Fuji Metering Modes EXPLAINED

In this video I break down all four of the Fuji metering modes in your camera: Spot, Center-weighted, Multi, and Average. I'll explain how each one woks and show examples of how your images are affected by each mode.
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[@robertross8565]

You’re not an idiot. You’re an awesome guy.

[@themikelee]

Big fan here, with a small suggestion: Showing us the metering symbols (along with their names) would help many of your viewers. Thanks

[@carolineswift7273]

Metering modes have always slightly confused me and I wondered why the photometry didn’t work with face/eye detection but now I’m like 🙄 Cags! Thank you 😊

[@mike-snapitnc-clegg6550]

Another cracking video Booray keep em coming sold all my nikon gear been Fuji last twelve months and it has totally changed the way I think about taking pictures now , I actually enjoy it again 👏👍

[@QUITSHOW]

I think this metering modes are useful for street photographers who take quick snapshots, often times without checking the exposures through the viewfinder and simply let the camera do the work. Thanks for the video!

[@clintwood1983]

Nice video, immediately turned on the interlock spot metering and ae function.

[@bryangideon5822]

Thanks Booray great video very comprehensive and interesting best one yet on the subject

[@233985]

Great video and very clear explanation. I agree with your recommendation as I use Multi 95% of the time and spot the rest of the time.

[@chris5706]

A very instructive video and the sting in the tail works two ways. Yes we don’t have to have such a high degree of skill anymore but that frees up time to be creative. And on the rare occasion knowing all about metering matters we can still work it out. It’s a good reason to shoot film occasionally- to keep upskilled

[@kenwalker4386]

Thanks Booray for a great explanation of something that has been bothering me for ages. Not knowing which mode to choose, in my ignorance I leave the camera on multi segment (sounded about right) but wanted to try to understand it more at some point. Your explanation has helped take the mystery of it away for me, and like you said, I've been changing my exposure compensation when I thought the shot needed it anyway. I would have still thought the mode had to be chosen even when using face/eye detection, so an extra thanks for adding that point into the video.

[@BoorayPerry]

You're welcome! 😁📷

[@billyking4710]

Brilliant video, it makes everything a little more easier to understand. Thanks

[@BoorayPerry]

Thanks!

[@jasonf2252]

Really have enjoyed a couple of your videos, including this one. Thanks for the contributions to photography and for the instruction. Subbed.

[@BoorayPerry]

Thanks! That means a lot 📷🙂

[@chrisscott-mckenzie548]

Best video on this subject. Thanks for the lesson!

[@BoorayPerry]

Thanks! 😁📷

[@bryangideon5822]

Great video thank you it’s giving me an insight into how metering works

[@BoorayPerry]

Thanks😁📷

[@jonasm.9786]

I'm shooting with fuji for almost 10 years and never gave a dam about metering because of live view and exposure compensation.. But still that was very interesting. Yesterday found your chanel and just going thru episodes, and ejoyning, thank you.

[@BoorayPerry]

Thanks! :)

[@thegrahams100]

Great explanations, ty 👍

[@alexzhang9318]

Well explained. Thx.

[@alien4898]

Hi I have seen ur tutorial video as u make it and I like it.briefly saying I have the fujifilm xt 30ii and use it for landscapes.For me the best metering mode is the average and the centerweight…..I tryied and the other two metering modes which give me over and under results.Actually the average metering uses the famous zone system…By using the correct ASA or ISO…and simulations and perhaps some corrections through the menu the results are super. Anyway I’m saying my opinion.Thanks

[@chaser5515]

In my opinion, NOT a waste of time, we need to know where we came from to appreciate what we have and where we are going. And thank you for not frequently telling us to "hold that thought".

[@boztos6025]

YES!

[@mauriciogarfield7122]

Loved your harsh honesty about all these modes and the fact that mirrorless makes it almost unnecessary, but I still like to play with them

[@michaeldesselle7589]

Thanks. Enlightening explanation😎

[@BoorayPerry]

Thanks!

