Gary Friedman explains Metering Modes for Sony cameras

[@MajorGeneralHavoc]

love this

[@Grainsposure]

Probably the best tutorial I have seen describing light metering. I’m going to use my Sony as my light meters for when I shoot film.

[@FriedmanArchives]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@mauropulquerio2939]

Best explanation I’ve seen. Thank you.

[@FriedmanArchives]

Glad you enjoyed it. Tell the world! :-)

[@wiljamiw792]

Great video, glad I found this.

[@FriedmanArchives]

Thanks! If you like the way I explain things, wait 'till you try one of my books! 🙂

[@FadelGalal]

Brilliant tutorial, many thanks for sharing & effort. Take care!

[@FriedmanArchives]

Thanks. Tell the world! :-)

[@bennettandyp]

Gary, you always post great content; thanks. I finally found something that my A9 struggled to focus on: a battalion on Army graduates, in green uniforms, on green grass, with a green background. Camouflage may be purposeful for their applications, but it was a struggle to focus on, even using native glass.

[@patmat.]

wow ... super effective explanation, thank you!

[@FriedmanArchives]

You're welcome! Tell the world! :-)

[@juliainman9389]

So helpful! Thank you!

[@FriedmanArchives]

You're quite welcome! :-)

[@lejune]

Thank you Gary!

[@FriedmanArchives]

You're quite welcome!

[@ericgofreed1651]

You are a great teacher. Thank you

[@TheGray01974]

I'm so glad a found your channel, I recently went from Canon to sony and have learned more since I have been viewing your channel, than I ever did with my Canon. Off to watch more lol

[@sjsphotog]

awesome tutorial Gary (as always).. Keep up the great work. cant wait to see more content from you for Sony cameras

[@nic9042]

Thank you! You're a great teacher! You made this interesting! Question- which one would you use for capturing sports images? Inside and outside sports.

[@FriedmanArchives]

Glad you like the video! The answer to your question, as usual, is "it depends". Usually multi-segment metering does the best job in the widest set of circumstances; but if the subjects are backlit then maybe zone or a spot metering might give you a higher yield. On the other hand, if the light doesn't change you can just put the camera into manual exposure mode and set the exposure just once.

[@NeerajIngle]

this is great, I am new user to Sony, struggling to find how to FOCUS AND RECOMPOSE, any video link or simple ways anyone knows here. Thanks🙏🏻

[@imrankw]

This was very useful. I didn't know about highlight mode and had never used spot metering.

[@mauriziosolisbroca]

Hi Gary. Something good about the spot metering mode, is that you have the option to link it to the spot focus and move it throughout the whole frame.

[@FriedmanArchives]

Yes, that's a relatively new feature for Sony cameras.

[@Ksumit24]

I m following your books for many years ,u are master in Sony camera functions .videos are more easy to understand and grasping .waiting more videos from you !!

[@howardthompson7017]

Great visual examples. Thanks

[@isaacmac6078]

God dam Gary! Nailed it again, for so long I could not put my finger on metering. I knew but I didn’t understand. Now I do! 11/10.

[@FriedmanArchives]

If you liked that video, you should try my books... :-)

[@NissanPRO4X]

Great video and explanation, I have the Sony A7IV with a Tamron 70-180 f2.8 G2 lens that I use primarily for indoor hockey photography. My angle to the ice varies based on the rink and access. I find myself shooting down towards the ice at around a 30 to 40 degree angle. What metering mode would you suggest? I shoot in manual mode, settings are usually 1/1000 f2.8 iso auto. White balance is set to the rinks, which usually runs between. 3800 to 4600.

[@goldspike1]

Great and easy to understand explaination

[@mohammadrezahasani-r1z]

hi What is the difference between spot M and center M

[@FriedmanArchives]

They both provide the same results.

[@rodels.3745]

thanks a lot for the info. great. how about if background is a bright sky and I am shooting portrait? how do i prevent the subject getting underexposed under a bright sky? It has always been my problem.

[@FriedmanArchives]

The traditional answer is "spot meter for the face" (which is now very popular with wedding photographers); but a better answer is use a flash (preferably off-camera) to illuminate your subject and balance it with the exposure for the background.

