D5000 (under) exposure

[DoctorJ]

Hello all, I am noticing that, to my eye at least, my D5000 underexposes by 1/3 - 2/3 of a stop. Anyone else aware of this 'feature' of the D5000 or is it just mine? My opinion seems to be borne out by the histogram which is only properly spread when I compensate exposure by that amount. This is my second Nikon DSLR and I wasn't conscious of it with my old D60. Any thoughts?

 

[Davec223]

can you post some sample shots with exif intact, this will help trying to work out what the problem might be.

 

[mattyh]

My old Nikon D80 had a habit of underexposing by a similar amount, which was well documented as a "feature" of the camera... Resolved by dialing in a similar amount of + exposure compensation to take it back to a "correct" exposure

 

[CJS]

. . . ? I'm no expert, however, having had Nikon D40X, D70S, D80, D5000 and currently a D90 + a Panasonic G1 (my 24/7) point and shoot

I have always found matrix metering a bit erratic :shrug: . . . solved by shooting -1/3 to 2/3, then recovering the shot in RAW, if required. These days, I use 'Center weighted' metering, minus 1/3, personally, I find this far more consistent? Sometimes I need to bring it back in RAW, but not always, often preferring the richer colouring and strong shadow, depends on subject? The G1 is the most consistent, and it reacts instantly in the E-viewfinder or on screen if I want to dial in a 'change on shot' . . .

. . . Dont I remember reading in the days of the 70 & 80, Nikon deliberately set the camera to shoot minus, because of the easier recovery?

CJS