Another Simple Minded Exposure Compensation Question

dmushrush · February 1, 2006

When I was shooting in aperture priority mode I would use exposure compensation to, well, compensate exposure. I have moved to shooting in manual mode all the time now and I'm wondering what exposure compensation changes in this case. It doesn't change the aperture, the shutter speed or the ISO but it does show the exp. comp setting in the exif data. So what is changed? I'm using a Nikon d70.

wxwax · February 1, 2006

If you're in full Manual, exposure compensation doesn't have any effect on your shot.

4labs · February 1, 2006

wxwax wrote:

If you're in full Manual, exposure compensation doesn't have any effect on your shot.

I know on my camera Nikon D2x if I am in manula mode and use exposure compensation it does effect the shot. It doesn't makes sense but it does. I have tested it.

wxwax · February 1, 2006

4labs wrote:

I know on my camera Nikon D2x if I am in manula mode and use exposure compensation it does effect the shot. It doesn't makes sense but it does. I have tested it.

I stand corrected. Thanks 4l.

Shay Stephens · February 1, 2006

Different cameras may handle this differently, but, in manual mode, you control all aspects of the exposure. So any exposure compensation done (e.g. changing the shutter speed or aperture) will change the exposure and the look of the photo. If you meter a daylit snowy scene at 0EV, then changing either the shutter speed or aperture until the meter reads +2EV will result in a 2EV exposure compensation.

That is the obvious part.

What may not be obvious is that you are now under manual control, and if you change scenes, the exposure settings will still be the same. Your meter may not read +2EV anymore, and you may get an under or overexposed shot unless you check your settings and light levels before taking your next photo in the new scene.

In the auto and semi-auto modes, the EV readout is showing you the compensation, in manual mode it is a live light meter that changes as the scene changes. You use that information to manually alter your exposure settings until the meter is reading what you feel it should.

Some really good information can be had on using a meter (spot or partial) to determine exposures by researching the zone system as it applies to exposure (skip the info on making prints).

A brief appetizer can be had here, but I do encourage your own research and experimentation to fully benefit from the technique:
http://www.digitalsecrets.net/Sony/AdvancedKnow.html

And this is always the main course when it comes to exposure. It takes a while to fully digest and implement, but the effort is well worth it:
http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm

4labs · February 1, 2006

You would figure if you shoot in manual and wanted to use EV than why not just adjust the ap or shutter speed yourself but I guess it is 6 of one half a dozen of another..

shatch · February 1, 2006

Great link

Shay Stephens wrote:

A brief appetizer can be had here, but I do encourage your own research and experimentation to fully benefit from the technique:
http://www.digitalsecrets.net/Sony/AdvancedKnow.html

Great article Shay. Looks like I'll be working on this research tonight. Thanks.

dmushrush · February 2, 2006

Aha!
Thanks to everyone for the replies. Thanks to Shay for the links- lot's of good stuff there. I did a few experiments with my d70. Here is what I found out: in Manual mode changing exposure compensation does not have any affect on the captured image. The setting is caputured, though, in exif data as I had thought. Changing exposure compesation settings does change the meter though. If I have exp. comp. set to zero and I spot meter something that is middle gray the meter shows the indicator at the center. If I set the exp. comp. to +1 (over exposure) and point it at the same spot the meter reads one stop underexposed. Now that I've played with this I find it extremely cool. If I'm shooting under some conditions where I want to overexpose, such as on snow I can set the exp. comp. to +2 and then meter as normal and I'll get the overexposure I need. Really useful in my opinion. Again, thanks for the help- I feel I've made a bit of a leap here in using my meter.

Another Simple Minded Exposure Compensation Question

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