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Exposure compensation gone mad ?

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Oricoh

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Hey, today I have been trying to take some photos indoor (Z6ii in manual mode), and everything turns out extremely dark. Then I noticed that the exposure compensation is all the way at the bottom (-), its daylight, there is plenty of light in the room btw.

I manually changed it back to 0 and then it jumps back to the bottom max. As if it's doing auto exposure compensation (?) and doing it completely wrong...

P.s ignore the 1/60, it does the same thing with 1/400 or more.

Why is this happening?

1fe50b6d60cc4c7885c1cf274de7433f.jpg
 
Last edited:
Thom Hogan said:
…

This experience led Galen to come up with things to solve his exposure issues. First, fill flash (his famous -1.7EV fill setting). Later graduated ND filters (Singh-Ray Galen Rowell series).

In other words, he controlled what the light was doing vis-a-vis his subjects (even if they were a mountain).
Click to expand...
+1000

Meanwhile, the OP keeps using phrases like “I believe so-and-so should be the case” and “it appears that way from my memory.”

In this dim light, I want the combo “f/7.1, 1/60s, ISO 100” to give me a correctly exposed image without noise (ISO 100) and with the depth-of-field I want (via f/7.1) and hand-held (at 1/60 of a second). :D

If I don’t get what I believe to be the case, I must conclude that the camera is not behaving, exposure compensation has gone mad, there is something wrong with the camera. :D

Anyway, as they say: Live and learn.

Enjoy the marvels of the Z6 Mark II, and enjoy photography — “drawing with light.”
 
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buildingsights said:
michaeladawson said:
Mach Schnell said:
This is a great example of why it makes no sense to use exposure compensation when shooting in manual exposure.
Click to expand...
Just to be totally clear... I would amend what you say to read "in full manual exposure". That leaves no doubt as to whether one is using auto ISO. I say that only because I think some people still talk about being in manual mode even though they have auto ISO set. Manual mode is used in this sense to indicate that they photographer is choosing both aperture and priority.

But I do agree with you. However, for the OCD inclined, who must have the "0" point show when they have achieved the exposure they are after, exposure compensation in full manual mode serves the purpose of intentionally biasing the exposure to plus or minus. It can also help those photographers who want to bias the exposure, but don't have the muscle memory to quickly remember which way to turn the dials or get confused as to whether the scale reading means more exposure or less exposure is needed.
Click to expand...
if one were to use 'full manual' and choose the correct exposure by selecting the aperture, the shutter speed and the ISO (i.e. not auto ISO), in this case Exposure Compensation has no influence/effect on the exposure that you chose.
Click to expand...
I don't think you quite understand what I'm saying.

You are correct, exposure compensation will not change the exposure you have set. But it WILL change the meter display. Let's say you are in full manual mode and you know that you will need to add a +0.7 exposure to every photo you take of your current scene. You can set an exposure comp on the camera so that when the meter scale reads "0" you will actually be at +0.7 over what the camera meter recommends as the correct setting. Believe it or not, some people do actually use the meter display even though they are in full manual mode.
 
Horshack said:
Mach Schnell said:
This is a great example of why it makes no sense to use exposure compensation when shooting in manual exposure.
Click to expand...
Couldn't disagree more. There are metering modes based entirely on using manual exposure and it's meter display as the central reference point, for example the spot meter, and where using EC makes perfect sense, for example exposing to highlights by spot-metering to place a tone at midtones and then using +2EV EC to get that tone into the highlights.
Click to expand...
I agree with you. See my post in response to him. But I think what he would say in response to me and you is that it doesn't make sense to use the EC comp for that. Simply do the compensation in your head and leave the EC dial alone. That way your EC comp dial is never set unexpectedly. I don't agree with that, but that will be the counter argument.
 
michaeladawson said:
buildingsights said:
michaeladawson said:
Mach Schnell said:
This is a great example of why it makes no sense to use exposure compensation when shooting in manual exposure.
Click to expand...
Just to be totally clear... I would amend what you say to read "in full manual exposure". That leaves no doubt as to whether one is using auto ISO. I say that only because I think some people still talk about being in manual mode even though they have auto ISO set. Manual mode is used in this sense to indicate that they photographer is choosing both aperture and priority.

