Metering and Mode with M Lenses

[Dr. G]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Are there any issues with the reliability of different metering modes with M lenses?  Also, is Manual mode more reliable than aperature priority when shooting with M lenses?  

[LD_50]

Try it out. You can gauge the reliability for what you’re shooting.

 

You have exposure compensation, an EVF, live histogram, and clipping warnings available to you.

[darylgo]

The SL exposure has been excellent, the M240 oftentimes over exposed the highlights past the point of recovery for landscape shooting.  

[ramarren]

Both manual and aperture priority AE modes work beautifully on the SL with adapted lenses, up to the metering range limitations.

 

A problem when using adapted lenses on the SL used to be that the viewfinder remained bright even after the metering range had been exceeded (on the dark side) such that the display looked correct but the exposure was significantly under exposed. You'd have to tap over to exposure simulation mode to find this out (two presses of the FN button). I used to run into this every time an exposure hit about 1/10 sec or longer times. However, firmware v3 has improved on this by quite a lot ... metering range with extended lenses has been pushed down at least two-three EV since firmware 2.0.

 

The problem still exists in that adapted lenses have no way of telling the body what their maximum aperture is or what they're set to so metering range is always smaller than with native lenses (which normally meter at wide-open aperture and close down at exposure time like an SLR), but I no longer run into a problem with so many available light shots.

 

It is still the case that when I'm pushing for the bottom of the metering range, I'll tend to inspect my exposures after making them to be sure I'm getting proper exposure for critical situations.

[Dr. G]

I noticed that on the OLED display, the aperture will fluctuate.  Sometimes when the ring is at f/2, the OLED can read f/3-4 at times.  I understand this is because the camera is estimating aperture based on the lens profile and the amount of light coming into the camera.  If the camera is not accurately estimating the aperture, would auto ISO and shutter speed in A mode be off, or would the metering take precedence in determining ISO and shutter speed?

[LD_50]

The camera is metering based on what reaches the sensor. The aperture guess is irrelevant.

[Dr. G]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Both manual and aperture priority AE modes work beautifully on the SL with adapted lenses, up to the metering range limitations.

 

A problem when using adapted lenses on the SL used to be that the viewfinder remained bright even after the metering range had been exceeded (on the dark side) such that the display looked correct but the exposure was significantly under exposed. You'd have to tap over to exposure simulation mode to find this out (two presses of the FN button). I used to run into this every time an exposure hit about 1/10 sec or longer times. However, firmware v3 has improved on this by quite a lot ... metering range with extended lenses has been pushed down at least two-three EV since firmware 2.0.

 

The problem still exists in that adapted lenses have no way of telling the body what their maximum aperture is or what they're set to so metering range is always smaller than with native lenses (which normally meter at wide-open aperture and close down at exposure time like an SLR), but I no longer run into a problem with so many available light shots.

 

It is still the case that when I'm pushing for the bottom of the metering range, I'll tend to inspect my exposures after making them to be sure I'm getting proper exposure for critical situations.

 

How low can I reasonably run the exposure meter and use spot metering for highlights to be able to pull up shadows?  I'd rather use a lower ISO and keep a fairly high shutter speed since I do most of my shooting hand-held.  With the EVF, I sometimes fall into the habit of making sure everything looks reasonably bright, but end up having to push the ISO up to do that.  I don't yet know how much dynamic range I have to pull up details from shadows.  When I was shooting the Sony RX1R II I could sometimes almost start with a completely dark image and recover the details in LR without issue. 

[LD_50]

How low can I reasonably run the exposure meter and use spot metering for highlights to be able to pull up shadows?  I'd rather use a lower ISO and keep a fairly high shutter speed since I do most of my shooting hand-held.  With the EVF, I sometimes fall into the habit of making sure everything looks reasonably bright, but end up having to push the ISO up to do that.  I don't yet know how much dynamic range I have to pull up details from shadows.  When I was shooting the Sony RX1R II I could sometimes almost start with a completely dark image and recover the details in LR without issue.

 

This question is completely subjective. It’s all dependent on your IQ requirements.

 

Just shoot some images and process them the way you normally would and decide for yourself. No one here’s opinion is more important than your own.

[ramarren]

Yes, experiment. The SL sensor is very good, but at some point that you have to decide at what point the noise and dynamic range reduction will get in the way. 

 

I have no problem with getting excellent results even at ISO 6400, given that I expose understanding how much dynamic range has been lost.