[@geoffcox75]

Help! I have a musician in a fairly dark concert hall where the stage lighting highlights the face. I can use spot metering to take a reading on the face but how do I make sure that the rest of her body is wrongly exposed?! Cheers Geoff

[@FriedmanArchives]

Yes, spot metering was made for exactly this purpose. Unless you can control your light you can't do much about how well-exposed the rest of the body is. Your best bet is to shoot in RAW and lighten the shadows later on your computer.

[@geoffcox75]

@@FriedmanArchives RAW, that is something I must try! Thanks!

[@travelbuds1675]

I enjoy your tutorials and your Sony a77II book-and the a100 book as well. Just a quick question if I may. When set for spot metering ( my default is "multi"), I have the little circle in the center of my screen. But when I use the AEL button set for "spot" AEL toggle while in multi metering mode, the little circle is not there, but the asterisk in the lower right hand corner is present. Should the circle "spot" be present in the center of the screen? Thank you. And thank you again for the link to the color pdf.

[@FriedmanArchives]

Glad you like my books! Yes, the circle should appear when the Spot AEL Toggle button is pressed once (and disappear when the asterisk disappears). My only thought is that the button has been assigned to just plain "AEL Toggle" (not the Spot version) which would explain the lack of a circle. Hope this helps! GF

[@travelbuds1675]

Gary, Thank you for your reply. Settings are correct--multi metering mode and AEL button set to SPOT AEL toggle. Any other settings that need to be set?

[@oldtechnology]

Just what i was looking for! Thanks alot! Can you please make video on picture profiles and picture stiles? I own a6300 and can't be more confused! What each of them does and when to use them?

[@FriedmanArchives]

I actually wrote a book on the A6300 which gives visual examples of the picture profiles and creative styles. You can purchase it (And see a video I made about that camera explaining other unintuitive things) here: www.friedmanarchives.com/sony-a6300/

[@MuineToday]

How metering mode work with Face AF against the light?

[@neelinwilson7707]

Thanks so much for this!

[@ilkergur7003]

Hi there. Very usefull video. Thx. Quick question. I use sony a7s3 for underwater shooting. Which metering mode would you suggest to protect my highligths. Multi or highlight? I shoot in scinerone. Thx 🙋🏻‍♂️

[@FriedmanArchives]

Without hesitation I'd recommend "Highlight" mode. In that mode the brightest parts of your image will be rendered as "18% grey", preventing your highlights from ever blowing out and allowing you to set your own white points in post.

[@ilkergur7003]

@@FriedmanArchives thx a lot. This is a life saver solution. Your videos has been very helpful for me 🙏

[@tomowens7499]

Another great video bud. Thanks!

[@Alakazam2047]

Great and informative video! Is there any case where highlight metering would not be as useful to spot metering?

[@FriedmanArchives]

Good question! Highlight metering would not be as useful if your subject is backlit.

[@Alakazam2047]

​@@FriedmanArchives Thanks very much! I didn't think of that scenario. I have the spot AEL toggle on a custom button now too, and it's a big help. Do you have a rule of thumb on when to use it? So far I have reasoned that if I have a composition with a big contrast in lighting (skyscrapers in shadow and light, concerts, etc.), then I would use it, but I want to confirm this idea instead of feeling like I need to use it every time before a photograph.

[@FriedmanArchives]

@@Alakazam2047 My rule of thumb is "You only need to override the camera's chosen exposure if what you see in Live View doesn't match the image you've pre-visualized in your head. In that instance you can correct for it either using Exposure Compensation (most intuitive) or Spot AEL Toggle. All roads lead to Rome.

[@Tunesmithnw]

Thank you very much!

[@MK-hz2bn]

I’m a real estate photographer and curious what metering you would suggest? I do landscape and interiors. I also do detail shots, interior design. I have a a74, bought it two months ago and took it out yesterday for the first time on a job. I’m switching from canon and this has def been a learning curve.

[@FriedmanArchives]

If the default multi-segment metering isn't doing it for you, there's always either a handheld light meter or an old-fashioned grey card (friedmanarchives.blogspot.com/2022/05/using-grey-card-to-nail-exposure-and.html), either of which will nail the exposure no matter how light or dark the walls are.

[@MK-hz2bn]

@@FriedmanArchives I am going with multi, after watching your full video. Thank you!

[@BrunoGargaglione]

Great Video. I'm trying to find the best way to not blowing out so much the sun in a timelapse (mid day to night time) while keeping track of the sun in the top left of the frame. I think using the highlight metering mode is my best bet, maybe with exposure compensation since I'm using aperture priority for that. What would you do in that case ?