[@wtr4397]

BR....Thanks for the refresher about metering modes. I also use spot/multi modes. Spot is the default setting. Wayne

[@BoorayPerry]

Me too. :)

[@torinsall]

What a fun video...and I now k ow what the ae spot does so turned it on...sweet.

[@BoorayPerry]

Thanks!

[@AmarreMoha]

First Booray I have seen so far, lol

[@bobmay3936]

Hi Booray, Thanks. Concise, instructive and entertaining as per. Just one point. I understood that you cannot activate exposure compensation in Manual mode. Is that correct?

[@NJM1948]

Great video - nicely explained in simple terms. The only time I think you still need the exposure lock is for bright areas that aren't necessarily your focal point - bright light coming through a window or bright sky for example. If you use the integrated (the long name!!) focus and exposure in spot then you will still get blown out highlights if your subject is in the shadow....or am I missing something?!!

[@BoorayPerry]

Yes, you will probably blow out the highlights from the window but the only way to save them is to underexpose your subject.

[@bestandamandeal9319]

Enjoyed learning more scientifically. Thank you.

[@haeskenhoff]

Nice video. On my xpro3 it’s spot, zone and wide, at least in optical viewfinder mode. I’m guessing wide is evaluative or all? Not sure Oh, and when i closed my eyes for a second you became Troy McClure 😉

[@guysingleton3908]

Great video, couldn't understand why when using spot it didn't matter where I focused it stayed the same. Turned the option on you mentioned and hey presto it changed. One question would you use full auto or one of the other modes like aperture priority or shutter. Lastly would you have iso on auto or preset. Trying to take product photos of candles and they are proving to be a pain.

[@BoorayPerry]

I never use full auto. If I was doing product shots I would set everything manual, starting with the aperture I wanted, then the shutter speed and then the ISO

[@davesnow6762]

Interesting video. A little confusing when @4:00 you asses the sky at 10/9 and the water at 5/6. Later @4:37 you asses the water at 9. I accept that this is just a case of "human error" which could be solved with a "bug-fix" in the Booray! Just kidding!

[@BoorayPerry]

I knew someone would point that out eventually. Yes, I flipped my numbers. :)

[@ksnmurthy4476]

Butbinba scenario Nice video. I have a question about how to use exposure metering in the following scenario? where there is bright sky and dark bushes, I don't want the sky to be blown out and similarly I don't want the bushes to be very dark. In this situation how I can handle? Where I can focus and take picture? What metering mode I shall use? Multi will do the job? Or I focus with spot on the bushes and fix the exposure and recompose and take the shot of the scene? Please advise.

[@BoorayPerry]

It's probably isn't the answer that you're hoping for but you can use whatever metering mode you feel comfortable with. You're going to have to adjust it either way. I would probably use spot metering and meter for the sky then recover the bushes in post

[@fandangofandango2022]

Mate Your a Nice Guy.

[@itacatv2146]

Hey, I have an xt3. I noticed when in video mode, my camera does not react to me turning the metering knob. Exposure remains the same even when in full auto. If I do the same in picture mode, exposure changes. Can someone tell me WTF is going on? Is it me or the camera. And before you tell me to turn off face recognition or something similar, please do a test on your camera and please let me know.

[@sergio_lelevier]

When shooting in spot, how do you move the spot? Or do you move the camera to the spot, lock and then reframe?

[@BoorayPerry]

I use the joystick to move the spot or lock and reframe

[@usemnyid6779]

Does metring have something to do with focus or just contrast as you said? Does the spot mode sharpens the spot you focus on while Multi sharpens the whole image?

[@BoorayPerry]

No. Sharpening is global.

[@ggg3671]

Hey, Booray. I understand knowing how metering works is better than not knowing but why would learning metering still be relevant when mirrorless has the WYSIWYG image in either the evf or the screen?

[@BoorayPerry]

The main reason is speed. If I am shooting an event and the light is changing I need the camera to make the exposure call for me and I need to know it will be a good one.

[@bill3117]

Just found this! I usually use spot metering. I'm going whale watching in April via a boat cruise. What metering setting would you recommend?

