Metering landscapes on a EOS300d

I haven't really ever done landscapes with a digital camera with multipoint metering. My days of fell walking and taking landscapes were done with single point metering analog cameras. I no longer fell walk but I go kayaking and I see some good photo opportunities. I know this sounds a bit hair raising because DSLR's and water isn't generally a good idea and if things go wrong the camera has gone. But seeing as I only paid 16 quid for it I'm not really bothered. Now, on the river are lots of dark shaded areas under trees which I'll need to meter for under exposure. The EOS can toggle between its 7 metering points and would I be correct in assuming if I select the center one then I can hold shade meter readings then shoot? Is this what people do?

I haven't really ever done landscapes with a digital camera with multipoint metering. My days of fell walking and taking landscapes were done with single point metering analog cameras.
I no longer fell walk but I go kayaking and I see some good photo opportunities. I know this sounds a bit hair raising because DSLR's and water isn't generally a good idea and if things go wrong the camera has gone.
But seeing as I only paid 16 quid for it I'm not really bothered.
Now, on the river are lots of dark shaded areas under trees which I'll need to meter for under exposure. The EOS can toggle between its 7 metering points and would I be correct in assuming if I select the center one then I can hold shade meter readings then shoot?
Is this what people do?

[quote]The EOS can toggle between its 7 metering points[/quote] Those are AF points not metering, if memory serves me right you can only get centre weighted metering whilst shooting in manual mode. Canons evaluative metering is quite good plus you have the rear screen to check your exposure albeit on the 300D it is quite small.

Quote:The EOS can toggle between its 7 metering points

Those are AF points not metering, if memory serves me right you can only get centre weighted metering whilst shooting in manual mode. Canons evaluative metering is quite good plus you have the rear screen to check your exposure albeit on the 300D it is quite small.

Not sure about your EOS, I have a Nikon, If I have a scene with a large range I set my camera to auto bracket and high speed shooting, the camera then takes 3 or 5 images with different exposures, all images are taken in a very short space of time so are almost identical in all but exposure. HDR software at home does the rest,

Not sure about your EOS, I have a Nikon, If I have a scene with a large range I set my camera to auto bracket and high speed shooting, the camera then takes 3 or 5 images with different exposures, all images are taken in a very short space of time so are almost identical in all but exposure. HDR software at home does the rest,

[quote][quote]The EOS can toggle between its 7 metering points[/quote] Those are AF points not metering, if memory serves me right you can only get centre weighted metering whilst shooting in manual mode. Canons evaluative metering is quite good plus you have the rear screen to check your exposure albeit on the 300D it is quite small. [/quote] OK, thanks. I'm just reading the instruction manual now. It has Evaluative metering, partial metering and centerweighted metering. Partial metering is used when your background is too bright and center weighted metering is similar. On the river, under the trees is really, really dark and I'm wondering what technique to use if evaluation metering struggles. What I could do I suppose is put the camera in manual focus, meter under the trees in evaluation metering mode, hold it and manual focus back down the river if that's possible? It's just that I feel a few techniques in my armoury would't go amiss in these really dark areas, its almost like night in there.

Quote:
Quote:The EOS can toggle between its 7 metering points

Those are AF points not metering, if memory serves me right you can only get centre weighted metering whilst shooting in manual mode. Canons evaluative metering is quite good plus you have the rear screen to check your exposure albeit on the 300D it is quite small.


OK, thanks. I'm just reading the instruction manual now. It has Evaluative metering, partial metering and centerweighted metering. Partial metering is used when your background is too bright and center weighted metering is similar. On the river, under the trees is really, really dark and I'm wondering what technique to use if evaluation metering struggles.
What I could do I suppose is put the camera in manual focus, meter under the trees in evaluation metering mode, hold it and manual focus back down the river if that's possible? It's just that I feel a few techniques in my armoury would't go amiss in these really dark areas, its almost like night in there.

Reading the manual it seems an option is to select A=DEP then use exposure compensation to bring out the dark areas while lifting ISO settings where required. That looks a good option actually if Evaluative metering struggles under normal circumstances.

Reading the manual it seems an option is to select A=DEP then use exposure compensation to bring out the dark areas while lifting ISO settings where required. That looks a good option actually if Evaluative metering struggles under normal circumstances.

A-DEP stands for Auto Depth of Field, has no effect on metering, personally I would shoot in manual or aperture priority then use exposure comp if needed... You may find you are limited by dynamic range.

A-DEP stands for Auto Depth of Field, has no effect on metering, personally I would shoot in manual or aperture priority then use exposure comp if needed... You may find you are limited by dynamic range.

