Dynax 7 Honeycomb Metering

[vivientan]

I know some of you have vomited blood explaining to me how the honeycomb works but eh, I'm still quite clueless! :cry:

Anyway, just to get my understanding right :

1. For the shadows & highlights (black & white boxes), does it mean that I'm in the right exposure range when values fall between +/- 3.0EV? So if I see a "+" or "-", it means that exposure for that particular area is over or under exposed?

2. Is it always necessary to have a mixture of shadows, highlights & midtones in every photo I shoot? I realise that in some situations, I can't get the midtones at all. What happens if the photo only comprises of all highlights or all shadows? Also, must the combi be evenly distributed? Meaning 4 highlights, 4 shadows, 4 midtones segments etc.

3. The specs of D7 says there's a total of 14 honeycomb segments. When I did a manual counting, only 13 leh!! Something wrong with my counting or my eyes?

I think I'm asking stupid questions. But well, you are dealing with someone who knows nuts abt photography! :embrass: ;p

 

[Magnus Wedberg]

I know some of you have vomited blood explaining to me how the honeycomb works but eh, I'm still quite clueless! :cry:

Anyway, just to get my understanding right :

1. For the shadows & highlights (black & white boxes), does it mean that I'm in the right exposure range when values fall between +/- 3.0EV? So if I see a "+" or "-", it means that exposure for that particular area is over or under exposed?

Well, no, or one could say that -- but rather, the display shows by how many aperture steps the exposure deviates from "18% gray" or "normal exposure" (think "skin tone"). You are right in that it can lead to over or under exposure of areas, but that depends on the film; some films have a wider range and may show detail in +3 EV, while others may be totally burnt out there.

2. Is it always necessary to have a mixture of shadows, highlights & midtones in every photo I shoot? I realise that in some situations, I can't get the midtones at all. What happens if the photo only comprises of all highlights or all shadows? Also, must the combi be evenly distributed? Meaning 4 highlights, 4 shadows, 4 midtones segments etc.

How you bias the exposure is up to you. You could tune the exposure towards darker or lighter; in high-contrast there may be no mid tones, and the camera will try to get the "right" exposure anyway. You can check this with the display and tune the exposure to your liking.

How the combination is distributed on the display means nothing. Imagine a seagull flying against a bright sky on a sunny day, a hundred meters away. The metering display will probably show all areas as bright except one -- this is normal. The important segment is that single one. You now have the choice between underexposing the seagull so it shows as a darker silhouette against a blue sky, or expose the seagull correctly (probably overexposing the sky). Nothing of this is "right", it's up to you, and the metering display is just a guide to check approximate contrast in a scene the way the meter sees it. Personally I almost never use it.

3. The specs of D7 says there's a total of 14 honeycomb segments. When I did a manual counting, only 13 leh!! Something wrong with my counting or my eyes?

No, that's right. The fourteenth segment is the area surrounding the 13 honeycomb segments.

 

[-7-]

:bigeyes: wow :bigeyes: , Vivien, guess what, your so called "stupid" questions actually bring me alot "discoveries" as well ler (from what Magnus had replied)!!!!! It makes me dig out my manual and flip thru again!!!

So, i guess i should thank you for the doubts that posted out!! :sweatsm:

 

[ileaf]

ya man! it felt so good!
1 day learn 1 new stuff about D7!

Thanks Magnus & Vivien! ;p

 

[vivientan]

ya man! it felt so good!
1 day learn 1 new stuff about D7!

Thanks Magnus & Vivien! ;p

Hehe...I was just trying to clear my doubts, but ended up being the saviour? :bsmilie:

I'm sure I have more questions to ask, still 3/4 thru the manual! I'm as curious & inquisitive as a 3-yr-old! ;p

 

[vivientan]

Well, no, or one could say that -- but rather, the display shows by how many aperture steps the exposure deviates from "18% gray" or "normal exposure" (think "skin tone"). You are right in that it can lead to over or under exposure of areas, but that depends on the film; some films have a wider range and may show detail in +3 EV, while others may be totally burnt out there.

If that's the case, I should be quite "safe" if I keep to +/- 2.0EV?

How you bias the exposure is up to you. You could tune the exposure towards darker or lighter; in high-contrast there may be no mid tones, and the camera will try to get the "right" exposure anyway. You can check this with the display and tune the exposure to your liking.

How the combination is distributed on the display means nothing. Imagine a seagull flying against a bright sky on a sunny day, a hundred meters away. The metering display will probably show all areas as bright except one -- this is normal. The important segment is that single one. You now have the choice between underexposing the seagull so it shows as a darker silhouette against a blue sky, or expose the seagull correctly (probably overexposing the sky). Nothing of this is "right", it's up to you, and the metering display is just a guide to check approximate contrast in a scene the way the meter sees it. Personally I almost never use it.