[@BoorayPerry]

It's hard to go wrong with spot. I use it almost exclusively.

[@bill3117]

@@BoorayPerry many thanks! Your response was “spot on” as the Brits might say ;)

[@terrenceliggins-hz1bd]

Hi, did you ever get to the bottom of why your xh2 was locking up. Was it the sd or CF express card? The approved CF express cards listed by Fuji is very weird it appears to me the approved SanDisk CF express cards are only the Japanese version not US, Global or any other versions for that matter. I cannot find any revisions you have made to your original KZbin video on the matter. Regards Terry

[@BoorayPerry]

I have notes on that video in the comments...

[@quite1enough]

18:09 unless "preview exp./wb in manual mode" didn't turned off :D

[@markcasebeer8273]

What a waste of 10 minutes! LOL In the end you are totally right. I've experimented with all the metering modes and your exposure comp dial is your friend. I shoot a lot of wildlife (BIF) and use the front command dial for EC. You learn a darker subject against a bright sky, plus EC, a white subject on bright sky minus EC. After a lot of practice, you can get a feel for what you need and easily rotate the dial. Fun video, thanks for reinforcing I'm using the correct metering mode. :)

[@BoorayPerry]

Thanks for wqatching!

[@InstructorWest]

So if Face Detect is on and there’s no face in the picture frame, how does photometry work?

[@BoorayPerry]

Great question! In that instance you still have to pick a focus spot and I imagine it uses spot metering on that spot.

[@bwellington3001]

Friends, maybe anyone can explain me what to do with the fact that in many cases My fujifilm x-t30 in multi-metering mode just decides to darken the whole scene? I just got back from vacation, looked at the photos on my monitor and almost every one of them seemed underexposed. That despite them looking fine in EVF. I made images look the way i was intended them too look by adding exposure compensation, but isnt it weird that i need to resolve to this for literally every shot i make? I am coming from another system and it didnt have this issue with multi metering mode.

[@BoorayPerry]

Off the top of my head I can think of a couple of things. 1. First I would look at my LCD and evf settings because you can have the brightness turned up and so the images look brighter there than they do on your computer screen. 2. If you are using multi mode do you have the camera set so that it meters your focus point? Are you using a small focus point or is the camera grabbing several focus points in zone mode? You have to remember that in multi mode the camera is trying to figure out what you want and it doesn't always make the best guess. 3. If it's none of these things and you still think all your pictures look dark then it could just be that your understanding of what is a proper exposure is different than Fuji's. This is not unusual. I have many sessions where I feel I have to globally change the exposure on all the images because they're just not what I want them to be.

[@bwellington3001]

@@BoorayPerry Thank you for taking your time answering. 1) My LCD brightness is set to 0. EVF brightness was set to AUTO.. i've just changed it to 0 as well, is this suppose to be correct setting? 2) I assumed that it does, but how do i make sure? As for focus points.. I used the default square that covers 9 small points. 3) Maybe you are right, i am not a professional photographer, but i find it strange how the camera decides the correct exposure: imgur.com/a/i9egReN top is how it came out of camera and bottom is after i added +0.6 exposure compensation. The top just doesnt look right, and it's the case with many images. It always needs anywhere from +0.3 to a full stop to look "correct".

[@BoorayPerry]

@@bwellington3001 Okay, you have to understand a little about how cameras "think." (I plan to make a video about this). Your camera thinks that the correct exposure is the amount of light reflected by a surface that is neutral gray. In fact, a white surface reflects more light, so the camera tends to underexpose it. the opposite is true for a black surface (it will overexpose it). Also, the camera naturally seeks to avoid "blowing out" the white areas since they can't be recovered (See my video on DR setting). In the image that you think is "right", their are portions of the plastic bag that are pure white. The camera seeks to avoid that and lowers the exposure. Change your focus point to one square and put it on what you most want to be exposed properly and see what happens. 9 squares is creating an average. Also, in AF/MF menu, "Interlock focus and meter area" ON. Good luck!

[@bwellington3001]

@@BoorayPerry interlock spot AE and focus area? I have it on, but i assumed it only affects spot metering.