But I do agree with you. However, for the OCD inclined, who must have the "0" point show when they have achieved the exposure they are after, exposure compensation in full manual mode serves the purpose of intentionally biasing the exposure to plus or minus. It can also help those photographers who want to bias the exposure, but don't have the muscle memory to quickly remember which way to turn the dials or get confused as to whether the scale reading means more exposure or less exposure is needed.
Click to expand...
if one were to use 'full manual' and choose the correct exposure by selecting the aperture, the shutter speed and the ISO (i.e. not auto ISO), in this case Exposure Compensation has no influence/effect on the exposure that you chose.
Click to expand...
I don't think you quite understand what I'm saying.
Click to expand...
you are not the first to tell me that!!! :-)
michaeladawson said:
You are correct, exposure compensation will not change the exposure you have set.
Click to expand...
right
michaeladawson said:
But it WILL change the meter display. Let's say you are in full manual mode and you know that you will need to add a +0.7 exposure to every photo you take of your current scene. You can set an exposure comp on the camera so that when the meter scale reads "0" you will actually be at +0.7 over what the camera meter recommends as the correct setting.
Click to expand...
agreed, i got that from your previous post. i just thought it was worth adding, just in case, about "exposure compensation in full manual mode serves the purpose of intentionally biasing the exposure to plus or minus."

these rascally cameras...
 
buildingsights said:
agreed, i got that from your previous post. i just thought it was worth adding, just in case, about "exposure compensation in full manual mode serves the purpose of intentionally biasing the exposure to plus or minus."
these rascally cameras...
Click to expand...
I guess the more accurate way of writing what I meant would have been to say "biasing the exposure meter reading".
 
Looking at the EXIF data from the iPhone, it seems to be in agreement with the Z6ii. There's about a 3 stop difference according to the iPhone as well.
 
LukeP_Photo said:
Looking at the EXIF data from the iPhone, it seems to be in agreement with the Z6ii. There's about a 3 stop difference according to the iPhone as well.
Click to expand...
That is an excellent point. In all of the discussion I don't remember anyone pointing out the iPhone settings. I don't expect an exact match between iPhone and a good ILC camera. But the iPhone is still a camera that obeys the laws of physics and the exposures shouldn't be too far off.

Based on the iPhone settings shown for yesterday, converting to something close to what the Nikon was set at, we have: 1/50s, f/7.1, ISO 12,800.

The iPhone settings shown in this mornings photo show that the converted exposure settings for the Nikon would be: 1/50s, f/7.1, ISO 2000.

The OP was trying to use 1/60s, f/7.1, ISO 100. That's 7 stops too dark for yesterday and over 4 stops too dark for this morning. It also means that the room was almost 3 stops brighter this morning than yesterday.

I think my calculations are correct but don't hesitate to point out any errors I may have made.
 
michaeladawson said:
LukeP_Photo said:
Looking at the EXIF data from the iPhone, it seems to be in agreement with the Z6ii. There's about a 3 stop difference according to the iPhone as well.
Click to expand...
That is an excellent point. In all of the discussion I don't remember anyone pointing out the iPhone settings. I don't expect an exact match between iPhone and a good ILC camera. But the iPhone is still a camera that obeys the laws of physics and the exposures shouldn't be too far off.

Based on the iPhone settings shown for yesterday, converting to something close to what the Nikon was set at, we have: 1/50s, f/7.1, ISO 12,800.

The iPhone settings shown in this mornings photo show that the converted exposure settings for the Nikon would be: 1/50s, f/7.1, ISO 2000.

The OP was trying to use 1/60s, f/7.1, ISO 100. That's 7 stops too dark for yesterday and over 4 stops too dark for this morning. It also means that the room was almost 3 stops brighter this morning than yesterday.

I think my calculations are correct but don't hesitate to point out any errors I may have made.
Click to expand...
Excellent technical exposure — pun fully intended. ;)

The OP was fixated with using 1/60s, f/7.1 and ISO 100, believing that such manual settings would result in a correctly-exposed image by a well-behaving camera. And when the meter scale showed a hugely negative indication (i.e. severe underexposure), the OP questioned the sanity of exposure compensation.

Funny, the OP’s misspelling in the post title may be read as “coma prison.”
 
Last edited:
AshleyMC said:
michaeladawson said:
LukeP_Photo said:
Looking at the EXIF data from the iPhone, it seems to be in agreement with the Z6ii. There's about a 3 stop difference according to the iPhone as well.
Click to expand...
That is an excellent point. In all of the discussion I don't remember anyone pointing out the iPhone settings. I don't expect an exact match between iPhone and a good ILC camera. But the iPhone is still a camera that obeys the laws of physics and the exposures shouldn't be too far off.

