Does this mean living in a bright place would make canon a better option? I am going back and forth between a 7d or d7000 purchase occasionally thinking d300 for value. Does living in a bright place mean that I should be looking at more light friendly cameras? Wanted the d7000 for so long I now know more about Nikon lenses than canons. Spending far too much time on choosing here but don't see myself investing in more than one lens system and I will be starting here.
-
Welcome to the new forums! Please read this first. For known issues we are working to resolve, click here.
Nikon's tendency to overexpose in bright conditions
- Thread starter Hanalei
- Start date
Dareshooter
Veteran Member
No of course not.You just need to learn how a particular camera meters a scene and adjust the exposure accordingly.No camera is going to give you a spot on result every time because they do not know which part of the scene that you want correctly exposed so you have to tell it what to do.To be honest if you are asking questions like this at this stage then maybe you should be looking at an entry level dslr at this moment in time.
Confused of Malvern
Senior Member
I agree. Achieving the "correct" exposure involves an element of personal choice. If you find the Nikon over-exposes slightly for your liking then you may want to dial in a little EV compensation.
I am sure the you will be fine with a D7000. Buy one and enjoy learning how to get the most out of it
That was a little harsh. We all had to start somewhere.
--
Confused of Malvern
'The greatest fool can ask more than the wisest man can answer'
Dareshooter
Veteran Member
Sorry if that sounded harsh it was not my intention and I'd never put down a beginner. In another thread the op asked if the 7d and D7000 camera's were to much for him and given the question that's been asked on this thread I thought maybe he'd be better off considering something a little easier to tame for now.
Once again my sincere apologies if I've offended anyone.
Happy New Year Guys
Once again my sincere apologies if I've offended anyone.
Happy New Year Guys
Dareshooter
Veteran Member
Your welcome, hope I didn't cause offence my comments were made with good intent.Thanks dareshooter…..walking off with me tale in between me legs
Its ok dareshooter, the truth hurts sometimes 
. Hard to surrender to that reality. But, I also don't want to spend and then not use because its too sophisticated. I will have more left over for lenses if I step down a notch in body. Thanks for your input.
. Hard to surrender to that reality. But, I also don't want to spend and then not use because its too sophisticated. I will have more left over for lenses if I step down a notch in body. Thanks for your input.Dareshooter
Veteran Member
Thanks that's a relief,you've obviously realised exactly what I meant.To many come to these forums and get advised to spend mega bucks on gear they just don't need.
Be sure to let us know what you eventually go for and good luck.
Be sure to let us know what you eventually go for and good luck.
Dareshooter
Veteran Member
Don't tell me I've got your gender wrong,if I have then another apology from meThanks for the valiant rescue
Do not be afraid to purchase what the budget allows, especially if you are willing to learn your equipment to satisfy you photography goals. I have the d7000, and think it isn't too difficult to learn, so far. Even for 1st time dslr owner!
I think your questions are good ones, why we're asking on beginners forum. I thought of same types of questions when I got my 1st dslr, just never asked.
After talking to people I knew with 'nice cameras' & internet research~ I went to a local camera shop (not really local 90 miles) told them what I wanted to do & held & played with a nikon & comparable canon.
Went had lunch, decided on the nikon, went back & purchased. He gave me a note pad, we went outside shot a few shots.... And made notes.
I went home practiced a few things confused at purchase, joined an online class (to force me to do exercises & use my camera & learn my settings).
Most people thought I was buying too much camera, I'm still learning but my shots get better all the time & if I bought only the camera I was ready for I may not have pushed myself to learn more about this amazing hobby!
Didn't mean to go off, just thought I'd give my experience, to see if it'd help you with your decisions.
Good Luck ~ Theres a lot of great advice on here!
I think your questions are good ones, why we're asking on beginners forum. I thought of same types of questions when I got my 1st dslr, just never asked.
After talking to people I knew with 'nice cameras' & internet research~ I went to a local camera shop (not really local 90 miles) told them what I wanted to do & held & played with a nikon & comparable canon.
