21
votes
How do I shoot birds against the sky to be faithful to their colour?
Well, in order to get good results, you'll have to make the plunge into non-auto settings. I'd recommend Manual mode.
The problem you're running into here is that you are pointing your camera at a ...
- 17.9k
19
votes
Why does my camera's automatic mode render both white and black cards as more of a medium grey?
Your camera's light meter can't tell the difference between a black cat in a coal mine and a white cat in a snowstorm. It assumes everything you point your camera at is somewhere about halfway in ...
- 175k
14
votes
Accepted
Am I wrong to judge my exposure using my smartphone?
In theory, this should work perfectly. The combination of (shutter speed, aperture, ISO) determines the amount of light which falls on the sensor (per unit area), so should be transferable between ...
- 21.8k
11
votes
Accepted
Why does holding the focus and recomposing also affect the brightness of my photo?
It sound like your camera is locking the exposure in addition to the focus when you perform a half shutter press. This would explain the overexposure when moving from a dark river to the bright sky: ...
- 774
11
votes
Accepted
How to get exposure right in night photography?
In my experience my camera metering will overexpose everything once it gets darker.
There are a number of things you can do about that:
Make sure the meter is looking at the part of the scene that ...
- 31.7k
9
votes
Accepted
What is the red grid pattern appearing in the video?
That is an auto-focus assist light shone by another photo camera that is left from the video camera.
This link explains how this light works on Nikon DSLR cameras. As far as I know it is similar to ...
- 8,608
8
votes
How do I shoot birds against the sky to be faithful to their colour?
Easiest fix
Only shoot the bird when the sun is at your back, not behind the bird. Given how redtails circle where I am, I sometimes just wait as I draw a bead and follow them around the circle, to ...
- 51.4k
8
votes
With the same camera settings, will a photo always be exposed correctly across different cameras?
Even in theory there are differences in the way digital sensors and films record light that makes ISO values only approximate. But these differences are usually fairly subtle and theoretically ...
- 175k
8
votes
Is spot metering just an EV compensation?
Is spot metering just an EV compensation?
Metering, regardless of type, and exposure compensation are different functions with different purposes. Metering is used to obtain exposure exposure ...
- 26.9k
8
votes
Nikon D850 images are always underexposed
Nikon's matrix metering is not just basic "overall" metering... it uses a database of thousands of images to try to determine what kind of scene it is and what the exposure should be (Nikon'...
- 14.9k
7
votes
How do I meter for film photography?
The statements you read in the manual are the classical way of describing the correct exposure in simple words. Many manufacturers used similar descriptions in the past. These statements are generally ...
- 852
7
votes
Accepted
How can I meter and focus on different places of an image with a Canon DSLR?
You can manually adjust exposure compensation, use exposure bracketing or use the high-dynamic range setting, which will internally combine a number of images made with different exposures into one ...
- 2,626
7
votes
How to get exposure right in night photography?
There is a lot more going on in these shots besides exposure that make them so well done. Even though the overall environment was typically dark, the photographer, Jessica Rinaldi (who won a Pulitzer ...
- 175k
6
votes
If I use my digital camera (w/min. ISO of 200) as a light meter, how do I set exposure for ISO 100 film?
The Fuji X-T100 only has a limit of ISO 200 in Auto ISO. You can “Extend” or “Expand” the ISO to L which is 100 ISO.
Keep the camera in jpeg as it appears shooting RAW limits it to ISO 200.
- 12.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Why did Ansel Adams say reflective metering was more common than incident metering?
The quote doesn't talk about metering but about recording light, i.e. photography (literally).
most photos are of reflective objects, rather than of light sources, the occasional sunset ...
- 7,151
6
votes
Why did Ansel Adams say reflective metering was more common than incident metering?
The vast majority of Adams' most significant works were of landscapes in which much of the scene was miles away from the camera over very rough terrain. While Adams did often spend hours or even days ...
- 175k
6
votes
Accepted
How important is it to have a spot meter on the light meter?
A spot meter is handy to be able to read the reflectivity of an object in the scene precisely from a distance.
It is like putting a telephoto lens on a meter to isolate one part of the subject.
An ...
- 5,511
6
votes
Accepted
How would I manually compensate +1 stop on my light meter using the ISO setting?
So if my film ISO is 100, before metering and taking pictures with my camera, shouldn't I dial in 50 ISO on my light meter to compensate for that +1?
Yes.
You've got it.
If your shutter speeds are ...
- 20.5k
5
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between "exposure level indicator" and "exposure setting meter" in the Canon EOS 1DX Mark II viewfinder?
The scale on the bottom is not connected to the light meter. It shows you what you have set in terms of exposure compensation and/or auto exposure bracketing. It is only shown in exposure modes that ...
- 175k
5
votes
How can I meter and focus on different places of an image with a Canon DSLR?
You can use the AE lock (*) button to lock the metering, and then use the shutter button to lock focus.
You have several ways of separate metering and focus function from the shutter button half-...
- 51.4k
5
votes
Accepted
Why is my Nikon D60's light meter causing overexposure in the non-auto modes?
Your Nikon D60 has several settings that could result in inaccurate exposure.
Exposure Compensation The D60 allows for up to +/- 5 stops of EC.
Spot Metering This metering mode uses only about 2.5% ...
- 175k
5
votes
Accepted
Relationship between shutter speed and amount of light?
The relationship is linear. Keep the shutter open for twice the time, get twice the light. This is known as "one stop", and you can use that in conjunction with your light meter to get the desired ...
- 143k
5
votes
Real time metering on the Fuji X-T20?
What is displayed at the bottom (or side, or spread between both the bottom and side for some cameras) of the viewfinder or Live View screen is usually determined by when the camera sets the exposure ...
- 175k
5
votes
Accepted
Real time metering on the Fuji X-T20?
You have DYNAMIC RANGE set to AUTO in the Shooting menu (in the Image Quality section). Turn that to ...
- 143k
5
votes
Accepted
How to meter when pushing film?
When you set the ISO on camera, that is the adjustment to compensate for increased development time. Any further changes to shutter speed or aperture would change the exposure further.
In the ...
- 26.9k
5
votes
Accepted
How do I meter with a split ND filter?
You basically have the right idea in your first bullet. The simple approach is to meter and set your exposure for the foreground. Then meter the sky (not the sun), and pick a ND grad filter strength ...
- 32.3k
5
votes
Accepted
Is a ~2/3rds-stop delta between Olympus and Panasonic metering typical?
Those metering modes are not equivalent... ESP is more akin to smart center weighted metering as opposed to overall average/multi metering.
So yes, they are quite likely to result in different (...
- 14.9k
4
votes
How can I meter and focus on different places of an image with a Canon DSLR?
The background is very washed. Is that expected?
Yes. The exposure is correct for the subject, but that causes the background to be overexposed. There are a number of ways that you could instead ...
- 31.7k
4
votes
Why is my camera metering indoor scenes as darker than I expect, forcing me to use a high ISO?
The short answer: It's darker then you think it is. Here's a depiction of various brightnesses and an exposure value which nominally will give correct exposure at that brightness. Note that these are ...
- 143k
4
votes
Why does holding the focus and recomposing also affect the brightness of my photo?
This happens because (by default) a half-press on the shutter not only sets the auto-focus, but the auto-exposure as well. If you don't want to set the exposure or focus manually, you can set one of ...
- 5,404
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