METERING SYSTEM SELECTION - WHEN TO USE MATRIX OR CENTER-WEIGHTED METERING

In scenes with both very bright and very dark areas, these two metering systems produce varying results. For example:

A. Scene containing the sun or scenes with high reflectivity

If a scene contains strong highlights, such as the sun, snow or bright reflections, Center-Weighted Metering renders the main subject as a silhouette. With Matrix Metering, however, the light value of darker parts is evaluated, resulting in an overall well- balanced exposure.

B.Outdoor backlit subject

With Center-Weighted Metering, a backlit subject or scene with people against a bright sky and/or clouds may lead to an under- exposed shot. With Matrix Metering, however, the camera auto- matically gives more exposure to darker subjects to ensure a balanced overall exposure.

C.Front-lit subject against dark background

If a brightly lit off-center subject is positioned against a dark background, Center-Weighted Metering places too much empha- sis on the dark center of the picture. So although the background is correctly exposed, the main subject will be overexposed. Matrix Metering, however, automatically integrates a dark background with a bright subject to ensure the best overall exposure.

Scene containing the sun

Center-Weighted Metering

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Nikon N6000 instruction manual Scene containing the sun or scenes with high reflectivity, Outdoor backlit subject