lrochfort
Well-known
Hello all,
I've just bought my first ever electronic camera, a Canon T90. Up until now, I've been using a FED 2, Hasselbald 500cm, and a Travelwide. For metering, I've used with a Sekonic handheld meter for incident/reflective or a Pentax 1 degree spot meter as needed.
I bought the T90 because I found a 50mm f/1.2 very cheaply and thought I'd try out an electronic automated SLR to see how I like it. There seems to be a hundred different ways of doing everything on this camera, all of which are completely obscured by marketing drivel and poor English in the manual. Coming from mechanical cameras I'm now very confused!
I'd like some assistance with the spot metering, please.
I understand that you can take multiple spot readings and bias the camera to a particular area by giving more readings in that location. I believe I'm correct in saying the camera will then average those readings out. Then additionally, there are up and down spot metering exposure compensation buttons (which are different from the main exposure compensation settings), that let you increase or reduce exposure to render shadows or highlights as you'd like.
I think I understand how exposure compensation works if I meter for just a shadow, or just a highlight, or maybe one shadow and one highlight. However, I don't understand what affect the compensation has if I've metered multiple times, perhaps with a bias.
So, some questions:
1) If multiple spot readings are taken, how is the averaging done? Does the scale on the right indicate what decision has been made?
2) What do the shadow/highlight up/down buttons actually do? Do they just drag the determined exposure up and down by so many stops?
3) Do the up/down compensation buttons operate on each reading one at a time, or the overall average? For instance, if I meter 3 times and compensate after each, will this work out differently to just compensating once at the end of taking 3 readings?
I think I probably like the metering options on the T90, it's just I'm so used to doing this stuff in my head, I'm having a hard time understanding what the camera is doing for me, and whether I want it to or not!
Thanks all.
EDIT: There also seems to be three ways to take a meter reading. First, by half-pressing the shutter release. Second, by using the small button next to the shutter release. Third, by using the button under your thumb, next to the up/down buttons.
I understand the second method locks multiple spot readings in for automatic averaging. What do the shutter release and thumb button do?
I've just bought my first ever electronic camera, a Canon T90. Up until now, I've been using a FED 2, Hasselbald 500cm, and a Travelwide. For metering, I've used with a Sekonic handheld meter for incident/reflective or a Pentax 1 degree spot meter as needed.
I bought the T90 because I found a 50mm f/1.2 very cheaply and thought I'd try out an electronic automated SLR to see how I like it. There seems to be a hundred different ways of doing everything on this camera, all of which are completely obscured by marketing drivel and poor English in the manual. Coming from mechanical cameras I'm now very confused!
I'd like some assistance with the spot metering, please.
I understand that you can take multiple spot readings and bias the camera to a particular area by giving more readings in that location. I believe I'm correct in saying the camera will then average those readings out. Then additionally, there are up and down spot metering exposure compensation buttons (which are different from the main exposure compensation settings), that let you increase or reduce exposure to render shadows or highlights as you'd like.
I think I understand how exposure compensation works if I meter for just a shadow, or just a highlight, or maybe one shadow and one highlight. However, I don't understand what affect the compensation has if I've metered multiple times, perhaps with a bias.
So, some questions:
1) If multiple spot readings are taken, how is the averaging done? Does the scale on the right indicate what decision has been made?
2) What do the shadow/highlight up/down buttons actually do? Do they just drag the determined exposure up and down by so many stops?
3) Do the up/down compensation buttons operate on each reading one at a time, or the overall average? For instance, if I meter 3 times and compensate after each, will this work out differently to just compensating once at the end of taking 3 readings?
I think I probably like the metering options on the T90, it's just I'm so used to doing this stuff in my head, I'm having a hard time understanding what the camera is doing for me, and whether I want it to or not!
Thanks all.
EDIT: There also seems to be three ways to take a meter reading. First, by half-pressing the shutter release. Second, by using the small button next to the shutter release. Third, by using the button under your thumb, next to the up/down buttons.
I understand the second method locks multiple spot readings in for automatic averaging. What do the shutter release and thumb button do?
Last edited:
rscheffler
Well-known
I had a T90 back at the end of the 80s through early 90s. Loved the camera. TBH, I never used the multi-spot feature. If you're familiar with and comfortable with using handheld meters, which it seems you are, IMO, those offer a better ability to meter scenes. As you likely know, an incident light meter won't be fooled by the reflective quality of the subject and a handheld spot will allow a better exploration of precise exposure values. But it does mean lugging along even more stuff...
