Nikon 5000 - Manual (Page 119)

Taking Photographs—Advanced Photography
105
Matrix
C o m p a re s m e a s u re -
ments from 256 areas of
frame with library of typ-
ical compositions to pro-
duce optimal exposure
for entire image.
Best choice in most circumstances.
Center-
Weighted
Camera meters light in
entire frame but assigns
a weight of 80% to area
in center of frame occu-
pying roughly
1 /
4
of total.
Classic meter for portraits; preserves
background details while letting
lighting conditions at center of
frame determine exposure. Can be
used with autoexposure lock (
106) to meter off-center subjects.
Spot
Camera measures light
in area shown by square
in center of monitor.
Only about
1 /
32
of entire
frame is metered.
Ensures that subject in metering
target will be correctly exposed
even when background is much
brighter or darker. Can be used
with autoexposure lock (
106) to
meter off-center subjects.
Measuring Light: The Metering Menu
In User Sets 1, 2, and 3, the metering menu offers
a choice of four metering methods that determine
how the camera sets exposure (in User Set A, ma-
trix metering is used). Choose a metering method
suited to your composition and lighting conditions.
The following options are available:
Spot AF
Area
Camera measures light
in current focus area
only.
Useful when you want to link spot
metering with manual or automat-
ic focus-area selection (
120) to
meter an off-center subject.
Option How it works When to use it