Metering Before/After Firmware..

[yves Van den Broek]

I just did a little test before upgrading.

d80
50mm f1.8d
aperture mode f2.8d
ISO 400
Matrix metering
soft reset before taking pics
tripod in a dark room with single light source and preset white
balance.
camera used shutter speed of 1/20sec for both exposures.

Look almost identical to me, compared histograms, and v1.0 is a little more shifted to the right, but just a tiny bit. So if both have the same metering, maybe they changed the curve to preserve more highlights, but frankly it is hard to tell the difference ...

 

[Dave Beaman]

The images don't have the same frame. If you put stake them up in different layers the are a bit off. This would make the histograms off that much which isn't much at all.

dave

 

[brett_k79]

Yeah i noticed they're not exactly the same. must have moved a bit swapping memory cards and going through the menu etc.

but this doesn't represent a scene that i've had problems with exposures. The problem with me lies in the high contrast stuff and just seems to be so sensitive to small changes in the scene. Maybe trying to be a little too smart. I rarely use MM anymore unless i want an exposure you would expect with CW and vice versa.

the thing that still bugs me is the auto modes use matrix. I only use aperture or manual but often get other people to take a shot with me and my girlfriend out sightseeing etc. It would be nice to hand someone the camera and know that in full auto there's a good chance of it getting the exposure right ;-(

--
Japan photo blog - http://www.pansan.blogspot.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brettinjapan

 

[kuma37]

I am one of user experience the ultra over exposure
with MM matering, and willing that Nikon fix the problem
with the new firmaware.

And, I did a strict comparison by shuting out the sunlight (it was night,
but closed the curtain) and took the 4 pics using triod without
touching the scene at all.

Here is the result.
All the shot took with apatrue priority, manual focus.

1) v1.00, MM metering; ss= 1/4
2) v1.01, MM metering, ss= 1/4
3) v1.00, CW metering; ss= 1/6
4) v1.01, CW metering, ss= 1/6

 

[kuma37]

P.S.
I took each setting with continous mode, and
all the 5 to 7 pics were in completely same metering.

I should have tested with much more high contrast scene,
but at least with this scene there is no sign of fix in the
new firmware.

Too sad.

 

[kocho]

Thanks for posting this. I did not do an A/B myself as I thought Nikon would have actually announced a metering change to placate the fears of us complainers

But from using the camera on high contrast scenes after the update I did not see a change compared to what it did before, so whether there is a subtle change or not I do not see it...

P.S.
I took each setting with continous mode, and
all the 5 to 7 pics were in completely same metering.

I should have tested with much more high contrast scene,
but at least with this scene there is no sign of fix in the
new firmware.

Too sad.

 

[dirtee1]

No sign of a fix, or no sign of a difference?

Were the continuous shots even badly exposed to begin with?

P.S.
I took each setting with continous mode, and
all the 5 to 7 pics were in completely same metering.

I should have tested with much more high contrast scene,
but at least with this scene there is no sign of fix in the
new firmware.

Too sad.

--

'Life is not measured by how many breaths you take, but by how many moments that take your breath away.' - A friend

 

[jimr]

These scenes seem well metered to me!

If any change were made from those settings it would make the scene too dark or too light...so I would expect this correctly metered image to remain correctly metered.

 

[thomas2279]

I cannot see any real difference or problems with this shot between original firmware and the latest firmware...

Please elaborate your findings if you notice any difference between firmware versions...

--

 

[nboyer]

...me to NOT upgrade. The updated version looks underexposed to me.

-Norm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65191346@N00/

the first 2 pics are the before and after. both taken with matrix
metering, set WB on a tripod, f/9 Aperture priority.

Note = before the firmware upgrade the D80 set a 6 second exposure,
after the upgrade it set a 4 second exposure. the total time to
upgrade the firmware between shots was probably less than 2
minutes. the lighting did not change in my room in that time.

 

[allblack_57]

Hi,

As far as I'm aware everyone was happy with D80 metering on low contrast scenes like these.

The 'overexposure' issue was raised around it's tendency to expose to the right by varying degrees.

