Metering
Image: The dark midtone produced by the P10 leaves plenty of detail in highlights when adjusting raw images
As the Ricoh GXR P10 module is designed to replace a compact camera, most photographers will no doubt take advantage of the P10’s 256-segment Multi metering system.
Multi metering does a good job of second-guessing exactly how to expose scenes correctly, with a tendency to underexpose slightly to preserve highlight detail. Sometimes this leaves images needing a slight boost to the contrast, either by changing the camera’s image settings or editing in post-capture software.
On an extremely bright sunny day, the maximum f/3.5 aperture and ISO 100 sensitivity pushed the 1/2000sec shutter speed to its limit. Obviously the aperture can be stopped down, but only to f/7.5 at the widest focal length, and occasionally even this 1EV difference caused images to be a shade too bright. At the 300mm end of the zoom the smallest aperture is f/15.4, which I found fine in bright conditions.
When dealing with scenes that are difficult to meter, exposure compensation allows the metered exposure to be adjusted by up to ±4EV. Centreweighted and spot metering are also available for even more precise exposures.
