Nikon D90 Tip for Active D-Lighting and Center Weighted Metering
I noticed that Nikon claims that Matrix metering is recommended when using Active D-Lighting. Of course they don't mention what happens if you don't use Matrix metering. So if you're someone who always uses Matrix metering then you can stop reading. However if you are someone like me who enjoys using center weighted metering then read on.
Now one benefit of buying a D90 is the feature called Active D-Lighting which essentially increases the dynamic (tonal) range of your images. This feature can be set to Auto, so that it will automatically determine when a scene is high in contrast and could benefit from an increase in dynamic range, and to what degree. This automatic setting unfortunately doesn't work as well if you are not using matrix metering. So if you are a photographer who often chooses to use center weighted metering you will find that the Active D-Lighting will work much better if you set it to one of its non-Auto settings, like Extra high, High, Normal, or Low. In fact, quick tests seem to indicate that when the non-Auto settings are used, there is no difference in dynamic range whether you use matrix or center weighted metering (assuming you've metered well and achieve the same exposure in both cases).
That's my tip for the day.
Now one benefit of buying a D90 is the feature called Active D-Lighting which essentially increases the dynamic (tonal) range of your images. This feature can be set to Auto, so that it will automatically determine when a scene is high in contrast and could benefit from an increase in dynamic range, and to what degree. This automatic setting unfortunately doesn't work as well if you are not using matrix metering. So if you are a photographer who often chooses to use center weighted metering you will find that the Active D-Lighting will work much better if you set it to one of its non-Auto settings, like Extra high, High, Normal, or Low. In fact, quick tests seem to indicate that when the non-Auto settings are used, there is no difference in dynamic range whether you use matrix or center weighted metering (assuming you've metered well and achieve the same exposure in both cases).
That's my tip for the day.
