering you can meter the most important part of the subject and get better readings.

Spot Metering
Metering system that places importance on a small area center frame. Useful for taking a reading of a high contrast subject before recomposing.
speed rating ...

Spot metering
This is the most accurate metering mode because it enables you to take a reading from a small, precise area of a scene. However, it can take a bit of practice to be able to judge precisely what constitutes a suitable midtone.

Spot meter
Narrow-angle exposure meter used to take accurate reflected light readings from a small area of a subject; can also be used from some distance away.
(see Exposure meter) ...

Spot Meter - This is a light measuring device which covers a narrow circle of the scene.

SPOT METER - A type of exposure meter with an acceptance angle of 1 degree or less used to obtain reflected light readings of a small area of a scene.

Spot metering
As the name implies, the meter cell reads only the light from a very small part of the frame.

SPOT METERING- Spot metering for exposure is a method used in some SLRs and some digital cameras as well. It works like this:
There is an area marked in the optical viewfinder in the center of the image.

Spot meter. An exposure meter with a narrow angle of view, used to measure the amount of light reading from a small portion of the scene being photographed.

Spot Metering. Autoexposure is based on a meter reading of a small circle in the center of the viewfinder.

Spot meter
An exposure meter that measures the light reflected from a small area of the subject Hand-held spot meters may measure an area as small as one degree; those built into the camera may measure a somewhat larger area.

Spot Metering takes its light measurement only from a small central spot of the screen.
Different cameras have different light metering schemes, but they are mostly variants of the three basic ones above.

Spot metering problems.
Apparently, and I don't have a camera for which this is an issue, some EOS cameras with spot metering (eg: EOS 1 and 1n) can't handle spot metering correctly with a manual lens adapted this way.

Spot Metering - The camera's auto exposure system is focused on a very small area in the center of the viewfinder to critically adjust the overall exposure value ONLY for that area.
see also: "Center-weighted" and "Matrix metering" ...

Spot metering. An exposure calculation system that emphasizes a small portion of the image area, usually in the center of the frame. Some cameras let you move the 'spot' to other portions of the image area.

Spot Meter
Spot meters let you select and see the area they read - typically about 1 degree.

Spot metering
Exposure metering method whereby the exposure reading is taken from the centre of the frame. This is often used when working with backlight.

Spot metering
Spot metering allows for the measurement of smaller areas of the total picture area.

Spot metering
Some DSLR cameras will allow you to take exposure readings of just parts of the image you see through the viewfinder.

Spot metering multiple points in a scene still works best, but it can be a lengthy process. In tricky lighting conditions, things can change quickly and it can be hard to react in time.

Spot metering off the black bear and the little bit of green foliage (red insert area) caused a little overexposed for the overall content but I got lucky as the slight overexposure brought out a little more detail in the black bear.

Spot Metering Made Easy Through The Lens For High Dynamic Range Landscapes
by Cee Dhinjan ...

Spot metering is used less often because its metering area is very small and thus quite specific.

Spot meter - used to get accurate light readings of a small part of a subject. It uses a narrow angle of view to measure within limited areas.

Spot metering
In this type of metering, a central spot of the frame is utilized to measure the light that is coming off the subject. The measuring spot is often indicated by the viewfinder of the camera.

Spot Metering Mode
Maybe you've tried taking a photo using the standard Center-Weighted or Matrix / Multi-segment metering modes and neither provide satisfying results.

The spot meter is a powerful tool for fine tuning your exposure. To use it, start by putting your camera into the manual exposure mode. Next, change your metering mode to spot.

Pentax Spot Meters no longer seem to be available new. I added this to my report on light meters. That's OK; I've used my digital cameras as light meters for my film cameras for the past couple of years as you can read here.

Whereas Spot metering found on Nikon SLR's, basically work similar to Partial metering on Canon digital camera's.

When to use Matrix (Pattern, Evaluative) metering modes ...

