How reliable is the 7d metering for exposure for video

jambredz

jambredz

Veteran
Ok i've been using the metering (half press shutter) for measuring exposure but sometimes it will tell me i'm pretty underexposed when to my eye it looks fine. I still go with what it says but i'm just wondering how many of u use this to expose and do u trust it.
 
The exposure meter as well as the histogram are only useful for stills.

I rely on a waveform monitor and a broadcast monitor to judge exposure for video.
 
I hear that the 7D meters the same as the T2i. I shoot on a T2i, and what the meter says is spot-on is overexposed by about a stop. I always dial back from what the meter wants.
 
When you take pictures, your eye covers the viewfinder. In video mode, you're using the LCD screen and light can enter an uncovered viewfinder. I know it can mess with exposure in stills and I'm guessing that it may be the same in video mode.
 
This is something that old-time film shooters find out real quickly; leaving the viewfinder uncovered (especially in a prism camera!) can fog the film.

But as Ben points out, with a mirror-box DSLR and the mirror locked up, there shouldn't be any possibility of light contaminating the image or messing with the exposure meter.
 
My first experience of the 550D was that what looked right in the LCD screen while shooting was too light when viewed on a computer or an LCD TV. So I increased the brightness of the camera LCD display (from its default middle position) and now what looks right on the camera LCD also looks similar to the same footage seen on an LCD TV.
 
My T2i seems to have an overly bright LCD at the default setting. Got a fair amount of dark footage.

I don't hook it to a monitor or scope for a lot of projects - but, you can open footage in your NLE, and watch the same footage on your LCD -then tune the LCD to match. By "tune" I mean adjust the brightness a click or two...
 
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