Public has questions, club has answers

By Rex Dolby

Both previous visitors and new people attended the Van Wert Area Photography Club’s Q & A session on Thursday, Feb. 11.  Justin Eckardt and Shawna Mergy, both of Van Wert, were new participants to the club’s free and open session on photography and related equipment.  The pair were particularly interested in camera bodies and lenses best suited to capture the action at soccer matches and received several suggestions on some good possibilities.  They were advised when considering camera bodies, that a used body in good condition may be as good a choice as paying full price for a new body.  Another tip is to select a body that is supported by a large number and variety of lenses.  Again, a used lens in good condition will be cheaper and function as well as a new one.  In terms of soccer action, a 70-300 mm with an f 5.6 or less (the smaller the f number of a lens, the greater its light-gathering capability) opening should be considered.

Andrea Schlueter asked for advice on selecting the best metering system for a situation. It was pointed out that most cameras have a light averaging system that considers all the lights and darks in the scene. Taken at face value, a bright scene such as snow or sand will be under exposed while one with a lot of shadows and little light will produce an over exposure of the light areas.  To compensate for these extremes, more expensive camera bodies provide for settings for matrix, center weight, and/or spot metering systems.

In the matrix system, the meter divides the scene up into zones, then analyzes each zone for highlights and shadows. It then takes an average for all the zones and determines the exposure based on that figure.  Distance to the subject and color are also taken into account it calculating the exposure. Select this system when the scene is pretty evenly lit.

Center-weighted metering gives the most importance – usually between 60 and 80 percent – to the light that is concentrated in a circular area in the center of the frame. The corners are given much less importance, because in most cases, the subject is placed nearer the center rather than at the edges or corners.  Often point-and-shoot cameras are equipped with this system. Choose this system for portraits where the subject is important and the background is secondary.

In spot metering, the area sampled is small compared to the center weight area, but you can actually select which part of the frame you want it to read, therefore you get a very accurate exposure for that area. Use spot metering for scenes where your subject is significantly darker or lighter than its surroundings. Examples would be a bird in flight or the moon at night.

Take note that the club is considering photo trips to: the Niedecken Photography Museum in Ottoville, the Wright Patterson AFB Museum in Dayton, the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Ind., and the Fort Wayne Botanical Gardens.  Details will be given as they develop.