Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200 User Manual page 74

To access the three modes;
MENU/SET zoom lever twice to "T" setting to get to page 3 ▼▼►
Multiple area. In this method the camera effectively uses what you see
on the LCD display to evaluate the distribution and intensity of the light
falling upon the sensor.
Using this method ensures that anything which appears in the image is
used to determine the ratio of dark to light, upper to lower and side to
centre distribution of light intensity.
By analysing the upper to lower brightness ratio it can determine if you
are shooting a landscape with sky and ground and if there is a central
subject how bright that is compared to the background.
Generally this method achieves the best overall exposure determination.
However as with all systems which are reliant on "standard exposure
situations" sometimes when we present it with an unusual scene
situation the image is not evaluated correctly, for example shooting on a
bright white sandy beach or a snowy winter scene.
In both situations there is higher than average distribution of bright light in
the scene and the camera will tend to compensate for this by reducing
the exposure.
The result, on screen and in the resulting image, is for the image to look
dark or underexposed.
Multiple area metering is ideal for general scenes
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