Partial and spot metering take a reading from a small area of the image. The only real difference is that the spot mode takes its reading from a smaller area.

2. Using the spot metering you can produce such images like this one - with a bright window behind the objects. Many other cameras wouldn't be able to produce such image. No, the flash was not used to fill in! ...

I always keep the camera in aperture priority, using the old technique of ‘compose, move, spot meter, exposure lock, focus, recompose and fire’, which actually works a lot quicker than it sounds.

When taking close-ups you can use spot metering to meter just a small part of the image so the background doesn't influence the exposure.
When using flash for close-up images the flash may not fully illuminate the subject or be blocked by the lens.

Spot metering only evaluates a small area in the center of the viewfinder so you can meter for a specific detail of the scene (e.g. when photographing a subject against a
bright or dark background).

Decide what you want properly exposed and either get closer and get an exposure reading with your built in camera meter, or use the built in spot meter in your camera (if it has one) to determine what exposure setting you should use.

Cameras that include a Spot Metering mode will increase the versatility of your compact camera but this also need some effort from the photographer. To increase your versatility further look for a camera with a wide aperture, a f2.

When I am in a hurry, I use the matrix metering, otherwise I use the a built-in spot meter with the 1/3 stop analog scale in the viewfinder.

Another way to avoid under- or over-exposure for subjects with unusual reflectance is to use a spot meter: a reflected-light meter that measures light in a very tight cone, typically with a one degree angle.

But, suppose you were in spot meter mode? You would have the same problem with exposure that you had with focus, you would be metering on the background and not the faces.
Do the cameras not meter on the focus point when using the spot meter mode?

Shoot at the highest resolution, spot meter off the face or jersey, and adjust and crop in Photoshop. I shoot in bursts of 3. Favorite spot to shoot basketball is from about 10 behind the basket.

You can set your camera to spot metering which meters a small area in the centre of the scene, centre-weighted metering which meters the whole scene but pays more attention to the middle, ...

though the narrower angle spot meter enables more selective ambient light exposure control. Spot Metering A metering method in which meter sensitivity is concentrated within a small circle in the center of the viewfinder.

To avoid underexposing a candlelit shot, set the camera to spot metering mode and aim for the subject if there is one besides the candle; otherwise, the candle will dominate the photo and all else will be underexposed.

Other options include center-weighted and spot metering. Those who have more experience or who want to expand their photographic knowledge should look for the full host of metering system options.

A smaller number use center weighted or spot metering. All three metering methods can provide identical exposures. In the end, it doesn’t matter which one is used.

Instead, I switched to spot metering and metered off of her arm, knowing that much of the scene would fall into deep shadow. By obscuring much of what was around her in shadow, the image evokes the feeling of aloneness that resonated with me.

For myself and my relatively limited Nikon D40, I find that either spot metering mode or center-weighted metering modes work best for this.

4mm (41mm 35mm equivalent) lens, native RAW support as well as JPEG, Evaluative, centerweighted and spot metering, Auto, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual exposure modes; no special "scene" modes here. ISO sensitivity 100-800.

If we've only an intergral metering sensor or we simply cannot use spot metering for whatever reason we run into problems in scenes with an average reflection rate which differs significantly from 18% gray - resulting in under- or overexposed ...

The camera manufacturers have come up with all sorts of ingenious metering systems to try to help, there are now multi mode metering systems, which give you a choice of 'center weighting', 'spot metering' or 'multi spot metering' on many of the ...

The best way I've found to select which filter to use is to spot meter foreground and background, to determine the number of f/stops difference.
The image at right was made for illustration purposes with a 0.6 grad, knowing it required a 0.9 one.

Blown out area due to improper metering. Use Spot meter and meter on or near brightest area.
Wrong white balance setting. Didn't realize the white balance mode was set to fluorescent. Check camera settings.

See also: Spot, Meter, Camera, Exposure, Image