Canon queries? Email us at photoplus@futurenet.

com
But theres a catch. In the default Evaluative metering
mode, metering is locked at the same time as autofocus
when lightly pressing and holding the shutter button,
at least in One Shot (single) rather than AI Servo
(continuous) autofocus mode. Also, the iFCL (intelligent
Focus Colour Luminance) metering system of current
and recent Canon D-SLRs greatly biases the exposure
value to the colour and brightness of the object thats
lined up with the active autofocus point. This usually
works very well, especially for tricky subjects like heavily
backlit portraits, but is also prone to two errors. Firstly,
if the autofocus point happens to fall on a particularly
bright or dark point in a scene, the metering system will
result in a picture thats too dark or too bright,
respectively. Secondly, as exposure is locked at the same
time that autofocus is achieved, changes in the overall
brightness of the frame wont be taken into account
when you swivel the camera to recompose the shot.

One solution is to press the AEL (Auto Exposure Lock)

button after youve swivelled the camera, as this will
capture and lock in a new exposure setting. Another
option is to switch to one of the alternative Centreweighted, Partial, or Spot metering modes, all of which
update in real time as you swivel the camera to
recompose the shot. However, the last two of these
modes are best used when you want to base the
exposure on a single area or point within the scene.
As their names suggest, Centre-weighted metering
biases the exposure to suit brightness at the centre of
the frame, but also takes the periphery into account to a
lesser degree. Partial metering bases the exposure
solely on the central area of the frame, while Spot
metering works in the same way as Partial metering but
uses a relatively tiny dot at the centre of the frame,
typically just 2-4% of the overall image, making accurate
metering tricky in inexperienced hands.

STEP BY STEP Make the most of metering

Metering mode

Highlight Tone Priority

The default Evaluative metering mode can throw

up a few surprises in general landscape shooting.
Switching to Centre-weighted metering can give more
predictable results, especially if youre autofocusing on
a single point then swivelling the camera to recompose
the shot. Partial or Spot metering give the greatest
precision, though the latter can be tricky to use.

One common problem is that bright highlights in

scenes can tend to get washed out to white. For
situations where you want to retain as much detail as
possible in highlight areas, most Canon D-SLRs have a
Highlight Tone Priority setting, available via one of the
shooting menus or as a custom function. When used,
the Auto Lighting Optimizer is disabled.

Auto Lighting Optimizer

Exposure Compensation

Current and recent Canon D-SLRs have an Auto

Lighting Optimizer setting, which can help to avoid
exposure errors. It aims to correct brightness and
contrast automatically, so that highlights arent too
bright and shadows arent too dark. Most cameras have
low, standard and high settings, and the ALO can also
be switched off altogether.

Check images in playback mode, while youre

shooting. If pictures are too dark or too bright,
apply positive or negative exposure compensation
respectively, and reshoot. Check again and apply
greater or lesser amounts of exposure compensation
as needed. Switch off Auto Lighting Optimizer, as this
can counteract the effects of exposure compensation.

Quick Fix
Circle or square?

My camera
seems to have
two alignment
markings for
attaching lenses.
One is a red circle,
the other is a white
square. Why is this?
Jill Marks Andover
Angela says
Crop-sensor
Canon D-SLRs, like the
100D, 700D and 70D,
have smaller image
sensors (than
full-frame bodies like
the 6D and 5D Mk III).
They can accept both
EF-S lenses, designed
exclusively for
APS-C-format D-SLRs,
as well as EF lenses,
which can be used on
both APS-C-format
and full-frame bodies.
These have white
square and red circle
alignment markings,
respectively. Note,
however, that you cant
fit EF-S lenses to
full-frame bodies.

Quick Fix
Why so soft?

When I narrow
the aperture of
my lens to f/22 or
f/32 to extend the
depth of field, images
seem to be really
lacking in sharpness.
Is this normal?
Clayton Woods,
North Carolina
Hollie says
When the
aperture of a lens is set
to a very narrow value,
light is diffracted as it
passes through the
tiny hole created by the
diaphragm blades.
Some lenses cope with
this better than others,
but the resulting lack
of sharpness in
images can be
very noticeable.

PhotoPlus February 2015 | 77