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EOS 300D overexpose problem

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Fidanas

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Last week while I was on vacation in Germany, my EOS 300D started to behave strangely as far as it concerns the light metering. 3 of 5 shots were overexposed. It began (strictly from coincidence in my opinion) when I put on, my new Sigma 18-200 lens. Many photos were overexposed, and I had to reframe the subject, play with the zoom ring of the lens, to have a satisfying result. At first I thought that the Sigma lens didn’t work well on my EOS 300D, but since I put the 18-55 kit lens, the problem remained the same. When I got back, I tried the Sigma lens on my EOS 20D, and there was no problem at all. Does anybody have a similar issue with his EOS 300D. Any suggestion before I visit the service.
Both shots taken on a very cloudy day, P on my camera, and ISO 400.
Thanks in advance.
 
I have a 300D and have noticed on a couple of occasions that I get overexposed shots when the battery is at the end of it's charge.
 
In about 9,000 shots, I had a series of 4-5 shots that were over exposed. It has never happened since and I could never figure out why it happened then.

If I recall correctly, it was with my Sigma 70-200.

Brad
 
... both at ISO400, so with a 1/125s exposure at f/7 that seems about right to me for a daylight shot.
Perhaps you didn't realise you were at that ISO ?

Mred32
--

For most PC troubleshooting, a .22 will do the job.

 
both were shot at 1/125 at iso 400. why did you select iso 400? were the photos taken in poor light? I'm guessing not...

also, as the apertures were different but the shutter speeds were the same, I'm guessing you shot them in Tv mode? that is also one of the causes.

next time, try shooting in Av mode when there is no reason to shoot in Tv mode and shoot at lower iso if the light is good!

the reason they were better on the 20D is probably because you had it at different settings/mode. posting the pictures in question from the 20D will no doubt confirm this.

-----------------------------------------------
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'One should really use the camera as though tomorrow you'd be stricken blind' - Dorothea Lange
 
Mred32 said:
... both at ISO400, so with a 1/125s exposure at f/7 that seems
about right to me for a daylight shot.
Click to expand...
Yes, if you meter on a relatively dark part of a scene on a very cloudy day.
Mred32 said:
Perhaps you didn't realise you were at that ISO ?
Click to expand...
ISO is not the issue here since he shot in P mode. He also didn't use any exposure compensation.

--
Geir
 
Having seen your samples, I'd say you need to have your camera checked. Your examples are at least 1 stop overexposed.



A quick view on the levels in PS clearly shows that the camera isn't doing what it's supposed to do.

After more than 12000 pics with my 300D and kit lens, I can't remember I've ever had such severe exposure problems.

--
Geir
 
which sometimes happens when you move the camera after half-pressing the shutter (central focus point selected?), or if there was motion, then two things happen.
1 - the camera goes into servo focus mode

2 - much more exposure emphasis is put on whatever is under the active focus point at the time of exposure.

There are areas in both shots of darker surfaces, which could explain the exposure. If the active focus point landed on a darker area (and don't forget in servo focus mode, the active focus point can change), the camera would expose to make the darker area mid-toned, and wash everything else out.
 
photoguynorth said:
which sometimes happens when you move the camera after
half-pressing the shutter (central focus point selected?), or if
there was motion, then two things happen.
1 - the camera goes into servo focus mode
2 - much more exposure emphasis is put on whatever is under the
active focus point at the time of exposure.
There are areas in both shots of darker surfaces, which could
explain the exposure. If the active focus point landed on a darker
area (and don't forget in servo focus mode, the active focus point
can change), the camera would expose to make the darker area
mid-toned, and wash everything else out.
Click to expand...
The metering system of the 300D doesn't act like a spot metering in any mode.



The overall scene contrast (DR) in this scene isn't so large that the camera can't handle it. It is clearly overexposed without any reason.



The levels display shows the same severe overexposure in this sample. Unless you're using a fairly big exposure compensation, there is no way that the camera's evaluative metering system should lead to such a result.

--
Geir
 
No, but it does place very high emphasis on the 'subject' when in servo focus mode. It does the same thing with flash, which is one of the reasons many people find exposure inconsistent using flash.
This behavior has been demonstrated many times.
Ladehaug said:
The metering system of the 300D doesn't act like a spot metering in
any mode.
Click to expand...
 
photoguynorth said:
No, but it does place very high emphasis on the 'subject' when in
servo focus mode. It does the same thing with flash, which is one
of the reasons many people find exposure inconsistent using flash.
This behavior has been demonstrated many times.
Click to expand...
Yes, when the camera is switching to servo mode, only the central focus point is used. Even so, the metering will be the same as if the camera was not in servo mode and only the central focus point was used. The camera is still doing the same evaluation with emphasis on the selected focus point(s).

Flash exposure is another story that involves a DR that is most often much larger than this particular scene:



Since the DR of this scene is relatively low, the cameras evaluative metering will make sure that you don't 'blow the picture' in a big scale like this example is showing. In such situations, the cameras evaluative metering would make sure that all or most of the DR was captured, regardless of the focus points. The big gap to the left in the histogram is telling it all - the camera is not acting correctly since no exposure compensation was set. It is not at all unlikely that the metering system is malfunctioning. It's a complex system with 35 zones and all the electronics should work well in order to obtain a correct metering.

http://doug.kerr.home.att.net/pumpkin/300D_metering_DAK.pdf

--
Geir
 
indeed, it seems very odd,
I would do some tests, to see if it is the camera playing up, or something else

try different modes and settings, and see what comes out (try different lenses, too)
if the problem repeats itself, you may need to have the camera checked
--
AJ

http://www.pbase.com/manjade
 
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