Re> Is my camera not good, or should I learn to shoot better photos ?
Camera metering systems use different technology in different cameras.
I have no idea how the point and shoot metering works, but in the
400D, you have a choice of three metering systems.
One divides the whole frame into segments, and then electronics
compares all the segments and chooses the exposure.
Another system measures the whole frame, but pays more attention to
the center part of the frame, whille taking the outer edges into
account.
And the third just pays attention to the center part.
If you have a tripod, try this experiment. And if you do not have a
tripod, use a couple of books under the camera to hold it in the
same spot.
Point it at a scene like this, with a lot of shade, a bright sky,
and lots of mid-tome sunlit areas, too. Point the camera and zoom
the lens so that the center on the frame (say the middle third,
from side to side) is pointed at the shadow.
Now, Change the metering system to each of the three choices, and
write down the numbers that show up on the back of your camera.
Note the wide range.
Now, turn the camera bit so that the center is now pointed at a
mid-toned wall in the sunlight, and repeat the three-systems test.
Notice how these numbers are different from the first set.
Third experiment.
Leaving the camera pointed in the same direction, set one exposure
metering system, and zoom the lens from widest to most telephoto,
making notes of the exposure numbers at widest, middle, and
narrowest. Repeat with the two other metering systems.
Again, lots of variety in exposure.
AND FINALLY... shape the fingers on your hand into a little tunnel,
and look at the scene through the little tunnel, moving your hand
around. Note how when you look into the shaded area under the
bridge it looks brighter through the finger-tunnel than it does
without the finer-tunnel.
There's no "right" exposure for a scene like this. It's up to the
photographer to decide how important it is to see under the bridge,
how important it is for the sky to be bright, how important it is
for the brick and stone walls to be light or dark.
So Canon (and all the camera makers) give you several choices in
metering systems, provide M for manual so you can change the
settings from what any of the three metering systems suggest, build
in exposure compensation features to alter what the meter says, and
have contrast adjustments inside the camera (in the Parameters
section) to allow more adjustments.
And there's automatic bracketing, at the photographer's choice of
various changes from shot to shot.
And you don't have to use the camera's meter. You can go buy two
different types of handheld exposure meter. One measures reflected
light, which your camera's meter does, too, but many handheld
reflected light meters have a spot meter feature adding even more
exposure control.
In your Notre Dame picture, a spot meter would have told you, from
the other side of the river, what exposure to use for a good
exposure under the bridge.
And the other kind of handheld meter measures the light hitting the
subject, not reflecting off it, meaning the color and reflectivity
of the subject does not matter.
And that's just in the camera. More is possible with software.
Oh, and you can add a polarizer or various other filters to change
the relationships between darkness, lightness, and various colors.
So, it is not the camera.
When in doubt, the Evaluative system, measuring the whole frame, is
usually the best for newcomers.
I use center-weighted myself almost all the time, but I've been
taking pictures forever.
BAK