Based on the iPhone settings shown for yesterday, converting to something close to what the Nikon was set at, we have: 1/50s, f/7.1, ISO 12,800.

The iPhone settings shown in this mornings photo show that the converted exposure settings for the Nikon would be: 1/50s, f/7.1, ISO 2000.

The OP was trying to use 1/60s, f/7.1, ISO 100. That's 7 stops too dark for yesterday and over 4 stops too dark for this morning. It also means that the room was almost 3 stops brighter this morning than yesterday.

I think my calculations are correct but don't hesitate to point out any errors I may have made.
Click to expand...
Excellent technical exposure — pun fully intended. ;)

The OP was fixated with using 1/60s, f/7.1 and ISO 100, believing that such manual settings would result in a correctly-exposed image by a well-behaving camera. And when the meter scale showed a hugely negative indication (i.e. severe underexposure), the OP questioned the sanity of exposure compensation.

Funny, the OP’s misspelling in the post title may be read as “coma prison.”
Click to expand...
OP wasn't. You should read the first post to understand the context
 
Oricoh said:
AshleyMC said:
michaeladawson said:
LukeP_Photo said:
Looking at the EXIF data from the iPhone, it seems to be in agreement with the Z6ii. There's about a 3 stop difference according to the iPhone as well.
Click to expand...
That is an excellent point. In all of the discussion I don't remember anyone pointing out the iPhone settings. I don't expect an exact match between iPhone and a good ILC camera. But the iPhone is still a camera that obeys the laws of physics and the exposures shouldn't be too far off.

Based on the iPhone settings shown for yesterday, converting to something close to what the Nikon was set at, we have: 1/50s, f/7.1, ISO 12,800.

The iPhone settings shown in this mornings photo show that the converted exposure settings for the Nikon would be: 1/50s, f/7.1, ISO 2000.

The OP was trying to use 1/60s, f/7.1, ISO 100. That's 7 stops too dark for yesterday and over 4 stops too dark for this morning. It also means that the room was almost 3 stops brighter this morning than yesterday.

I think my calculations are correct but don't hesitate to point out any errors I may have made.
Click to expand...
Excellent technical exposure — pun fully intended. ;)

The OP was fixated with using 1/60s, f/7.1 and ISO 100, believing that such manual settings would result in a correctly-exposed image by a well-behaving camera. And when the meter scale showed a hugely negative indication (i.e. severe underexposure), the OP questioned the sanity of exposure compensation.

Funny, the OP’s misspelling in the post title may be read as “coma prison.”
Click to expand...
OP wasn't. You should read the first post to understand the context
Click to expand...
:D Any manual ISO value between 100 and 12000 in that “dim” situation would amount to the same “camera-misbehaving problem.”

Again, in manual mode, that vertical scale on the right is not exposure compensation.
 
Last edited:
AshleyMC said:
Oricoh said:
AshleyMC said:
michaeladawson said:
LukeP_Photo said:
Looking at the EXIF data from the iPhone, it seems to be in agreement with the Z6ii. There's about a 3 stop difference according to the iPhone as well.
Click to expand...
That is an excellent point. In all of the discussion I don't remember anyone pointing out the iPhone settings. I don't expect an exact match between iPhone and a good ILC camera. But the iPhone is still a camera that obeys the laws of physics and the exposures shouldn't be too far off.

Based on the iPhone settings shown for yesterday, converting to something close to what the Nikon was set at, we have: 1/50s, f/7.1, ISO 12,800.

The iPhone settings shown in this mornings photo show that the converted exposure settings for the Nikon would be: 1/50s, f/7.1, ISO 2000.

The OP was trying to use 1/60s, f/7.1, ISO 100. That's 7 stops too dark for yesterday and over 4 stops too dark for this morning. It also means that the room was almost 3 stops brighter this morning than yesterday.

I think my calculations are correct but don't hesitate to point out any errors I may have made.
Click to expand...
Excellent technical exposure — pun fully intended. ;)

The OP was fixated with using 1/60s, f/7.1 and ISO 100, believing that such manual settings would result in a correctly-exposed image by a well-behaving camera. And when the meter scale showed a hugely negative indication (i.e. severe underexposure), the OP questioned the sanity of exposure compensation.

