Camera does not seem to be metering correctly

workaccount

Hi,
I'm a new user to SLR's and have just got a 350d. Just having a problem with shots either being over exposed or under exposed.

It seems that I have to adjust the shutter speed for higher on the meter (more light) or lower to get the correct exposure depending on what I'm shooting.

Most of the time the meter is just wrong - Should I be expecting the meter to get it exactly right? Perhaps I just need more experience to allow me to know how much to adjust if this is as accurate as the meter can be. It makes it very hard to know if you got a right shot as the LCD on this are kind of small.

I know there are settings on the camera to adjust the meter but I don't know if there's any point as my shots go either way - under or over exposed.

I have tried all the metering modes and I have the same issue in each one.

PCPhoto

bring it back to the shop ..... and tell them that you think the meter isnt correct - they'll more than likely give you another one in replacement.

(assuming you purchased in an Irish Shop)

if you bought online contact seller and ask whats the policies on replacement/repair.

Paulw

There are a number of factors to consider - the metering mode, plus the mode for shooting. Also, you can adjust your camera to force under or over exposure of the shots.

Without seeing the setup of the camera, plus some shots, it's hard to give advice on this.

ThOnda

Most of the time, the camera works correctly. You only have to understand how it meters and what it meters. This video can give you starting point.
At this stage, I would recommend getting back to manual to insure that you understand what the camera does in each of it's metering modes (spot, integral...).

Ricky91t

PCPhoto wrote: »

bring it back to the shop ..... and tell them that you think the meter isnt correct - they'll more than likely give you another one in replacement.

(assuming you purchased in an Irish Shop)

if you bought online contact seller and ask whats the policies on replacement/repair.

If that was the case there were definitely no 350D for sale in Irish Shops back then,The 450D was already released by this time last year...

Guarantee would be finished


Also the screen isn't too small and it would flash black then white every half a second of so if it was over exposed,At least my 300D did,Just zoom into the image and you'll be able to see.

Post up one of the shots you've taken that you're not happy with

CabanSail

I would also check that you don't have something set on like Braketing. This would have the effect of varying your exposures from shot to shot.

Not being familiar Canon, but on Nikon you can reset all controls back to Factory Defaults. If this is possible then this would be a good place to start as it eliminates a lot of the finger problems.

workaccount

I've just gone out and taken some photos with Evaluative metering on and they are under exposed. The autofocus point is in the middle on all of them I think. I also cleared all the settings on the camera before I took these to reset.

Sorry just trying to get screenshots up here. Picasas images would not load when I inserted them as an image here and now after just signing up to flickr they are having technical problems.

Paulw

Care to show some examples ?? And include the EXIF.

Maybe your camera is faulty, but without seeing proof, it might be working correctly and you may have a setting wrong.

workaccount

Manual exposure
1/640
f/5.6
Eval metering
ISO 100
White bal - Auto
AI servo AF

Parameter settings -
Contrast, Sharpness and colour saturation - Mid. high
sRGB






All settings same as above - This picture was taken directly into the sun.




It was really bright when I took these and the grass was green - almost similar green brightness to that XP standard desktop background. The sky was also a really bright blue. I would have got a much more accurate picture if I had moved up closer to 1 on the metering scale.

ThOnda

I really cannot see the problem.
Why are you talking about metering when the camera was set to manual?
There is more reflection of the sun rays on the grass than in the first picture, therefore it has more highlights. Otherwise it looks the same. so the Aperture and shutter work correctly - you are getting the same exposure.

Paulw

If you're using manual exposure, then you are the one who makes all the decisions. So, while the camera will give you a reading, if you don't set the aperture and shutter speed right, then your image will be over or under exposed.

Try in aperture priority, shutter priority or even one of the auto modes to see how the metering is.

The images seem fine to me though.

workaccount

ThOnda wrote: »

I really cannot see the problem.
Why are you talking about metering when the camera was set to manual?
There is more reflection of the sun rays on the grass than in the first picture, therefore it has more highlights. Otherwise it looks the same. so the Aperture and shutter work correctly - you are getting the same exposure.

Well I have the aperture set and then I set the shutter according to what the meter says (ie put the meter dead set in the middle by adjusting the shutter). I probably should be using another mode to photograph this way but the photos are underexposed I would have thought?

I don't think there was really a difference with the other metering modes either - ie. spot metering on the grass means the grass will still be really dark.

These photos are too dark for me.(it was really bright when I took that photo - the sun had lit up the whole scene really well)

If I want a bright picture it means I have to make the shutter stay open longer. ie. move higher up on the meter but how much longer to open the shutter is a guess and it's hard to know what the picture looks like then until I have it on the computer. Is this the way everyone works or am I using the meter incorrectly?

Just Playing

workaccount wrote: »

Well I have the aperture set and then I set the shutter according to what the meter says (ie put the meter dead set in the middle by adjusting the shutter). I probably should be using another mode to photograph this way but the photos are underexposed I would have thought?