[quote]A-DEP stands for Auto Depth of Field, has no effect on metering, personally I would shoot in manual or aperture priority then use exposure comp if needed... You may find you are limited by dynamic range. [/quote] Yes, the manual suggested if you are taking landscape shots with many focal points, then this was an option but thanks for your advice. I always shot landscapes in AP on analog SLR's so I'm kinda used to that idea but was unsure about metering. I've just watched a video of a professional and how he deals with it. He said the same thing actually, go for AP and play with exposure compensation and ISO. He did a few shots of metering the shadows and holding too in spot metering and compared it to matrix metering, quite interesting how you can over expose on spot metering and holding. Mind you his Nikon had a larger screen than my EOS300d and he could get a good glimse of how things turned out. I guess it will be trial and error.

Quote:A-DEP stands for Auto Depth of Field, has no effect on metering, personally I would shoot in manual or aperture priority then use exposure comp if needed... You may find you are limited by dynamic range.


Yes, the manual suggested if you are taking landscape shots with many focal points, then this was an option but thanks for your advice. I always shot landscapes in AP on analog SLR's so I'm kinda used to that idea but was unsure about metering. I've just watched a video of a professional and how he deals with it. He said the same thing actually, go for AP and play with exposure compensation and ISO. He did a few shots of metering the shadows and holding too in spot metering and compared it to matrix metering, quite interesting how you can over expose on spot metering and holding. Mind you his Nikon had a larger screen than my EOS300d and he could get a good glimse of how things turned out. I guess it will be trial and error.

[quote][i]You may find you are limited by dynamic range.[/i][/quote] Almost a certainty with a camera that age, I'd imagine. I don't know that particular camera; I've always used Nikon but I'd also be dubious about raising the ISO to any extent. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that you could well be in a position where you're going to be unable to get acceptable exposure across the whole frame. There are ways around that using software, of course, even with a single frame but I rather doubt that you'll ever achieve the same results straight from the camera.

Quote:You may find you are limited by dynamic range.

Almost a certainty with a camera that age, I'd imagine.
I don't know that particular camera; I've always used Nikon but I'd also be dubious about raising the ISO to any extent.
In fact, I'd go so far as to say that you could well be in a position where you're going to be unable to get acceptable exposure across the whole frame.
There are ways around that using software, of course, even with a single frame but I rather doubt that you'll ever achieve the same results straight from the camera.

[quote][quote][i]You may find you are limited by dynamic range.[/i][/quote] Almost a certainty with a camera that age, I'd imagine. I don't know that particular camera; I've always used Nikon but I'd also be dubious about raising the ISO to any extent. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that you could well be in a position where you're going to be unable to get acceptable exposure across the whole frame. There are ways around that using software, of course, even with a single frame but I rather doubt that you'll ever achieve the same results straight from the camera.[/quote] It's going to be new to me that's for sure, I've had a EOS350D, EOS550D,Nikon D60 and D80 but never ventured into landscapes before wiith any of those, only with analog SLR's which was a totally different ball game. The river work I'll be doing will have a maximum FP of about 150-200 meters so that will help, we're not heading into infinity at any point because these rivers are bendy. However, there are massive amounts of variation of shade vs brightness to deal with and relections across the water. All in all it could add up to some difficulty but I'm hoping the metering will cope well and I have a few tricks up my sleeve if it gets difficult.

Quote:
Quote:You may find you are limited by dynamic range.

Almost a certainty with a camera that age, I'd imagine.
I don't know that particular camera; I've always used Nikon but I'd also be dubious about raising the ISO to any extent.
In fact, I'd go so far as to say that you could well be in a position where you're going to be unable to get acceptable exposure across the whole frame.
There are ways around that using software, of course, even with a single frame but I rather doubt that you'll ever achieve the same results straight from the camera.

It's going to be new to me that's for sure, I've had a EOS350D, EOS550D,Nikon D60 and D80 but never ventured into landscapes before wiith any of those, only with analog SLR's which was a totally different ball game. The river work I'll be doing will have a maximum FP of about 150-200 meters so that will help, we're not heading into infinity at any point because these rivers are bendy. However, there are massive amounts of variation of shade vs brightness to deal with and relections across the water. All in all it could add up to some difficulty but I'm hoping the metering will cope well and I have a few tricks up my sleeve if it gets difficult.

Take some shots, view them on the screen and make adjustments as you go. Learn from your mistakes and you will soon get the results you are after. You will soon realise digital is a quicker way to learn your skills compared to a traditional film camera Good luck with your quest Steve:)

Take some shots, view them on the screen and make adjustments as you go.
Learn from your mistakes and you will soon get the results you are after.
You will soon realise digital is a quicker way to learn your skills compared to a traditional film camera

Good luck with your quest

Steve