Metering Methods; Matrix - Nikon D300 Complete Manual

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light gets into the camera. Such control is called "setting an

For any fixed amount of light and camera ISO setting, there

are one or more aperture opening (size of the hole in the lens)

and shutter speed (length of time the sensor gets light)

combinations that can be used to get a "correct exposure."

Back in the early days of film photography we used to have to

measure the amount of light by using an external (handheld)

meter, and then manually set both the aperture and the

shutter speed on the camera. Today, all SLR-type cameras

such as the D300 have multiple automatic ways to do the

First, the D300 has an internal and automatic metering system

(see "Metering Methods" on page <246>), and this system has

a variety of settings to control how the metering is

accomplished. Second, the D300 has multiple methods of

interpreting what the meter says is the proper exposure, called

exposure modes (see "Exposure Modes" on page <274>). We

need to examine both things, as they are direct contributors to

whether you get the right exposure or not.

Metering Methods

The D300 has three metering methods available:

Matrix metering is a system that divides the image area

into pieces (the "matrix") and analyzes the differences

between them. The brightness pattern seen in the matrix is

compared against a Nikon-proprietary database of image

patterns stored in the D300's internal memory and against

other inputs (most notably the autofocus information), and the

exposure is set accordingly.

The D300 uses a dedicated 1005-cell CCD in the viewfinder

to provide metering, as did the F5. All Nikon DSLRs use a

variant of the F5's matrix metering, though there have been

Thom Hogan's Complete Guide to the Nikon D300