floral43

Camera Is a linear light tool, did you ever hear of the one third rule? when in auto! if you set up a scene with a black cat against a larger white back ground, and shoot that scene, the camera will adjust to the white back ground and in order to compesate for the 2 thirds white it will lower the exposure, in doing so the result would be a darker black cat, removing a lot of the detail causing an under exposed picture.

GrahamS Loc: Hertfordshire, U.K

You said it, not me....

winterrose Loc: Kyneton, Victoria, Australia

What you are describing is what both an averaging light meter and an old fashioned dumb camera would give you. Modern cameras (Nikon anyway, I can't positively speak of any other brand) are so much smarter. Nikons meter the scene then compare the pixel output pattern against a great many various patterns stored in ROM then sets the exposure according to the best fit. It is not infallible of course but that is why they actually let you SEE the result if you look at the little TV screen on the back of your picture taking device. You ARE permitted to nudge the wheels and the little buttons and have another try if you want because you are your own man and will not be told what to do by Asian people in their firmware bunkers.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

I think this discussion is about manual exposure, not manual focusing.

Mudshark Loc: Illinois

For once, I almost agree with you. In the 60's I cautiously approached my gruff old Navy Chief with a complaint about one of the cameras I had been shooting aerials with. "The PROBLEM," he loudly noted, "is the loose screw three inches behind the viewfinder!" I eventually came to realize the best camera meters, electronics, etc. are located just a tad bit farther than three inches behind the viewfinder....somewhere between your ears. Once you truly investigate the zone system, i.e., actually run the scales, etc. Once you shoot tens of thousands of frames of Tri-X and hand develop in D-76 1:1 with precise agitation...well...eventually the meter behind the viewfinder becomes infinitely superior to any silicon chip that will ever exist in geekdom.
This is not to say I do not fully appreciate the modern, digital electronics but rather I use my brain to rule them...and not to be ruled by them...........