M240 metering methods

[Herman Zhang]

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I was using my M240 with centre weight metering when I realised that most of my frame was underexposed because there was a spec of light in one of the metered areas

Should I use the centre weighted or use the spot metering(because at least I will know when I am metering)? Or should I use the multi-field metering, as it will be more accurate at the cost of the shutter lag(created by opening and closing the shutter) and the cost of battery life?

Also, can someone tell me approximately how many pictures you can take without LV using multi-field and the spot/centre weighted on one charge

[jaapv]

The metering method depends on the light distribution of the subject. For many shots center weighed works perfectly fine, even if you sometimes have to turn the shutter speed dial to manual, scan the scene and recompose. As you note, there are times that strong contrasts make spot metering necessary. Remember: the camera does not determine the exposure, that is the responsibility of the photographer. What you should not do is dial in a blanket EV compensation for all your images. That is like buying your shoes one size too large to ensure that you will never get blisters. 

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[Luke_Miller]

I do a lot of indoor photography and my M240 is almost always in one of the auto exposure modes using center weighted metering. If there is a light source or bright highlight in the frame I will focus and then recompose to an area that has the same light level as the subject but lacks the highlight.  Then half press the shutter to lock the exposure and recompose back to take the image. Much faster to do than describe.

[Herman Zhang]

Thanks, so should I use Multi-Field? Will it use up a lot of battery? With centre-weighted I can shoot around 600

[jdlaing]

3 hours ago, Herman Zhang said:

Thanks, so should I use Multi-Field? Will it use up a lot of battery? With centre-weighted I can shoot around 600

The battery life on that camera is very good. For those kind of shots I would use multi field but not use it 100% of the time. It would depend on the scene and overall lighting.

[dpitt]

8 hours ago, Luke_Miller said:

I do a lot of indoor photography and my M240 is almost always in one of the auto exposure modes using center weighted metering. If there is a light source or bright highlight in the frame I will focus and then recompose to an area that has the same light level as the subject but lacks the highlight.  Then half press the shutter to lock the exposure and recompose back to take the image. Much faster to do than describe.

+1 for this method.

Much more control. If you have noticed the highlights that will mess up the exposure enough to switch to multi-field, center weighted measuring the area (or similar) that should be exposed properly will be much faster and more accurate. For outdoors shots, a grass area can serve as a kind of gray card for example.

Shooting with multi-field all the time is no option IMO.  It will probably not be what you want in as many cases as the center weighted mode.  Any mode will be wrong some of the time if you do not take control yourself.

[Herman Zhang]

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So there is no metering mode that I should use at all times and when I am in indoors, I will use point/ Multi-Field while for outdoors, I use centre weighted.

[Luke_Miller]

I am very comfortable with center weighted metering.  It is what I used in my film days and with my film and digital M cameras (up to the M240 & M246).  I can't speak to M10 and M11 cameras, but I don't find the matrix metering that much of an improvement and I really dislike having to go into live view in order to use it.  I my experience the Leica metering overreacts to bright areas in the frame. Center weighted allows me to obtain accurate metering by avoiding the highlight when setting exposure.  I can't do that with matrix metering. 

[jaapv]

18 hours ago, Herman Zhang said:

So there is no metering mode that I should use at all times and when I am in indoors, I will use point/ Multi-Field while for outdoors, I use centre weighted.

Not according to location. According to the light distribution of your subject.  When taking a photograph you must work by the subject and circumstances, not by fixed rules. It might be wise to read up (or YouTube up) on exposure techniques. Photographs are taken by the photographer, the camera is just a tool and cannot decide for you. Especially an M camera. Your skill decides the outcome, nothing else. 

[Ernstk]

In addition to what has been said above, it's worth noting that the M240 is happier when you expose for the highlights and has the ability to recover shadow detail really well in post processing.

Almost all of my work is outdoors and I have a blanket -0.3 EV dialled in to the camera and always expose for the highlights.

I wouldn't worry about battery life. It seems to last forever. You can check in the menu how much you have left.

Ernst