Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
I really doubt the the difference between 800, 900 and 1000ISO would make that much difference.
HELP!!! My exposure is killing me!
- Thread starter Connie Fore
- Start date
Connie Fore
New member
I did and I was using the exact same settings on both cameras. That's why I can't understand what is going on.
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
I don't use Auto ISO so I did some digging and it seems that most folk use it coupled with Aperture Priority to prevent shutter speeds from getting too slow, but I don't see many references to using it in Shutter Priority. Maybe there's an issue there? It allows you to set both minimum shutter speed and max ISO, so in Shutter Priority all it's doing is changing ISO. Either way, if that's changing then it comes down to something with the metering.
Can you post a few photos taken with the D3 so we can compare the EXIF data between the two cameras?
Connie Fore
New member
See how the water is not over exposed. I have even shot in direct sun light with the D3 and it still does better then the D700 with an over cast day.
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Connie Fore
New member
So right now the outdoor conditions are cloudy. I'm going to head outside and take some photos of my dog playing in the kiddie pool to see if it will still over expose the images.
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
Just looking at the D3 photos you can see that there are many differences in the two locations, from the background (green vs. white) to the general color of the water (bright blue vs. dark green), all sorts of things that might have caused even the D3 to go bright. I do know that my D800 and D600 will have very different looks in and will meter similar situations slightly differently. I always feel like the D800 is tick too bright and will sometimes set the Exposure Compensation to -0.3 or -0.7, only because I don't want to lose details in the whites when I shoot RAW.
Connie Fore
New member
I feel these are an improvement but I really won't know until I get back out at the pool again.Seriously, I don't understand your using ISO 900 in broad daylight! Just doesn't make sense to me! Set your ISO to Manual, not Auto when shooting rapid fire like you do, and in Shutter Priority. In a situation like you describe and show, I'd be shooting at ISO 100 at the least! Even 200 would be good. And I'd set the White Balance to Auto. You're shooting into reflective water, so the WB will change dramatically in this situation.
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Connie Fore
New member
I shoot with a shutter speed of 1250 to freeze the motion and an Fstop of around 3.5 to get more of the dog and handler in focus. On cloudy days I do need some extra ISO to help with the lighting conditions. I have used Auto White Balance before and hated the results. It adds a blue tint on the images.
The shutter speed I can understand. The F stop makes sense, too. But a 900 ISO? No, ma'am....way too high, even for a slightly cloudy day. And the blue tinge using Auto WB?...that I don't get. What lens are you using for those shots?
When you first focus on the dog on the dock, he's in a natural environment....shadows, contrast, etc. If you set your WB at that point, that's where it will stay when the dog changes it's environment.....reflective water! Hence the blown out results. Are you by any chance using a CPL filter?
When you first focus on the dog on the dock, he's in a natural environment....shadows, contrast, etc. If you set your WB at that point, that's where it will stay when the dog changes it's environment.....reflective water! Hence the blown out results. Are you by any chance using a CPL filter?
One difference that is difficult for the camera, (especially in matrix) is that the D3 shots you posted have a White banner behind the dog. That dark green in the D700 shots is causing it to expose for shadows, then when the water splashes it shows as overexposed. It's not suprising really as I don't think exposure will change in 1/5th of a second.... assuming you are shooting at 5fps.
If you are shooting in Jpeg do you have a color mode on? ie, standard, vivid, etc? if so I would definitely try it on standard. Also, I have read in the past (especially with lightroom) that some Nikon files showed as over exposed even when the same files in capture showed as properly exposed. Do you have the D700 camera RAW plugin for CS5? I know you aren't shooting raw but having the D700 plugin might help. There is an Adobe support page with all the plugins from all the cameras as they came out for each version of photoshop. I can find it it you need me too.
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You don't need ISO 1250 on a sunny day to freeze motion. And if you want both the dog and the handler in focus at 7 metres away, you need to close down your aperture.