Cheers
Pete

 

[johanmorck]

OK, just want to confirm that the new firmware does expose a tad more to the left. BUT I dont think it means it will underexpose images. Only minor testing. You might get some more details from the lighter image but at the same time I find it a bit to light, hmm I dont know yet. Its better to darken an image in PP rather the lighten it up and get more noise. I have to do some more testing.



Anybode know where to find the original firmware?

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My Photos: http://www.pbase.com/fam_morck
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[dirtee1]

Exactly...there'd be a problem if it changed from well metered to badly metered after the update!

These scenes seem well metered to me!
If any change were made from those settings it would make the scene
too dark or too light...so I would expect this correctly metered
image to remain correctly metered.

--

'Life is not measured by how many breaths you take, but by how many moments that take your breath away.' - A friend

 

[dirtee1]

From one comparison of two pictures? Couldn't it be D80's MM just playing up as usual?

-Norm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65191346@N00/

the first 2 pics are the before and after. both taken with matrix
metering, set WB on a tripod, f/9 Aperture priority.

Note = before the firmware upgrade the D80 set a 6 second exposure,
after the upgrade it set a 4 second exposure. the total time to
upgrade the firmware between shots was probably less than 2
minutes. the lighting did not change in my room in that time.

--

'Life is not measured by how many breaths you take, but by how many moments that take your breath away.' - A friend

 

[yves Van den Broek]

Hmm I think you have mixed up the order, the "underexposed" are CW ... both 1.0 and 1.01. Anyway I have checked the histogram of all samples posted and version 1.01 just moves a little bid to the left, I think they use other curve/rendering settings as in some cases the exposure values are identical. My conclusion is that with this update we will see slightly better highlights, but barely noticeable ... nothing dramatic

 

[johanmorck]

OK, my pic above was a bit dark on my monitor at home (losing some details in dark areas) but here at work it looks much better. The small step to the left is not a problem, at least in that specific image. The new FW dont make the D80 to underexpose. Only slightly movement to the left.

BUt still, I THINK I prefer the old firmware. More testing is needed.

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My Photos: http://www.pbase.com/fam_morck
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.

 

[glasswindow]

I am one of user experience the ultra over exposure
with MM matering, and willing that Nikon fix the problem
with the new firmaware.

And, I did a strict comparison by shuting out the sunlight (it was
night,
but closed the curtain) and took the 4 pics using triod without
touching the scene at all.

You moved the chair in the bottom-right corner =P

Thanks for doing these tests!

 

[kocho]

I am one of user experience the ultra over exposure
with MM matering, and willing that Nikon fix the problem
with the new firmaware.

And, I did a strict comparison by shuting out the sunlight (it was
night,
but closed the curtain) and took the 4 pics using triod without
touching the scene at all.

You moved the chair in the bottom-right corner =P

But in a consistent way, I think - it is gone from both "A" shots and present in both "B" shots...

Thanks for doing these tests!

 

[GPSMapNut]

I set a simple, high contrast scene to test Matrix Metering before and after the firmware update. Light stayed unchanged. Camera remained fixed on the tripod through the process. Focus was right on the nose = dark part of the image. Plenty of bright areas in the frame. In other words, a scenario where D80 MM needs -EV compensation to preserve the highlights. And yes, I know that the scene is out of DR but, I wanted to see if the new firmware will attempt to preserve a bit more of the highlights. Nope. After the firmware update, the camera set exactly the same exposure as before.

First image is before and the second after the update. EXIF is preserved in the images.





--
Andrew Kalinowski
Photography: http://www.FotoCanada.ca
Maps: http://www.CanadianMaps.ca
GPS hobby: http://www.GPSNuts.com Recreational

 

[Kim Letkeman]

Read Thom's article here:
http://www.bythom.com/d80review.htm

And scroll down to "Exposure" ... he describes exactly what is going on. Perhaps someone would consider running a test with the diamond pattern that Thom suggests. That should help determine whether the new firmware changes anything.

In my opinion, Nikon would have mentioned a fix for such a well known and disliked issue. Thus, a proper test should show no change.

--
http://letkeman.net/Photos