Buzzard

[sasan nejadi]

my dear friends , one question.... Which metering mode is better for bird photography ( Flight shot and static shot ) ? Evaluative metering or spot metering ? Thanks for the guidance

Camera Model Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv(Shutter Speed) 1/3200
Av(Aperture Value) 5.6
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation +2/3
ISO Speed 1000
Lens EF600mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4x III
Focal Length 840.0mm
White Balance Mode Auto: Ambience priority
AF Mode AI Servo AF

[gail bisson]

Hi Sasan,
Great light, BG and sharp incoming flight pose.
To answer your question- i do not believe that the metering mode has any effect on 'flight" or "static"photography. The metering is all about exposure. I use evaluative metering because it sets the exposure for the entire image whether flight or static.
Spot metering is for metering a specific spot on the BG or bird. This would be useful for images shot in the snow. Various pros have their own preferences but for me it is all about keeping things simple!
gail
Gail

[Isaac Grant]

Your photos make me want to visit Iran. Fantastic light and a great head on flight pose.

To answer your question you would have to know if you shooting in manual or not. I haven't taken one of my cameras off of manual in years so I basically ignore the meter and instead work off of the histogram and the highlight alert, blinkies. The metering is not really about exposure, it is about how the camera measures the amount of light coming through the lens. So if you are in manual and exposing for your bird then the meter would not really matter. It becomes more relevant if say you were shooting in AV as you did for this shot. Then adjusting your exposure compensation. I always keep on evaluative just because that's what I used when shooting in AV. I prefer Evaluative because it measures the light in the whole scene. Spot metering will typically only meter off of the center point but it can be set to meter off of the active focus point. But what if that is not the part of the bird that you want to meter off of? That's why people shooting in AV will meter for the whole scene with evaluative and the use exposure compensation to adjust for the part of the bird they want to expose for. As an example, say you were in spot and shooting a Eurasian Sparrowhawk. If the active or center point was on the birds dark back and you were in spot metering then the camera would be metering for the dark area which would then over expose the lighter areas of the head and breast. So for flight I would recommend manual. But if you are going to shoot in AV then I'd use evaluative and then adjust you exposure compensation based off of the light.

Where metering has a as a bigger effect is on flight and action shots where you have varying backgrounds. If a bird is going from being in front of a bright blue sky or a dark tree in the same burst then the camera in evaluative the will not expose the bird properly. As it would take the whole scene and expose for the light or dark background. For situations like that you are better off shooting in shutter priority or manual. Make sense?

[sasan nejadi]

Hi Sasan,
Great light, BG and sharp incoming flight pose.
To answer your question- i do not believe that the metering mode has any effect on 'flight" or "static"photography. The metering is all about exposure. I use evaluative metering because it sets the exposure for the entire image whether flight or static.
Spot metering is for metering a specific spot on the BG or bird. This would be useful for images shot in the snow. Various pros have their own preferences but for me it is all about keeping things simple!
gail
Gail

Hi Gail , Thank you for guiding 🙏

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Sasan,
Great head on POV, light, and BG. Terrific.
Allen

[sasan nejadi]

Your photos make me want to visit Iran. Fantastic light and a great head on flight pose.

To answer your question you would have to know if you shooting in manual or not. I haven't taken one of my cameras off of manual in years so I basically ignore the meter and instead work off of the histogram and the highlight alert, blinkies. The metering is not really about exposure, it is about how the camera measures the amount of light coming through the lens. So if you are in manual and exposing for your bird then the meter would not really matter. It becomes more relevant if say you were shooting in AV as you did for this shot. Then adjusting your exposure compensation. I always keep on evaluative just because that's what I used when shooting in AV. I prefer Evaluative because it measures the light in the whole scene. Spot metering will typically only meter off of the center point but it can be set to meter off of the active focus point. But what if that is not the part of the bird that you want to meter off of? That's why people shooting in AV will meter for the whole scene with evaluative and the use exposure compensation to adjust for the part of the bird they want to expose for. As an example, say you were in spot and shooting a Eurasian Sparrowhawk. If the active or center point was on the birds dark back and you were in spot metering then the camera would be metering for the dark area which would then over expose the lighter areas of the head and breast. So for flight I would recommend manual. But if you are going to shoot in AV then I'd use evaluative and then adjust you exposure compensation based off of the light.

Where metering has a as a bigger effect is on flight and action shots where you have varying backgrounds. If a bird is going from being in front of a bright blue sky or a dark tree in the same burst then the camera in evaluative the will not expose the bird properly. As it would take the whole scene and expose for the light or dark background. For situations like that you are better off shooting in shutter priority or manual. Make sense?

Hi Isaac, if you come to iran you will make me happy , thank you for guiding and it was very useful

[sasan nejadi]

Hi Sasan,
Great head on POV, light, and BG. Terrific.
Allen

thanks Allen

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Sasan,

great dynamic pose with nice eye contact and wing span. I like the fanned tail too as well as the BG. On my monitor the head looks a tad softer than the shoulder so I'd selectively sharpen the head to equalize it.

To answer your question, I always shoot in manual mode. Birds usually occupy a small portion of the frame and the meter often gets fooled by the BG resulting in overexposed images against a dark BG and similarly an underexposed image against a bright BG. To learn more about this topic see this article on my blog http://arihazeghiphotography.com/blo...d-photography/

[sasan nejadi]

Hi Sasan,

great dynamic pose with nice eye contact and wing span. I like the fanned tail too as well as the BG. On my monitor the head looks a tad softer than the shoulder so I'd selectively sharpen the head to equalize it.

To answer your question, I always shoot in manual mode. Birds usually occupy a small portion of the frame and the meter often gets fooled by the BG resulting in overexposed images against a dark BG and similarly an underexposed image against a bright BG. To learn more about this topic see this article on my blog http://arihazeghiphotography.com/blo...d-photography/

Hi Arash and thank you for comment , Your guide was very good and helpful. next question : do you used ((auto iso)) in manual mod ?