Exposure Compensation

Nick_A

Nick_A

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Nick
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ok silly question time from me regarding exposure compensation

Help with my 450D

If I'm shooting in either AV or TV I can set this no problem, however in full manual I cant... I'm sure there is some really obvious reason for this and I'm really really thick

I also noticed that when in manual mode the exposure compensation meter thing seem to auto/jump select it's self... this always seems to be unhelpful?

I know I'm going to die of embarrassment when the answers come back but be gentle I'm still new?

*insert embarassesed smilie that I couldn't find either*
 
as I said I know it's probably a stupid question

here is an example

Shooting a boat in the sunset the other day. I was in aperture priority mode around F16 to get a good depth of field. As the tide was coming the boat was moving and due to the slightly longer exposure I understandably got blur. so I switched to full manual set what I would like ideally then worked from there to get the best exposure I could.

However I noticed the indicator on the Exposure compensation moving automatically around and usually in the opposite direction then would be helpful?
 
Nick_A said:
ok silly question time from me regarding exposure compensation

Help with my 450D

If I'm shooting in either AV or TV I can set this no problem, however in full manual I cant... I'm sure there is some really obvious reason for this and I'm really really thick

I also noticed that when in manual mode the exposure compensation meter thing seem to auto/jump select it's self... this always seems to be unhelpful?

I know I'm going to die of embarrassment when the answers come back but be gentle I'm still new?

*insert embarassesed smilie that I couldn't find either*
Click to expand...

No need for embarrassment but when shotting in manual you are in complete control of the exposure, you chose if you want it underexposed or overexposed. The indicator jumps around depending on what you set the shutter speed and aperture too, the camera meters the scene and tells you what it sees i.e. wheather, in the cameras opinion, you are over or under.

Is that clear or am i rambling?
 
Ther is no EC in manual, but you will get the same effect by altering Shutter speed, aperture or ISO.
 
Nick_A said:
nope that's perfect thank you

I just wasn't sure if it was applying a further compensation automatically to what I was already setting myself... obviously not
Click to expand...

Nope I am afraid its all your own work on that one :). I presume you were trying to use a faster shutter speed (to stop the boat blurring) therefore the EC reading was moving to the left (underexposed)? In that situation you would have been better chosing a larger aperture (lower Fstop figure) or rasing the ISO as either of these would have increased shutter speed.
 
yeah basically that is exactly what I was doing. And I did exactly that, selected a larger aperture and bumped the ISO up to get the correct exposure.

I was just stupidly wondering if the exposure compensation thing was working against me (I never looked into how it actually works)

I presume then that it works by either increasing/decreasing the aperture/shutter speed depending on which mode you're in?

That would make more sense than being a magic button ha ha :bonk: worth remembering as that could affect the depth of field if shooting in shutter priority
 
Nick_A said:
yeah basically that is exactly what I was doing. And I did exactly that, selected a larger aperture and bumped the ISO up to get the correct exposure.

I was just stupidly wondering if the exposure compensation thing was working against me (I never looked into how it actually works)

I presume then that it works by either increasing/decreasing the aperture/shutter speed depending on which mode you're in?

That would make more sense than being a magic button ha ha :bonk: worth remembering as that could affect the depth of field if shooting in shutter priority
Click to expand...

Yes, if you were in aperture priority mode and you increased the EC to overexpose, the camera would keep your aperture the same and decrease the shutterspeed accordingly. I havn't thought much about it myself and I dont have my camera near me but I guess that if you were in AUTO ISO mode it could also alter the ISO for any adjstments in EC. :thinking:

I will have to check when I get home, I am sure one of the wiser owls on here will know thou.
 
Donki said:
Yes, if you were in aperture priority mode and you increased the EC to overexpose, the camera would keep your aperture the same and increase the shutterspeed accordingly.
Click to expand...

Actually to add EC does over expose but to overexpose the shutter speed slows down. Increasing SS would cause under exposure.
 
Donki said:
JD,

Apologies that was a typOOOOOO, of course it would, thanks for the pointer. Edited now.
Click to expand...

No wories easily done :) I do it myself too! :bonk:
 
Really you should completly ignore the exposure meter when in Manual mode..
 
KIPAX said:
Really you should completly ignore the exposure meter when in Manual mode..
Click to expand...

Well, not completely, but the fact that it is jumping around is normal as the camera is moved and sees different bits of the scene. The same thing happens in aperture or shutter priority but it's the shutter speed/aperture value which fluctuates rather than the meter... I usually meter by pointing the camera at something grey, then at something bright, then something dark, and see what it says, and do an average. The great thing about manual is then, as long as the lighting conditions do not change, you won't need to meter and set your exposure again, and instead concentrate on the shot. evaluative metering is quite good, but can still be fooled by a bias of light or dark in the image.
 
trencheel303 said:
Well, not completely.
Click to expand...

I did mean once you start shooting :).. A lot of people who first try manual get confused that the meter is telling them they are wrong...

I do a lot of sport so I meter off the grass... then when shooting completely ignore the exposure meter thats all over the place... occassionaly pointing at the grass to see if the light has changed..
 
If you were to call manual the 'set and lock' mode instead, maybe it makes more sense?
 
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