Went had lunch, decided on the nikon, went back & purchased. He gave me a note pad, we went outside shot a few shots.... And made notes.
I went home practiced a few things confused at purchase, joined an online class (to force me to do exercises & use my camera & learn my settings).
Most people thought I was buying too much camera, I'm still learning but my shots get better all the time & if I bought only the camera I was ready for I may not have pushed myself to learn more about this amazing hobby!
Didn't mean to go off, just thought I'd give my experience, to see if it'd help you with your decisions.
Good Luck ~ Theres a lot of great advice on here!
There's nothing wrong with Nikon's exposure...it's right where it should be. Spot and CW metering are calibrated to 12.7% gray, and Matrix metering is calibrated to 18% gray (as a starting point, as it is the very nature of intelligent metering modes like Nikon's Matrix or Canon's Evaluative to shift exposure away from the standard based on the evaluation of the scene.)
The brightness people complain about comes from Nikon's post processing. For some reason, Nikon's default processing increases the brightness of the image significantly. If you work from RAW, then using a RAW converter other than ViewNX (comes with the camera) or CaptureNX (software recommended by Nikon) will avoide the brightness issue. People who use JPEGs from the camera, ViewNX, or CaptureNX will tend to reduce their exposure by 1/3 or 2/3 stops to account for the extra brightness. People who use other tools, like Raw Therapee, don't have any overexposure issues.
If you aspire to really take control of your camera one day, then Nikon is far better for controlling exposure. Nikon's Auto-ISO control is superior to Canon's...allowing you to set a minimum shutter speed where ISO will start to increase rather than allowing the shutter speed to drop further. Auto ISO works with Manual mode, turning M mode into a hybrid auto/manual mode. You make adjustments to aperture and shutter, and the camera adjust ISO to get correct exposure. Canon allows this as well, but Canon disables Exposure Compensation in manual mode. EC is the method of controlling exposure when using auto modes (or M mode as an auto mode.) So with a Canon in manual mode with Auto-ISO enabled, you have to simply accept the exposure you're given.
As mentioned, Nikon allows EC in manual mode, which is useful for a few things. A Nikon can also be set to extend an Auto-Exposure lock. So you can configure the camera to hold an AE Lock for multiple images. With a Canon you always have to press the AE Lock button immediately after taking a picture if you'd like to use the same settings for the next picture. That's annoying. Nikon also provides a quick, two button process for setting a custom white balance (takes 5 seconds.) With a Canon you have to go through several more steps to set a custom white balance.
These are the main reasons why I prefer Nikon over Canon.
.
The brightness people complain about comes from Nikon's post processing. For some reason, Nikon's default processing increases the brightness of the image significantly. If you work from RAW, then using a RAW converter other than ViewNX (comes with the camera) or CaptureNX (software recommended by Nikon) will avoide the brightness issue. People who use JPEGs from the camera, ViewNX, or CaptureNX will tend to reduce their exposure by 1/3 or 2/3 stops to account for the extra brightness. People who use other tools, like Raw Therapee, don't have any overexposure issues.
If you aspire to really take control of your camera one day, then Nikon is far better for controlling exposure. Nikon's Auto-ISO control is superior to Canon's...allowing you to set a minimum shutter speed where ISO will start to increase rather than allowing the shutter speed to drop further. Auto ISO works with Manual mode, turning M mode into a hybrid auto/manual mode. You make adjustments to aperture and shutter, and the camera adjust ISO to get correct exposure. Canon allows this as well, but Canon disables Exposure Compensation in manual mode. EC is the method of controlling exposure when using auto modes (or M mode as an auto mode.) So with a Canon in manual mode with Auto-ISO enabled, you have to simply accept the exposure you're given.