Funny, the OP’s misspelling in the post title may be read as “coma prison.”
Click to expand...
OP wasn't. You should read the first post to understand the context
Click to expand...
:D Any manual ISO value between 100 and 12000 in that “dim” situation would amount to the same “camera-misbehaving problem.”

Again, in manual mode, that vertical scale on the right is not exposure compensation.
Click to expand...
That wasn't my problem or the problem I described in the first post, this isn't what the 'misbehaving' was all about. Read everything if you are interested and if you have questions I'll be happy to answer but don't take things or a couple of lines out of context, I explained it a few times, for example here: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/67473430
 
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I cannot believe we are more than 100 posts in, still arguing over the fact that it was a bit less bright outside on one day compared to another day, and that both of these days may or may not have been different from other days in recent history.
 
Last edited:
BasilG said:
I cannot believe we are more than 100 posts in, still arguing over the fact that it was a bit less bright outside on one day compared to another day, and that both of these days may or may not have been different from other days in recent history.
Click to expand...
Oh, I can 100% believe it....LOL.

TRUST THE GEAR!
 
Mackiesback said:
BasilG said:
I cannot believe we are more than 100 posts in, still arguing over the fact that it was a bit less bright outside on one day compared to another day, and that both of these days may or may not have been different from other days in recent history.
Click to expand...
Oh, I can 100% believe it....LOL.

TRUST THE GEAR!
Click to expand...
Indeed, trust the gear. And to be clear, it takes at least two sides to have an argument. And there was only one person arguing the one side.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to get some spackle to repair the wall and then change the bandage on my forehead.
 
michaeladawson said:
Mackiesback said:
BasilG said:
I cannot believe we are more than 100 posts in, still arguing over the fact that it was a bit less bright outside on one day compared to another day, and that both of these days may or may not have been different from other days in recent history.
Click to expand...
Oh, I can 100% believe it....LOL.

TRUST THE GEAR!
Click to expand...
Indeed, trust the gear. And to be clear, it takes at least two sides to have an argument. And there was only one person arguing the one side.

Now if you will excuse me, I need to get some spackle to repair the wall and then change the bandage on my forehead.
Click to expand...
DPreview is like cycling - best to wear a helmet.
 
EDIT: wanted to respond to the thread, not one particular comment. Saw it too late to withdraw this post, so editing instead.
 
Last edited:
Oricoh said:
Hey, today I have been trying to take some photos indoor (Z6ii in manual mode), and everything turns out extremely dark. Then I noticed that the exposure compensation is all the way at the bottom (-), its daylight, there is plenty of light in the room btw.

I manually changed it back to 0 and then it jumps back to the bottom max. As if it's doing auto exposure compensation (?) and doing it completely wrong...

P.s ignore the 1/60, it does the same thing with 1/400 or more.

Why is this happening?

1fe50b6d60cc4c7885c1cf274de7433f.jpg
Click to expand...


I feel a bit sorry for you when you are faced with these replies, teaching you how to expose correctly. But your problem is clearly only that you think the scale shows the exposure compensation. As one other reply has reported, it doesn't in M mode. It shows the exposure (more precise the lightness because it includes AUTO ISO) relative to what the camera thinks is correct.

The exposure compensation is displayed in yellow numbers below. It has no effect in M mode, unless ISO AUTO is active.

The misunderstanding arises because Nikon has chosen to use the same scale to show the exposure compensation in A and S mode, in addition to the yellow numbers.
 
I landed on this thread looking for an answer to a problem I had with my Z6II.
  • In aperture mode, it would switch on with EC at -3.3, no matter what value I had it on when switching the camera off.
  • Other settings it remembered just fine
  • It used to remember EC setting just as expected
  • Easy EC (b2) was set to "ON (auto reset)"
So it seemed to work as expected, except it reset to -3.3 where before it reset to 0. What didn't help was that I assumed EC was on minimum instead of -3.3.

I "solved" the "issue" by setting Easy EC to "OFF", then to "ON (auto reset)" again. When I then considered it was -3.3 instead of minimum it dawned on me that maybe it doesn't reset to 0, but to the value it was when activating easy EC. Tried and confirmed so. Makes sense now.
Now, this is not the problem OP was describing, but I still wanted to contribute this comment because this thread shows up high in search results for several queries like "z6ii exposure compensation stuck". I figured it might help someone who's in the same boat.

Oh and before I set off another snarknado, yes, I realize my issue was not that the camera did anything wrong, but that I didn't understand it's settings/behavior well enough, thanks.
 
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