A plea to Olympus: Exposure compenastion in manual mode on the E-M5

I like to use the E-M5 in manual mode with auto ISO. It lets me control the two variables of the exposure triangle I'm most concerned about, and at the same time releaves me from having to factor in ISO as a third factor.

However, I haven't found a way to set exposure compensation on the E-M5 in this mode. I think Pentax allows it in its TAv mode (aperture and shutter mode), and I think some high end Nikons allow it too. This would be a very useful feature and should be doable with a firmware fix.

Why?

Because manual mode + auto ISO is a mode I use a lot and being able to adjust exposure just like in any other mode would be very convenient.

The workaround now would be to leave auto ISO off and adjust all three exposure variables to reach the desired under/over exposure. It's one too many variables to be concerned about and adjusting it becomes fiddly.

You have not found a way because there is no way to set compensation while in manual mode with Auto ISO using Olympus bodies.

Yes, if you have a specific shutter speed/aperture combination you want to use and you just want the camera to deal with the ISO, being able to set a compensation amount would be nice, but it's a feature Olympus just has not gotten around to granting, and they may never. With Panasonic, you cannot even use Auto ISO in manual exposure mode.

Posts asking this question in this forum (there have been a few) have always been "entertaining" to say the least. This one would be even more so if Detail Man were not still banned, but I anticipate it will generate some fun responses nonetheless.

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"There's shadows in life, baby.." Jack Horner- Boogie Nights

For the record: Detail Man is no longer banned. The ban was rescinded almost immediately after it became known on the forum.

Manual w/auto ISO only requires two adjustments. Unless using legacy glass, opting for Shutter or Aperture priority for EC may be found to be preferable where compensating for different scene EV's when shot to shot EC is called for. Historically I don't shoot Shutter priority much, but I've been turning to it when it's dark and the shutter speed is critical (doesn't bother me, not having had the EC in manual mode feature before, so I don't miss it).

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...Bob, NYC
http://www.bobtullis.com
/"Well, sometimes the magic works. . . Sometimes, it doesn't."/ - Little Big Man
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Generally speaking, in manual exposure mode, it's the photographer who has to make all the changes to set the exposure he/she wants. There's no exposure compensation per se in manual exposure mode. Exposure compensation is for you to overide the exposure settings decided by the camera when in auto exposure mode. Since that's not the case when a photographer is using manual mode, there is no need to have an exposure compensation setting button. After all, changing the expsoure in manual mode is just as easy as turing an exposure compensation
dial. You have to turn a dial or press a button one way or another.

You can set shutter speed + aperture...then allow the iso to float for "correct exposure". Having exposure compensation in M-mode  allows you to darken or lighten the images (ex: in a back-lit photo). If you use exposure compensation in any mode, you know why it's needed.

Auto ISO in manual would be MUCH more usable if you could use EC.

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Brian Schneider
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6115/6285300710_0fcee72bb1_m.jpg

Obviously this is the case as long as you don't use auto ISO in manual mode. But if you do that there is no way to over or under expose. That was the whole point of my post.

Three possible workarounds are: 1) not using auto ISO, 2) using metering modes to manipulate exposure, 3) do exposure compensation in post processing. They are all a bit cumbersom.

This combination is Not manual mode. How can it be when one of the variables is still auto?

To have real manual mode, you also need to have manual control over the ISO otherwise you are still in auto.

What you are doing is no different to me setting the ISO and the aperture and letting the camera decide the shutter speed.

Other cameras allow you to set some other factors such as the tone line (Pentax calls it the P line) or allow you to adjust the exposure compensation (what you are asking for) but it is still Auto - Not manual.

BTW, what are you doing that the exact shutter speed and aperture are so important?

Allan

True.   I didn't grok that when responding, as usually when I'm in auto ISO the ISO usually is seeking its upper limit.

--
...Bob, NYC
http://www.bobtullis.com
/"Well, sometimes the magic works. . . Sometimes, it doesn't."/ - Little Big Man
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Semantics. Call it what you will, the point is that when the camera's mode dial is set to M and auto ISO is on, then exposure compensation should also be available.

The usefeulness of this feature comes from being able to control motion blur and DOF at the same time. It would be like setting the shutter and aperture dials on an old manual film camera and let your assistant find the film with the right ISO value for you in an instant.

It baffles me that so few people seem to grasp the usefulness of this feature.

No, this is still manual mode--in fact, you manually control three things in this case: A, S, and EC.

I agree with the OC--this would be a very useful feature to have, and there's no reason Oly couldn't implement it.

I routinely use M + Auto-ISO to set both the aperture (widest possible, usually) + shutter speed (slowest I can tolerate), letting the camera pick the ISO to make it all work. This is the setting I use most often when taking pictures of people indoors. When shooting towards a window, however, it would be useful to dial in some EC--hence the OP's original request.

Panasonic has never had this feature, so Panny users may not recognize its value. But anyone who's tried it knows just how useful it is.

I just don't get the "cumbersom" aspect. I understand the technical nature of HOW EC with Auto ISO in Manual mode works, but really.... WHY?

Technically though, if you want to over expose, its quite easy.. as Auto ISO won't let you go below ISO 200. So its just a case of underexposed shots... but do you REALLY take that many underexposed shots?

If so, why not set the metering mode EC a few notches down?

You can forget it, you don't need it if you shoot RAW (and why wouldn't you at high ISO?)

I compared shadow recovery between ISO 3200 exposed well and ISO 400 underexposed by 3 stop. The difference was very minor. And there was almost no difference between ISO 6400 exposed well and ISO 800 underexposed by 3 stops.

You certainly won't notice any difference if Auto ISO sets ISO 800 as opposed to ISO 1600 that you could get with +1EV ISO compensation if it was available.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/42141106

Why not just assign the exposure compensation option to a function button? EC isn't available in M mode because the dials used are taken over by aperture and shutter. So if you assign EC to a function you can make your adjustments there.

I haven't tested this myself though and my camera is at home so can say if this will work but it's worth a try.

Good idea, but seems not to work.

I'm sure you're right from an image quality viewpoint. However, one of the beatuies of electronic viewfinders is the what you see is what you get aspect. If you shoot in a place with dim lighting for instance you might want to adjust it to the scene as you see it, not artificially bright as it's shown in the viewfinder without compensation. If you adjust exposure it in post, you don't have the scene in front of you anymore. Or you might just prefer to shoot jpegs...

The majority seems not to see the need for this feature, but it should be an easy software fix and wouldn't degrade the camera if it was there. Nikon and Pentax offer it, so they obviously don't find it redundant.

To me the answer is obvious: With auto ISO in manual mode EC is just as juseful as in any other mode. The real question is: Why is there no EC in this mode when it's available in any other mode?