[@BoorayPerry]

@@bwellington3001 Yes, it does. Now try using spot and putting the spot on what you want to be correct. See what you think of that. You have to remember that the camera can't get everything in your image to be the exposure that makes it look it's best. If the whites are perfect, the blacks will be gray. If the blacks are black, the whites will be gray. It's always a choice.

[@primefotoNL]

What you see here is that a camera meter can't meter correctly. It all depends on what is in the frame instead of how much light is present. That is because it meters not the light but the reflection of light. Then it averages it all out. And then it makes it 18% middle gray. So there is no way to do a correct metering with the camera meter unless you use the spot meter on a 18% middle gray card or a white card for ETTR exposure. If you want consistently correct exposure the only way is to use a light meter.

[@jominkus]

Hi! What photo software are you using here? Thanks, Johannes

[@BoorayPerry]

Capture One for Fuji

[@FlorianCortese]

It's Capture One

[@albertloan396]

What is somewhat misleading is that when one says "correct exposure," the implication is that what you want "correctly exposed" has a value of middle grey. This may not be the case. Perhaps you are taking a photo of a white dog, that's your focus point, but the dog is not "middle grey," but perhaps two or three stops lighter. So when using spot metering, it's important to not interlock focus and exposure. Use spot metering with deliberation, choosing what is actually middle grey in your photo.

[@seamydobbsno1]

Or just use the compensation dial... pretty simple.

[@albertloan396]

@@seamydobbsno1 The compensation dial will change the iso. Not your best option for optimal exposure.

[@seamydobbsno1]

@@albertloan396 You are incorrect. Depends what mode you are in, it can change shutter or aperture also if you have set a max ISO.

[@backwoodstrails]

You are correct. Most people (unless you knew how to shoot film) don’t understand that the meter thinks everything is 18% gray, regardless of metering mode. The meter will try to make whatever it is looking at 18% gray. Once you understand this simple concept and a bit about the “zone system”, you will be able to achieve more consistent results. Nice to see a comment from someone that understands how light meters work. Ansel Adams would be proud!

[@albertloan396]

@@backwoodstrails Thanks.

[@chrisjames1924]

I have an XT3 and an XE2 and loads of XF glass. As good as they can occasionally be (of people, indoors) neither camera can handle skies particularly well. For example, with my back to the sun, shooting a daytime landscape - even with overcast skies - it'll completely blow the sky and throw the foreground into shadows. There's zero balance in how it meters. My old nikon D3100 has a more evenly balanced exposure. I don't get it at all. It could be that I've been unlucky and both cameras have faulty sensors or...maybe I've just got it all set up wrong. Either way, it's incredibly frustrating. I've recently been in some truly amazing scenic locations, with fantastic light, only to find my XT3 incapable of handling the dynamic range; which it's supposedly capable of handling.

[@BoorayPerry]

I don't understand how it can overexpose the sky and underexpose the shadows at the same time. Have you tried DR400?

[@shy-guy5544]

In this situation, the average mode might be best. The dynamic range of the xt3 is around 9.7 stops, as far as I recall, which is not bad for a cropped sensor. Don’t expect results like from a full frame camera (13-14 stops). I am generally satisfied with the exposure from my xt3 but try to avoid taking photos of scenes with a very high dynamic range.

[@uncatila]

Yea. I am the meter. Not fugi. Good point

[@backwoodstrails]

Great video, but depressing....30+ years of manual film cameras, using hand held meters with the zone system...all out the window now with these digital, especially the mirrorless cameras. You breezed by it, however, I am surprised that most people don't understand that light meters are always looking for 18% gray, smart as they are, that's all they know to look for.

[@MindGem]

sound sync

[@randomstranger2472]

I actually use average 99% of the time lol

[@jdouglashall]

So much intro.

[@BoorayPerry]

Thank you!

[@MinimoComunDenominador]

What is the software you use for photo editing in this video? I like that it shows the camera settings. Please advise. Great content btw

[@BoorayPerry]

Capture One. :)