Is there a camera that can take a photo of this subject and properly expose it in auto mode?

[MarshallG]

I don't think you understood what I was saying about the 'iAuto' or 'Intelligent' auto modes on newer cameras. The camera has the ability, based on various aspects of the scene being framed, to actually choose its own scene modes without user input.

I see... it really is automatic. When it works. If you're shooting a white dog against that snow, and then your African American friend, I doubt that the iAuto camera will figure things out in both cases, and it may even get both of them wrong. But for those who don't understand exposure, it sounds like a good feature.

Cameras are funny. Early SLR's were called "automatic' because they returned the mirror after you shot a picture. Then they were "automatic" because they automatically stopped the aperture diaphragm down when you shot the photo. Then they were automatic because you could meter without stopping the lens down. With my first SLR, a Fuji, the lens stopped down in order to meter. But at least it had an "automatic" lens diaphragm.

Then they were called Automatic because they selected a shutter speed to match your aperture. Then the Canon A-1 came out and they could automatically select both the shutter and aperture, or only the shutter, or only the aperture. Wow, that was really automatic! Then they automatically advanced the film. Then they automatically focused.

It's been a long progression. Clearly, the Automatic feature is the most popular and newest feature of a camera at any given time.

 

[zackiedawg]

I see... it really is automatic. When it works. If you're shooting a white dog against that snow, and then your African American friend, I doubt that the iAuto camera will figure things out in both cases, and it may even get both of them wrong. But for those who don't understand exposure, it sounds like a good feature.

Absolutely. It doesn't work 100% of the time, and as I mentioned it still can't fix other things lacking in one's photographic arsenal - poor composition, poor subject matter, poor framing, bad timing, etc.

Cameras are funny. Early SLR's were called "automatic' because they returned the mirror after you shot a picture. Then they were "automatic" because they automatically stopped the aperture diaphragm down when you shot the photo. Then they were automatic because you could meter without stopping the lens down. With my first SLR, a Fuji, the lens stopped down in order to meter. But at least it had an "automatic" lens diaphragm.

Then they were called Automatic because they selected a shutter speed to match your aperture.

My first SLR was back in 1978-9 - a Pentax ME Super. It had an 'auto' mode too - pretty much like today's aperture priority...pretty much everything else was still manual.

Those of us in the game since film days probably still rely more on manual settings than most newer photographers today...in some ways more than we even need to. But full auto and automatic scene modes will never be my 'scene'.!

 

[MarshallG]

Those of us in the game since film days probably still rely more on manual settings than most newer photographers today...in some ways more than we even need to. But full auto and automatic scene modes will never be my 'scene'.!

Really? In my first automatic exposure camera - a Nikon FE - I used Manual exposure mode for flash and for exposure compensation. It was faster to work in manual than to turn an exposure comp ring, which I'd forget to reset.

But now, I only use Manual exposure with flash. I don't see the need other times, and the ergonomics of my Canon 7D doesn't make Manual very straight forward.

But I set ISO manually. I don't like the way AutoISO makes my other settings so squirrely.

 

[Zapirian]

I think you did something wrong. Your snow is not blue, as it's supposed to be.



Your photos are great!

People make fun of me too, when I take the time to compose my shots and fiddle with settings to try one thing, then change them to get another effect. By that time they've snapped 5 pictures with their iphones and posted them on Facebook.

I recently heard a professional street photographer say that if you end up with two or three "keepers" a month you're doing good.

 

[BobSC]

Are there cameras out there that can detect a uniform background of snow and properly expose it?

Assuming you mean using an automatic mode, then many point & shoot cameras have a snow or beach scene mode which add exposure compensation. It's just that novice's don't know what that means. However, in the spirit of the question, assuming simply using the little green auto mode and no other scene modes, then the answer is no: there isn't a properly functioning camera that will interpret that scene's expsoure correctly (assuming correct exposure means middle gray).

My Nikon Coolpix 5000 (not p5000) would expose a sheet of white paper differently from a sheet of black paper. If you set up white, gray, and black, side by side, and filled the frame completely with each, you would get a white, gray, and black. I never did understand how it could do that and my only guess is that maybe it has an incident meter in it or something.