As mentioned, Nikon allows EC in manual mode, which is useful for a few things. A Nikon can also be set to extend an Auto-Exposure lock. So you can configure the camera to hold an AE Lock for multiple images. With a Canon you always have to press the AE Lock button immediately after taking a picture if you'd like to use the same settings for the next picture. That's annoying. Nikon also provides a quick, two button process for setting a custom white balance (takes 5 seconds.) With a Canon you have to go through several more steps to set a custom white balance.
These are the main reasons why I prefer Nikon over Canon.
.
sherwoodpete
Veteran Member
No, of course not.
All cameras have a built-in light meter which is designed specifically to recognise when the lighting is brighter or darker.
Now there may be idiosyncrasies of each camera system, but this particular one (whether real or imagined) is not a reason to make a purchasing decision. Whichever camera you buy, there will be a learning curve as you gradually find out how to get the best results.
Regards,
Peter
Very kind of you to give me such a detailed answer. Thank you for giving me an alternative. Any books you would recommend as a starting point to understand this better?
No...as far as I'm aware there are no books that really get into the details and methologies of using the exposure controls on a modern camera. There are a couple reasons for this. The first is that the modern methods are still unknown to most people. Second is that different cameras have different abilities...there are no standards. Probably the best way to find a book is to ask in the forum for the camera you've bought.
Just about any book or website claiming to teach exposure will tell you the same thing. First, they say to shoot in manual mode "to take full control of your camera" (which, in truth, has nothing to do with having full control of your camera.) Second, they will describe the exposure triangle...the relationship between aperture, shutter, and ISO as it applies to exposure.
The jist of the triangular relationship is very simple to understand. If you double one of the three, then you must halve one of the remaining two to have the same exposure. Personally, I doubt if this ever helped anyone to set the exposure on their modern camera.
Using manual mode does not give you control of your camera. Even in manual mode, you are a slave to the meter. If all you're doing is moving the meter indicator to the center of the meter, then you're doing exactly what the auto modes are doing. With manual mode you can override the meter's suggestion by moving the indicator left or right of center. But the camera provides such a function for auto modes called Exposure Compensation. With manual mode the exposure you set remains set even if the camera moves. But the camera provides such a function for auto modes called AE Lock. The bottom line is that there's nothing that manual mode does that the auto modes on a modern camera can't do as long as the meter is working. And that's why manual mode is still important...for times when the meter doesn't work (astrophotography, long exposures, certain type of flash exposures, etc.) Otherwise, if the meter works then manual mode is the wrong mode.
After bad-mouthing auto modes, telling you to use manual, and describing the exposure triangle, these books and websites might go so far as to explain why 18% gray is important (or 12.7%...depending on who you read.) If it's explained properly, then you've finally received a useful bit of knowledge. At this point many explanations end, leaving you with no idea as to how to effectively use the numerous auto-exposure features that are available...preferring instead to leave you using your modern miracle of technology as if it were a 60 year old Kodak Reflex.
The reality, though, is that people say they want to control their camera...but they really don't. There are people who claim to use manual mode for "total control", but their EXIF data shows that they use Matrix/Evaluative metering and Auto White Balance when shooting. They may be in manual mode, but they're far, far closer to using the camera like a Point & Shoot than having any actual control. And there's the problem...if you take control of the camera, then you have to actually control the camera...and that's not easy. People want easy.
That's why cameras these days have face detection (which is great, actually) and other technologies to make your life easier. You can get a lot done with your camera without knowing all the ins and outs of exposure. Probably the first thing to learn about is setting white balance to correct color. Auto white balance is terrible indoors, and knowing how to set WB will fix that yellow cast that indoor shots sometimes have. Once color is fixed you want to learn about Exposure Compensation. That function allows you to increase or reduce the brightness of the image. Your camera manual will likely have all the info you need to learn how to adjust WB and EC. With correct color and brightness, you can take a lot of good images. I'd say the next thing to learn after that is composition. For that read Jodie Coston's lesson found here...
http://www.morguefile.com/docs/index.php/Jodie_Coston:_Lesson_1
.
Keyboard shortcuts
- f
- Forum