What I'd probably do is some practice dry runs, without shooting anything. Just try the multi-spot feature on a scene and compare it against the readings you get from the handheld meters. After a while you should probably get a feel for how many in-camera meter readings you'll need to take to get the right exposure (and what areas to meter). It seems like a neat feature but I always thought it was more a marketing feature than a practical feature to use in the field. Sure, I used the spot meter, but just for determining highlights, for example, and setting exposure from that. I.e. if I was shooting slides, I'd meter a hotspot/highlight I wanted to keep in the scene, then manually set the exposure three stops brighter. For this I thought spot metering was really useful. But with multi-spot my question is how long does it retain the calculated exposure info and does it retain it across multiple images so you don't have to constantly re-meter the scene?
Sorry to not be of more help... FD 50/1.2 should be nice, particularly if it's the L version. Would love to find one of those now at a good price...
What I'd probably do is some practice dry runs, without shooting anything. Just try the multi-spot feature on a scene and compare it against the readings you get from the handheld meters. After a while you should probably get a feel for how many in-camera meter readings you'll need to take to get the right exposure (and what areas to meter). It seems like a neat feature but I always thought it was more a marketing feature than a practical feature to use in the field. Sure, I used the spot meter, but just for determining highlights, for example, and setting exposure from that. I.e. if I was shooting slides, I'd meter a hotspot/highlight I wanted to keep in the scene, then manually set the exposure three stops brighter. For this I thought spot metering was really useful. But with multi-spot my question is how long does it retain the calculated exposure info and does it retain it across multiple images so you don't have to constantly re-meter the scene?
Sorry to not be of more help... FD 50/1.2 should be nice, particularly if it's the L version. Would love to find one of those now at a good price...
bobbyrab
Well-known
As far as I remember. When in the multiple spot metering mode, after the first reading taken you get a triangle that is set to the value of the first reading, this triangle will set centrally [0] on the meter exposure range indicator, it will then show a second triangle which will float around as you move the camera around the scene, and this second triangle is the reading that will be entered if you press the multi spot button again. Once you do take a second reading the first triangle will now move up or down on the exposure scale to mirror the second reading which will now show as a third triangle, so you now have two set triangles plus the floating triangle showing the real time reading, you only ever get three triangles, two that show the average of the multiple readings that have been taken, and a third floating triangle that is the realtime reading. Almost certainly over elaborate, but good fun at the time....R
icebear
Veteran
Back in the film days, I had 2 of these Colani styled workhorses and last manual focus bodies that Canon ever made, then they switched to the EOS line and AF lenses and I switched to Leica.
I used the T90 and the multi spot reading in difficult stage light conditions when you had performers spot lighted and unless you spot meter on the face and on some darker areas, the face would always be blown out. So I metered 2 spots mid grey areas and 1 bright spot (e.g.) face. Today you'd call it expose for the highlight and not simply a generous "to the right" on the MM.
Once you know how you negatives turn out, you can just do this at the beginning of the concert, get your reading and continue with that value until the light would change.
Nowadays you can check the histogram
, I will never go back.
I don't know any other camera that has offered this feature ever, even today. Fancy 125 point multi average scene metering modes but no manual multi spot like the T90. Great camera!
I used the T90 and the multi spot reading in difficult stage light conditions when you had performers spot lighted and unless you spot meter on the face and on some darker areas, the face would always be blown out. So I metered 2 spots mid grey areas and 1 bright spot (e.g.) face. Today you'd call it expose for the highlight and not simply a generous "to the right" on the MM.
Once you know how you negatives turn out, you can just do this at the beginning of the concert, get your reading and continue with that value until the light would change.
Nowadays you can check the histogram
, I will never go back.I don't know any other camera that has offered this feature ever, even today. Fancy 125 point multi average scene metering modes but no manual multi spot like the T90. Great camera!
ASA 32
Well-known
T90 was said to be a light meter with a camera.
raid
Dad Photographer
I do not believe that the T90's exposure system has been surpassed today by any camera. I have two of them. There are manuals online for the T90. I would download one and read each page of it. Everything is explained in detail. I always used multi-spot metering. If you have too many "spots", it becomes like average metering. Using a flash with the T90 was the ultimate flash (with spot, if needed) use. It is important to first fully understand reflective light metering for many different situations.
lrochfort
Well-known
Thanks for the replies everyone. In glad there's so much positivity about the T90, it was difficult choosing between it and the New F1 because the F1 seemed more like my kind of camera.
So it seems like just 2 or 3 spots makes sense. Do the up and down buttons then just let you pull the calculated exposure up and down?
So it seems like just 2 or 3 spots makes sense. Do the up and down buttons then just let you pull the calculated exposure up and down?
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
If it averages out the spot readings you take then it sounds like the Olympus OM-4(Ti) to me.
Regards, David
raid
Dad Photographer
David is correct; the OM4/OM3 were first.