 

[Skippy Belmont]

While I was taking a photo of my cute pet I was being laughed at by a few friends because I took the time to compensate for the scene.

Here's the photo:

https://flic.kr/p/qQERFp

Stereotypical exposure problem: a white subject on a white background. Though I shoot RAW, I still compensated by 2 f stops. When I tried to explain this to my less photo savvy friends they laughed that I had to do that with my expensive DSLR. They said they would have got a perfect shot with their point and shoot cameras.

I assured them that their light meters would have been fooled by the scene and would have created an underexposed grey jpg. they were adamant that they could have (at least one of them was).

Are there cameras out there that can detect a uniform background of snow and properly expose it?

 

[John Deerfield]

My Nikon Coolpix 5000 (not p5000) would expose a sheet of white paper differently from a sheet of black paper. If you set up white, gray, and black, side by side, and filled the frame completely with each, you would get a white, gray, and black. I never did understand how it could do that and my only guess is that maybe it has an incident meter in it or something.

I would love to have posted examples. I will grant you that there are some camera's that will bias their reflective reading (and all cameras use reflective metering). In other words, some cameras will push a white target a bit to the right of center or a black target left of center. But a camera that has a reflective meter that records white as white or black as black (when filling the frame), would be very difficult to work with... you could never trust the meter.

 

[Daniel Mores]

Aren't you proud of yourself for spending $5000 now.

Your slaughtered animal pictures are disturbing and disgusting.

What do you think happens between the point in time your burger is in a no-light-factory and it arrives on your plate?

These people are more in tune with nature and their slaughtered animals than you (or I) will ever be.

Killing animals is not pretty. But your rare steak is?

--

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/danielmores

 

[Glen Barrington]

Aren't you proud of yourself for spending $5000 now.

Your slaughtered animal pictures are disturbing and disgusting.

 

[BobSC]

I would love to have posted examples.

I'll post some in a day or two, assuming the camera still works. I just started charging the batteries.

How does this sound for a test: I'll put the camera on a tripod. I'll put a piece of black cloth on a stand and photograph it using artificial light. Then without moving anything I will replace the black cloth with white and photograph it. I will use Auto mode. Then I'll repeat the test with my dSLR.

 

[philmar]

I think you did something wrong. Your snow is not blue, as it's supposed to be.



Your photos are great!

People make fun of me too, when I take the time to compose my shots and fiddle with settings to try one thing, then change them to get another effect. By that time they've snapped 5 pictures with their iphones and posted them on Facebook.

I recently heard a professional street photographer say that if you end up with two or three "keepers" a month you're doing good.

 

[philmar]

Aren't you proud of yourself for spending $5000 now.

Your slaughtered animal pictures are disturbing and disgusting.

 

[philmar]

Yes, many modern P&S, including Nikon, are able to correctly balance and expose for snow scenes.

Would they be able to distinguish between a tan dog on tan desert sand and my white dog on white snow?

 

[philmar]

I would love to have posted examples.

I'll post some in a day or two, assuming the camera still works. I just started charging the batteries.

How does this sound for a test: I'll put the camera on a tripod. I'll put a piece of black cloth on a stand and photograph it using artificial light. Then without moving anything I will replace the black cloth with white and photograph it. I will use Auto mode. Then I'll repeat the test with my dSLR.

Did the batteries not recharge? - I'd love to see the shots too.

 

[BobSC]

I would love to have posted examples.

I'll post some in a day or two, assuming the camera still works. I just started charging the batteries.

How does this sound for a test: I'll put the camera on a tripod. I'll put a piece of black cloth on a stand and photograph it using artificial light. Then without moving anything I will replace the black cloth with white and photograph it. I will use Auto mode. Then I'll repeat the test with my dSLR.

Did the batteries not recharge? - I'd love to see the shots too.

I've been working with them. They took some charge, but not enough. Maybe I can get it going long enough for the test tomorrow.

 

[BlueEther]

Stick the batteries in the freezer for an hour or so, the charge. Can work wonders on old NiCad

 

[BobSC]

the effect isn't as great as I imagined, but if you view the histograms you can see that the white paper is exposed several stops higher than the black. The effect is more pronounced if you only look at the center third of the photos. The camera used all default settings (it's been without power for years) except I turned off flash.






white paper






black paper






white and black together