5D mk3 underexposing.... seems normal?

redwine

redwine

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I've had 2 copies of this camera, and ever since getting it, it has underexposed by at least one third of a stop, sometimes a bit more... even metering off an 18% grey card.
I've tried differing metering (spot, evaluative, center weighted etc) and it's consistent, with the histogram to the left of the middle. I believe after talking to various people with the same camera (and the 7D) that they have noticed the under exposing of images, especially indoors or cloudy days. Yes, we all should go manual and expose for the scene by adding or subtracting (+ or -) ev for dark or whites like a wedding dress or white wall, or a black cat on a black background, but using evaluative and spot metering and trusting the meter in-camera using AV or TV mode, the exposures are always underexposed if shooting on the so called 18% grey situation, i have purchased various 18% grey cards, and inbuilt 5D3 metering was always to the left using the 18% card.

I've read up and spoke to camera shops and owners, and they all say that Canon use the ANSI standard which is 12% grey. Do this and the meter is bang in the middle on the histogram if you measure the card.

You can read it here:

http://www.ryanewalters.com/Blog/blog.php?id=3551583675371023276


It was driving me nuts thinking i've had 2 copies of the camera, both under exposing, and there's tons of threads on various forums and Canons own too.

I hope this helps as it helped me understand more.

Chin Chin.
 
Are you coming from another system? I moved from Nikon to a 5Dmkiii and originally thought there may have been an issue with my camera because the exposure seemed under, however after a bit of googling and time with the camera, I have gotten used to how the camera meters. Yes sometimes if using AV mode it will be underexposed, but that's what exposure compensation is for! To me it seems like Canons expose to keep highlights from blowing out. Also remember that with evaluative metering a lot depends on what the active focus point is over. If its over something bright, the camera will underexpose the rest of the scene to keep it from being blown out, whereas if that point is over something dark the opposite happens. You could also try installing Magic Lantern which I believe has some form of auto ETTR (expose to the right) and also a dual iso feature for retaining detail in shadows. In short I still find the metering less accurate in some situations than the Nikon's I'd used preciously, but once you learn the ins and outs of the camera it really becomes a very minor non issue.
 
My Canon cameras are always set between +1/3 and 2/3 stop as a default setting.

Always have been, obviously that's a default and I use other settings as appropriate.
 
While ISO is a set standard, different camera manufacturers DO calibrate meters differently. For example, Nikon use a 16% grey standard. Very few manufacturers actually use 18% grey as a standard these days. This is why for studio work I'll just use an incident meter... far more accurate.

However... Canon cameras have always seemed to under-expose a wee bit compared to Nikons. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Get to know your gear and how it works, then don't worry about it :) As Phil said, dialling in +0.7 should give you a more expected result. If you're bothered abut retaining highlight detail though, then leave it at default, as that is obviously Canon's rationale for calibrating in that way.
 
I've had the 5d since it came out, and yup...i,m used to Canons way of metering as my previous DSLR's have all been Canon. I put the thread up as when i bought it, the metering is totally different to my other Canons, and yes, i sussed it out a while ago. This was just a heads up as i've read a thread on here with people asking the same question with their 5D3's.

cheers :agree:
 
Very useful, thanks. I was thinking of switching to Canon and if I ever make the switch I ll keep that in mind
 
I found the same (underexposure) when moving from 7D to 5dMkIII

Mel
 
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