[@garyfriedman4001]

Great question. I'd use Highlight mode and overexpose about 1.3 or 1.7 stops so the sun won't look grey. (The amount depends on how you want the sun rendered and how you want the rest to come out.) You may also want to shoot RAW so you can post process all of the shots and dial down the highlights. That might be required if you want the rest of your shot (i.e., the parts that are not the sun) to not be too dark. Hope this helps! GF

[@BrunoGargaglione]

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[@BrunoGargaglione]

@@garyfriedman4001 Thanks. I always shoot raw. I think my big concern is the huge circle the sun looks like in the link I sent you. Hope this also will diminish when I use highlight mode. In this video I was using Multi metering.

[@findbradford]

do you know is a7riv riii siii use camera metering mode for ttl i have tied to focus point

[@FriedmanArchives]

Every Sony camera starting with the A6500 (~ December 2016) has the "Focus Point Link" feature which moves the spot metering area to the focus point.

[@REALTRUESKILLS]

Thank you so much

[@scoobyrex247]

Love this video! So timely as I was about to purchase a Nikkon F4. I wanna know more about matrix meter

[@FriedmanArchives]

There's a lot written about it... like here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metering_mode#Multi-zone_metering Suffice to say that it produces a greater yield in a wider variety of bad light. It's so useful every camera manufacturer introduced their own version of it.

[@petrub27]

Shoot raw and ettr forget about metering modes unless photojournalism when maybe there is no time for calculation

[@scoobyrex247]

@@FriedmanArchives thanks ill check i t out!

[@glennvanderheyden987]

Outstanding!

[@aquarioamico6604]

Gary, I shoot motocross and want the rider and bike to be exposed correctly despite rapid changes in the background and lighting. Using the A9ii I am consistently underexposing and have tried several of the metering options but this that follows is the best I have come up with so far. For reference, shooting manual shutter, manual aperture, and auto ISO. For the Focus area I am using “Tracking: Center”, figuring it is easiest to lock onto the bike when I get it in the center of the frame and then recompose as needed. I am using the “Large Spot’ metering mode and have linked the metering function to the focus point using “Focus Point Link.” My question is, will the “Large Spot” metering point move with the “Tracking: Center” focus point as it moves around in the frame? Or, is there a better solution?

[@garyfriedman4001]

Hi, Aquario. Boy, is that a good question! The short answer is, "No, the Focus Point Link feature will not track the subject when you're in tracking mode. (Just the initial position.) Your best bet is to try to keep the subject in the center as much as possible, and use either Multi-segment metering (which tends to bias the exposure on the subject - not as absolute as Spot Metering, but it does a damn good job), or Center metering (which is actually Nikon's Center Weighted metering from the 1960's) - it pays more attention to the center than it does to the corners. Also shoot RAW in case the lighting is so tricky that it still causes underexposures despite these settings. Hope this helps! GF

[@JustDavidMinistries]

Wow!!!!!!!!!!! I am so blessed to be a subscriber. Great video as always but I must confess everyone should pay attention to your conclusion. I love it! Thanks you much, Gary

[@viveknath1538]

Very well explained👍......but as usual....like all the good videos, its underrated too🤣🤣🤣....

[@FriedmanArchives]

Then tell the world so they will know! :-)

[@viveknath1538]

@@FriedmanArchives will do that sir😃👍

[@bj1676]

Perfect tutorial 😀😀😀

[@rolphe44]

I love your tutorials. The AEl I have on spot AEL hold, because my experience is; the toggle is annoying, often I would touch the button by accident resulting in a wrong setting.

[@ViperB1t3]

So its not working on manual mode?

[@1984jtk]

Mine didn't work on manual mode either? I'm not sure why. Any suggestions?

[@ViperB1t3]

@@garyfriedman2005 i was trying all metering mode in manual exposure mode, but it have no different 🙏🙏

[@ViperB1t3]

@@garyfriedman2005 😁😁😁😁 THANK YOU SO MUCH OLD MAN

[@jaysnappsmediallc]

This was excellent. Sheesh. Thanks Sir.

[@FriedmanArchives]

Sheesh. You're welcome! :-)

[@tonelab]

I honestly thought it was Rob Reiner 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@FriedmanArchives]

:-) You wouldn't say that now if you saw me with my Covid beard: photos.app.goo.gl/MzfVWCX4XLKXznav7