Nikon N6006 - Manual (Page 61)

METERING SYSTEM SELECTION - WHEN TO USE
MATRIX OR CENTER-WEIGHTED METERING
In scenes with both very bright and very dark areas, these two
metering systems produce varying results. For example:
A. Scene containing the sun or scenes with high reflectivity
If a scene contains strong highlights, such as the sun, snow or
bright reflections, Center-Weighted Metering renders the main
subject as a silhouette. With Matrix Metering, however, the light
value of darker parts is evaluated, resulting in an overall well-
balanced exposure.
B. Outdoor backlit subject
With Center-Weighted Metering, a backlit subject or scene with
people against a bright sky and/or clouds may lead to an under­
exposed shot. With Matrix Metering, however, the camera auto­
matically gives more exposure to darker subjects to ensure a
balanced overall exposure.
C. Front-lit subject against dark background
If a brightly lit off-center subject is positioned against a dark
background, Center-Weighted Metering places too much empha­
sis on the dark center of the picture. So although the background
is correctly exposed, the main subject will be overexposed. Matrix
Metering, however, automatically integrates a dark background
with a bright subject to ensure the best overall exposure.
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