Through-the-lens

In photography, through-the-lens (TTL) metering refers to a feature of cameras whereby the intensity of light reflected from the scene is measured through the lens; as opposed to using a separate metering window or external hand-held light meter. In some cameras various TTL metering modes can be selected. This information can then be used to set the optimal film or image sensor exposure (average luminance), it can also be used to control the amount of light emitted by a flash unit connected to the camera.

Through-the-lens metering is most often associated with single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras.

In most film and digital SLRs, the light sensor(s) for exposure metering are incorporated into the pentaprism or pentamirror, the mechanism by which a SLR allows the viewfinder to see directly through the lens. As the mirror is flipped up, no light can reach there during exposure, the necessary amount of exposure needs to be determined before the actual exposure. Consequently, these light sensors could traditionally be used for ambient light TTL metering only. In newer SLRs as well as in almost all DSLRs, they can also be utilized for preflash TTL metering, where the metering is carried out before the mirror flips up using a small preflash of known intensity and the necessary amount of flash light is extrapolated from the reflected flash light measured by the metering cells in the roof of the camera and is then applied during the exposure without any possible real-time feedback.

There were a few particularly sophisticated film SLRs including the Olympus OM-2, the Pentax LX, the Nikon F3, and the Minolta 9000, where metering cells located at the bottom of the mirror box were used for ambient light metering, depending on model either instead or in addition to metering cells in the roof of the camera. Depending on model, the light was reflected down there either by a secondary mirror behind the half-transparent main mirror, a special reflective coating of the first shutter curtain, the surface of the film itself, or combinations thereof. One of the advantages of this approach is that the measuring result requires no adjustments when changing focusing screens or viewfinders. Also, some of the cameras using this configuration (f.e. the Minolta 9000) are virtually immune against measurement errors caused by light reaching the metering cells at larger angles, for example with shift/tilt lenses.

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