Metering on the 18% Card?

[Marc Hildebrant]

Group,

Learned many years ago to never assume something...

A statement I have often seen, is to "Meter for Exposure on a 18% Grey Card". I am asking what the "metering" word means in the sentence.

I believe that the Camera's exposure would indicate "0" when the 18% card was the sole source of reflected light and the other camera settings were what the software wanted. In other words, the phrase Meter is used to mean that the desired exposure has been achieved. Is this correct?

Marc

 

[RAZKY]

Group,

Learned many years ago to never assume something...

A statement I have often seen, is to "Meter for Exposure on a 18% Grey Card". I am asking what the "metering" word means in the sentence.

I believe that the Camera's exposure would indicate "0" when the 18% card was the sole source of reflected light and the other camera settings were what the software wanted. In other words, the phrase Meter is used to mean that the desired exposure has been achieved. Is this correct?

Marc

"Metering" is the process of measuring the light level.

 

[Marc Hildebrant]

Let me ask the question another way.

If I meter on a 18% Grey Card, would my Camera show a "correct" or pointer in the middle of the exposure range?

Marc

 

[dxqcanada]

Desired? Hmm. A reflective light meter (like the one in your camera) reading off of a grey card ,placed in front of the subject, would put the exposure in the middle. This would be the same as in incident light meter does it measures the light falling on a subject ... though that may not be the "desired" exposure of the image that you imagined.

 

[Marc Hildebrant]

Thanks for the answer. The 18% grey card then places the exposure in the middle or "0" location.

Marc

 

[PJM]

Nothing beats experimenting and seeing how the result turns out.

 

[wfooshee]

The card doesn't "place" anything. Your adjustments to the camera should center the meter when measuring on the card. That's what "metering" means in this context. The 18% card is a generally accepted reference of reflected light level, so setting correct exposure on the card will generally give you good exposure for the scene. You should also measure this with your camera's meter in spot mode so that it's measuring only the card.

There is also a difference n the camera's viewfinder metering output and a handheld light meter. The camera's meter shows exposure on a line from underexposed to overexposed, 0 is "properly" exposed. A handheld meter gives you actual light level as Exposure Value and it's up to you to read where ISO, shutter speed, and aperture match on he meter's dials in order to set proper exposure. In other words, the camera meter says, these settings are underexposed, overexposed, or properly exposed, while a light meter just tells you how bright the scene is.