Canon PowerShot G16 review – Metering
For most of the time that I was shooting with the G16, I used evaluative metering, which works reasonably well in most situations. When using it to shoot high-contrast scenes that surpass the dynamic range capabilities of the sensor, the G16 primarily meters for midtones. As a consequence, information in the highlight areas is often completely lost, while shadow areas lose little or no detail. Generally, though, the resulting images are very well exposed in the more challenging situations. However, for those who prefer to retain more highlight detail, there’s a designated exposure-compensation dial just above the thumb grip that can be adjusted by ±3EV in stepped increments of 0.3EV.
Centreweighted averaging and spot metering are also available. Inside the menu is an option to change to spot AE or centre AE, which will determine whether the AF point will be linked to the metering system. I find that linking the focus point is useful for shooting portraits or other subjects against a bright light source.
