Canon R5 II R5 Mark II + "Detect priority AE while AF"

[thegios]

Apologies, I've tried asking this before, but haven't got a clear answer yet, so I'll try asking again...

Part 1

Is it true or not that Evaluative Metering considers the whole scene but with a bias on focusing point? I am asking because this is not documented on Canon manuals but many photographers say so. This is also supported by Canon manual (thanks Canon for making things ambiguous) in the AE Lock description: in Evaluative Metering the AE Lock considers the point in focus.

Part 2

If we all agree that Evaluative Metering is biased on point in focus , then what is "Detect priority AE while AF" for? This is a new option introduced with R5Mk2 and works only under two concurrent conditions: Evaluative Metering + a SUBJECT is in focus, where subject is a person, an animal or a vehicle. SUBJECT is key here, because for "Detect priority AE while AF" a chair in focus or a house in focus or a tree in focus is not a SUBJECT.

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So, given we are in Evaluative Metering, I'll try to give my interpretation of three possible scenarios, based on some tests:

1. "Detect priority AE while AF" is OFF: metering considers whole area with a bias on point in focus.

2a "Detect priority AE while AF" is ON + no SUBJECT in focus: same as 1 (metering considers whole area with a bias on point in focus.)

2b. "Detect priority AE while AF" is ON + SUBJECT in focus: metering considers ONLY THE SUBJECT, not the whole area with a bias on the SUBJECT but ONLY THE SUBJECT, that is a sort of spot metering on the SUBJECT in focus.

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What do you think?

 

[Jake Shoots Birds]

I need to dig more, so I am open to being wrong here, but my understanding is that your scenario 1 & 2a are identical if there is no "subject" detected and focused on. Focus alone means nothing and therefore no exposure consideration is given when a "subject" is not detected (ie. it doesn't care about your chair). Having come over from Nikon this is one of the things that I'm unhappy with on my R's and I was hoping this would fix or at least improve the exposure I get when shooting dark birds against lighter skies/backgrounds, particularly given that the R5ii isn't great for pulling shadow detail while avoiding noise. Alas, so far I've not done a happy dance.