That means if I want something to have better contrast, it shd be further up the spectrum eg +2 or +3 EV? Likewise, to place less emphasis on another subject, exposure shd be say -2 or -3 EV?

 

[blurblock]

If that's the case, I should be quite "safe" if I keep to +/- 2.0EV?




That means if I want something to have better contrast, it shd be further up the spectrum eg +2 or +3 EV? Likewise, to place less emphasis on another subject, exposure shd be say -2 or -3 EV?

Each camera has different characteristic, I suggest you a a series of same photograph, perferred in contolled lighting and take from -3 to +3 EV, then ask the printer to print for you WITHOUT adjustment so you can see at which level is best for your camera.

 

[Magnus Wedberg]

If that's the case, I should be quite "safe" if I keep to +/- 2.0EV?

That depends on the film and your emphasis on the subject. I don't know the exposure latitude of any films actually, but that's the theory

That means if I want something to have better contrast, it shd be further up the spectrum eg +2 or +3 EV? Likewise, to place less emphasis on another subject, exposure shd be say -2 or -3 EV?

Areas with -3 EV will be rendered black (or very very dark) on film. Areas with +3 EV will be rendered very very light or even "burnt out". Remember that you cannot vary contrast in a scene, but you can use the metering display as a guide to which part of the scene's tonal range you should emphasize. Are the dark areas important? Then they should probably still be dark on film. Do you want to photograph a white bird? Then you want the bird to have maybe +2 from "medium gray" (estimates).

If you want, you can think of the 14-zone metering pattern as "thirteen small spot meters" and then go read this. I don't know if that's clearer, but it explains a little of the concept with determining if the scene consists of light or dark tones and using the appropriate exposure compensation (or in your case, looking at the display and judging the parts for optimal exposure).

 

[Magnus Wedberg]

Each camera has different characteristic, I suggest you a a series of same photograph, perferred in contolled lighting and take from -3 to +3 EV, then ask the printer to print for you WITHOUT adjustment so you can see at which level is best for your camera.

Yes, or shoot slide film, if the developer doesn't develop the film wrongly (very uncommon in my experience) it's the easiest way to see exactly what happens as slides are totally unforgiving for every exposure error. Start with Sensia, that's a cheap and good film. Or Agfa CT Precisa or whatever it's called this week (but don't go over ISO 100).

 

[deslim27]

That depends on the film and your emphasis on the subject. I don't know the exposure latitude of any films actually, but that's the theory

In practise, I use the -3/+3 (0.5 increment) half of the comp dial for negative and -2/+2 (0.3 increment) half for slides. I don't usually go beyond -2 / +2 for slides, unless for some very good reason.

 

[deslim27]

Yes, or shoot slide film, if the developer doesn't develop the film wrongly (very uncommon in my experience) it's the easiest way to see exactly what happens as slides are totally unforgiving for every exposure error. Start with Sensia, that's a cheap and good film. Or Agfa CT Precisa or whatever it's called this week (but don't go over ISO 100).

Yeah.. shoot slide, will help to understand exposure better. Don't go for ISO50 if you don't have a tripod.. go really slow!!

 

[TME]

I usually dun use the metering display except when under very high contrast situation... just to check how far off the exposure is for subject and background... does help making decisions but actually I always try to avoid extremely high contrast scenes.... but it can be useful the metering display...

 

[vivientan]

Right guys, I really need to experiment & trial & error more to find out which exposure works best for me. It's really so subjective & personal! Those photos which I think has bad exposure usually turn out ok to other people. I'm just too critical of myself...a true blue perfectionist!

Sometimes I'm not willing to shoot more due to the cost factor. But then, like what Sulhan says "Don't waste money, how to learn?" :think:

 

[TME]

Right guys, I really need to experiment & trial & error more to find out which exposure works best for me. It's really so subjective & personal! Those photos which I think has bad exposure usually turn out ok to other people. I'm just too critical of myself...a true blue perfectionist!

Sometimes I'm not willing to shoot more due to the cost factor. But then, like what Sulhan says "Don't waste money, how to learn?" :think:

Well, get the 7D lor..... then can experiment until happy.... :blah:

 

[UY79]

Yeah.. shoot slide, will help to understand exposure better. Don't go for ISO50 if you don't have a tripod.. go really slow!!

Hi,

ISO 50 slides can be shot on any given sunny day without tripod. Even if slightly cloudy, you will still get reasonable shutter speeds at even f/8. And the results are fantastic.

Cheers!

 

[deslim27]

Hi,

ISO 50 slides can be shot on any given sunny day without tripod. Even if slightly cloudy, you will still get reasonable shutter speeds at even f/8. And the results are fantastic.

Cheers!

Yes.. of course, the key word is "sunny day".

 

[UY79]

Yes.. of course, the key word is "sunny day".

If you shoot at f/8 through out, you need a sunny day. If you are one of those that doesn't mind shooting wide open, you can shoot almost anything till the sun sets without tripod.

Cheers!