zoom question

[JONJON]

I was just wondering, does zooming in on a subject affect the iris. does it make the subject darker?

 

[David W. Richardson]

It doesn't affect the iris per se, but it can make the subject look darker -- or lighter. If you zoom in on a darker area -- like a waist-up shot of a dark haired person wearing a navy coat -- and don't change the iris setting, your image may be darker because most of what it sees is reflecting less light. Likewise, zoom in on a platinum blonde in a white shirt, and the image will appear lighter. This is because you set your exposure based on the average light reflected by the overall subject, not specific areas which may reflect more or less light than the average.

That's my theory and I'm stickin' with it.

 

[gregorybennett]

The image will get slightly darker as you get to the end of the zoom range (zoomed in, that is). Common problem with many zooms.