• 12.1 Megapixels Resolution (CMOS sensor)
• 28mm Wide Lens with 8x Optical Image Stabilizer Zoom
• 3.0 LCD Touch Screen Monitor
• FullHD HD Movies Recording
• HS (High Sensitivity) System

More details about Canon PowerShot ELPH310HS.

• 12.1 Megapixels Resolution (CMOS sensor)
• 28mm Wide Lens with 12x Optical Image Stabilizer Zoom
• 3.2 LCD Touch Screen Monitor
• FullHD HD Movies Recording
• HS (High Sensitivity) System

More details about Canon PowerShot ELPH510HS.

• 12.1 Megapixels Resolution
• 28mm Wide Lens with 14x Optical Image Stabilizer Zoom
• 3.0 LCD Monitor
• FullHD Movies Recording
• HS (High Sensitivity) System

More details about Canon SX230HS.

Canon PowerShot Metering Modes : Evaluative, Center Weighted Average, Spot

By using other modes except for the full manual mode (marked by M), a Canon PowerShot camera will determine the right exposure for you. Basically, that means the camera will set the optimal shutter speed and aperture value that yield the best shot for a particular scenario. Two important things that the camera uses to calculate the exposure are the light condition and the metering mode.

Usually PowerShot cameras come with 3 different metering modes. Let's take a look at each of them.
1. Evaluative metering
Under the evaluative metering, a camera will meter the light information coming from the entire scene. So, there is no weighting or exceptional area. Sometimes, this metering is called an average metering.

In a manual of PowerShot, Canon suggests that the evaluative metering is suitable for standard shooting conditions, including back lit shots. Normally, in a normal light condition (not too bright or too dark) scenario, this basic metering shall produce a good shot.

2. Center weighted average metering
In this metering, you PowerShot camera still uses the light information from the entire frame. The only difference from the evaluative method is the center weighted average metering would give greater weight to the center.

This metering is less influenced by small areas that vary greatly in brightness at the edges. If your subjects are in the central of the frame, you can usually get an excellent photo with the center weighted average metering.

3. Spot metering
This seems to be the most advanced metering mode provided by PowerShot cameras. Spot metering will determine the right exposure by using only meters within the [ ] (Spot AE Point frame) that appears at the center of the screen. That's usually a very small area of the frame.

It's very accurate and is not influenced by other areas in the frame. We use this metering for very high contrast scenes. One example is to photography the moon. Because all area around the moon is so dark, we'll get the overexpose picture if we use other metering systems. Spot metering is our hero for this special scenario. It brings us the right exposure for the moon, but under exposure for the rest of the frame.

PowerShot metering modes



See also
Learn about Shutter Speed and why it's so important
ISO, Aperture, and Light Condition part 1/2
ISO, Aperture, and Light Condition part 2/2

More on Shooting Tips