Shooting from 7 metres away at f3.6 at 195mm gives you a depth of field of about 30cm, so unless the dog and handler stay a foot or less from each other at all times, one of them will be out of focus. For shots like this from this distance, I would close my aperture down to somewhere between f/8-f/16 which will increase the area that will be in focus.
Once you've closed down the aperture and sped up your shutter speed (to freeze the motion), then you can bump your ISO if the image is too dark.
I would also go against some of the advice given about switching to auto white balance. Because every splash is different, it will cause your white balance to be slightly different in every shot. Set your white balance to the appropriate setting for the light conditions (daylight, cloudy, shade, etc.) and leave it there. That way your shots will be more consistant.
I would also set your metering mode to evaluative (called matrix or average on Nikons). If you have it on spot or centre weighted, if you happen to be pointed at the white splash when you click the shutter, it could cause the camera to underexpose and vice versa if you're pointed at a shadow.
Lastly, I would shoot in manual rather than the auto modes. Get your settings right before the action starts and all your shots will be consistant. You can make minor adjustments to your exposure if and when the light changes during the day.
Thread is a month dead, but some observations... others might be interested.
f/5.6 at 1/1250 at ~ISO 800
The pictures are too tiny to see, but it appears to be bright overcast, because only the most vague shadows are visible. ISO 800 and Sunny 16 would say 1/800 second at f/16. 1/1250 is only 2/3 stop from 1/800, and f/5.6 is 3 stops from f/16, so this is 2 1/3 stop from Sunny 16, which is about right for bright overcast, which the shadows suggest (but these are hunches, I really cannot see anything - but this is obviously what is being metered).
Camera mode is Manual, but Auto ISO is on, so it is still automatic exposure. Since aperture and shutter are fixed, Auto ISO simply reacts as it must, as demanded to match these settings, and it is still metered auto exposure. ISO isn't changing much, 800, 900, 1000, 800, only a 1/3 stop range, but first and last are the same 800.
The dog throws up a big bright white splash dead center, which becomes brighter than the black dog in the first two, which should affect the reflective metering, which should shut down exposure to become a bit underexposed. That is simply how white meters, a bit underexposed, and black tries to be a bit overexposed. Meters do meter what they see, and the first two see a black dog, and the last two see much brighter center white splash. Surprised it stayed this constant, but 1&4 are the same, but 3 is 1/3 stop brighter.
If you want to avoid this (to seek constant exposure), then use same manual exposure mode ( so it won't vary), and after you experiment with ISO results to see you can use ISO 800, then use ISO 800 (turn off Auto ISO so it won' vary), and then the exposure will be fixed, and it will not vary with the splash scene that the meter sees.
f/5.6 at 1/1250 at ~ISO 800
The pictures are too tiny to see, but it appears to be bright overcast, because only the most vague shadows are visible. ISO 800 and Sunny 16 would say 1/800 second at f/16. 1/1250 is only 2/3 stop from 1/800, and f/5.6 is 3 stops from f/16, so this is 2 1/3 stop from Sunny 16, which is about right for bright overcast, which the shadows suggest (but these are hunches, I really cannot see anything - but this is obviously what is being metered).
Camera mode is Manual, but Auto ISO is on, so it is still automatic exposure. Since aperture and shutter are fixed, Auto ISO simply reacts as it must, as demanded to match these settings, and it is still metered auto exposure. ISO isn't changing much, 800, 900, 1000, 800, only a 1/3 stop range, but first and last are the same 800.
The dog throws up a big bright white splash dead center, which becomes brighter than the black dog in the first two, which should affect the reflective metering, which should shut down exposure to become a bit underexposed. That is simply how white meters, a bit underexposed, and black tries to be a bit overexposed. Meters do meter what they see, and the first two see a black dog, and the last two see much brighter center white splash. Surprised it stayed this constant, but 1&4 are the same, but 3 is 1/3 stop brighter.
If you want to avoid this (to seek constant exposure), then use same manual exposure mode ( so it won't vary), and after you experiment with ISO results to see you can use ISO 800, then use ISO 800 (turn off Auto ISO so it won' vary), and then the exposure will be fixed, and it will not vary with the splash scene that the meter sees.
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