I don't think there was really a difference with the other metering modes either - ie. spot metering on the grass means the grass will still be really dark.

These photos are too dark for me.(it was really bright when I took that photo - the sun had lit up the whole scene really well)

If I want a bright picture it means I have to make the shutter stay open longer. ie. move higher up on the meter but how much longer to open the shutter is a guess and it's hard to know what the picture looks like then until I have it on the computer. Is this the way everyone works or am I using the meter incorrectly?

It could be your screen. I changed monitors recently and the difference was immense. Photos were still crap though

Zillah

workaccount wrote: »

Well I have the aperture set and then I set the shutter according to what the meter says (ie put the meter dead set in the middle by adjusting the shutter). I probably should be using another mode to photograph this way but the photos are underexposed I would have thought?

You're looking for Aperture Priority Mode, which is what I almost always shoot with. You control the aperture and the camera will choose an appropriate shutter speed. Not sure what the Canon equivalent is but they have it.

Finally, if you look at the shots above in photoshop and check the levels graph the exposure is fine. If you're not getting what you want out of the photo then it's something else.

CabanSail

A couple of tgings to remember.

The way most metering works is that the Camera assumes the frame is 18% Grey & exposes for that. If you have a lot of bright sky, then the rest of the image will be under exposed.

The metering method also has an effect.

Spot Metering will do just that, it will tell you what the correct exposure is for just the small spot & ignore the rest of the frame.

Centre Weighted Metering will take the whole frame into the reading but the area in the middle will have most effect.

There are other Metering modes which will evaluate the whole frame. On the Nikon this is called Matrix Metering. This is the mode which is probably used most often.

workaccount

Alright guys aperture priority is really doing the trick now. Just taken some nice shots here and they are exposed the way I want them to be.

I think I will leave M mode for a while yet. I was using it because I basically want to learn complete control of the camera rather than relying on automatic modes.

In what circumstances is M really required/used?

Thanks.

Zillah

workaccount wrote: »

In what circumstances is M really required/used?

Some people are purists and just don't like using automatic settings or get a particular kick out of manually doing everything. For me I only ever use full manual mode in very unusual circumstances where the camera isn't smart enough to get what's going on. For example, when I was using Infrared filters last year the camera would get confused so I went fully manual. If you're ever shooting into a bright light source (like a sunset) the camera will often make a very dark image to avoid overexposing any of it, whereas maybe I was ok with one burned out blob but the rest well exposed.

Basically I use manual if all else fails.

workaccount

Just said I'd throw this up even though it's nothing special. I'm not even sure if that's 10mm (widest) but the amount of information is huge. I remember feeling claustrophobic using my bridge cam in NY last year - doubt this will happen again!



It's a Sigma 10 20 btw. It doesn't feel wide when your in a massive open space but in small places it really does feel huge.

Paulw

workaccount wrote: »

In what circumstances is M really required/used?

When you really know what you're doing with aperture, ISO and shutter speed. It does take a lot of practice and a need to know and understand exposure.

I've been playing around with the settings for a while, and now, for most of my sports, I'm shooting M (Manual), where I know the ISO setting, know the aperture I want, and know the shutter speed to use to get a well exposed image.

workaccount

Paulw wrote: »

When you really know what you're doing with aperture, ISO and shutter speed. It does take a lot of practice and a need to know and understand exposure.

I've been playing around with the settings for a while, and now, for most of my sports, I'm shooting M (Manual), where I know the ISO setting, know the aperture I want, and know the shutter speed to use to get a well exposed image.

The thing is my meter still moves when I'm in M mode. I set the ISO and then aperture and I can see that I'm out on the meter so I adjust the shutter speed then to bring the meter to centre. Just wasn't working even though the meter said I was right! Any idea what could have been happening here? Obviously it must have been the iso or aperture that was wrong but the meter was still in the middle!

CabanSail

If you were Spot Metering, then that exposure reading is only relevant to the actual spot the meter is on, not the whole image.

charybdis

workaccount wrote: »

The thing is my meter still moves when I'm in M mode. I set the ISO and then aperture and I can see that I'm out on the meter so I adjust the shutter speed then to bring the meter to centre. Just wasn't working even though the meter said I was right! Any idea what could have been happening here? Obviously it must have been the iso or aperture that was wrong but the meter was still in the middle!

There is no "right".

Your camera's metering system is not magical, it is offering an opinion (depending on the metering mode) on what exposure parameters you should use for a given scene. The shot you are going for may require significantly different exposure parameters from the suggestions of your metering system; this doesn't mean it is incorrect or broken, it means your camera isn't telepathically interpreting your wishes.

There's no reason to use your camera in manual mode if you are blindly following the metering system about, it isn't teaching you anything you couldn't learn in other modes and, in practical terms, is just more physical effort. I suggest you use program (P) or aperture priority (Av) mode and correct for differences in opinion about exposure using exposure compensation; your manual will have details about all of these.

You can use manual mode when you want to use specific or constant exposure parameters for a shot, based on the suggestions of your meter or otherwise.