Exposure compensation
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n1kcy
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I'm not really sure what you are asking? What do you mean when you say "rather than changing the settings"? I think if you know how to take an exposure reading and set your camera manually then that is the fool proof way to do it. The Exposure Compensation is designed for those people that don't know how to (or don't want to) use manual settings.
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This thread might come in handy. (It'll save ne typing it all again 
)
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=238083
Ryan
)http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=238083
Ryan
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Here's a link you might find useful - I did, I saved it as a fav!!
Hope it helps you it did me
http://www.youtube.com/user/PhotoGavin#p/a/u/2/2sWIqzcSs4s
Ali
Hope it helps you it did me
http://www.youtube.com/user/PhotoGavin#p/a/u/2/2sWIqzcSs4s
Ali
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I understand exposure compensation as this...
The camera's meter looks at your scene and comes up with a combination of aperture/shutter speed/ISO that will place the final result in the middle of the histogram. It will try its best to balance all the bright and dark bits to acheive a middle tone. Exposure compensation is when you adjust one of the three variables mentioned above so you do not have a middle tone but a tone that is appeasing to you. Look at it as an override of what the camera's meter is doing, but the camera's meter is crucial to knowing what exposure compensation to go for.
An example is, when you take a picture of a white snow the camera will expose in a way that will make your snow look grey (middle tone), here you would apply positive exposure compensation to get the snow to look white. The reverse is correct for a black/dark object where the camera will require negative exposure compensation to get the true look.
The camera's meter looks at your scene and comes up with a combination of aperture/shutter speed/ISO that will place the final result in the middle of the histogram. It will try its best to balance all the bright and dark bits to acheive a middle tone. Exposure compensation is when you adjust one of the three variables mentioned above so you do not have a middle tone but a tone that is appeasing to you. Look at it as an override of what the camera's meter is doing, but the camera's meter is crucial to knowing what exposure compensation to go for.
An example is, when you take a picture of a white snow the camera will expose in a way that will make your snow look grey (middle tone), here you would apply positive exposure compensation to get the snow to look white. The reverse is correct for a black/dark object where the camera will require negative exposure compensation to get the true look.
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OP
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n1kcy, that's what I was confused about I guess, I wasn't sure if it had a use I was not understanding, or if it did just do the same as changing the settings
hsuffyan, thanks for that explanation, that makes great sense.
Thanks for the links everyone, will read through all those, still trying to get my head around all this stuff!
hsuffyan, thanks for that explanation, that makes great sense.
Thanks for the links everyone, will read through all those, still trying to get my head around all this stuff!
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If you are shooting in any of the automatic modes, changing settings will not have the same effect as using exposure compensation.
Exposure compensation is used to modify the exposure that the camera would have given if left to it's own devices. Exposure compensation is typically used in lighting situations that you know will fool the camera's meter in to giving the wrong exposure, thereby preventing an over or under exposed picture.
Such a situation might be someone standing against a large window. On it's own the camera will see all the light coming through the window, fooling it in to using a shutter speed that is too fast or an aperture that is too small (depending on what mode you are shooting in.) As a result the person in the picture will turn out too dark or just a silhouette.
If you recognise this situation, you can dial in some exposure compensation that will increase the exposure above what the camera would naturally give.
Exposure compensation is used to modify the exposure that the camera would have given if left to it's own devices. Exposure compensation is typically used in lighting situations that you know will fool the camera's meter in to giving the wrong exposure, thereby preventing an over or under exposed picture.
Such a situation might be someone standing against a large window. On it's own the camera will see all the light coming through the window, fooling it in to using a shutter speed that is too fast or an aperture that is too small (depending on what mode you are shooting in.) As a result the person in the picture will turn out too dark or just a silhouette.
If you recognise this situation, you can dial in some exposure compensation that will increase the exposure above what the camera would naturally give.