Issues with my D7100

So yesterday I finally managed to save up to upgrade my D3100 to a D7100. I was so excited I instantly went to a game reserve close by. (I live in South Africa). After about an hour just trying to sort out the AF controls, I finally got to shooting with factory default setting. I usually shoot in manual, but I found this impossible yesterday. For some reason every photo came in too dark. It was a very sunny day, but I just couldnt push my shutterspeed up above 600 with my apperture a f6. At times I had to shoot at shutterspeed of 60 just to be able to get a photo taken. I used different lenses, so its not a lens issue. My main lens is the Sigma 150-500mm for wildlife, but I did try my nikkor 55-300 mm and my 18-55mm nikkor as well. Same issue. I know this is not normal with the camera as some people take perfectly fine photos at 1/8000 shutterspeed on this camera. I missed an amazing shot of a springbuck flying through the air yesterday because it came out blurry due to shutterspeed being so low.

So when I got home, I popped out the manual and tried a variety of settings. Nothing seemed to alleviate the problem. Is this an id10t error, or was I one of the unluckey few who got a factory defect that wasnt picked up? Any help would be appreciated.

Welcome. Can you post some sample problem pictures with the exif data? (all settings, modes). How comfortable are you with the basics of exposure? Do you FULLY understand the relationship and balance between shutter aperture and iso? I ask because we get many new folks here asking similar questions. A rare few might have a bad camera, but a good many don't fully understand their settings and overlooked something basic. Its always nice when it does turn out to be settings, nobody wants a defective camera.

This won't help your exposure problem, but here is a great read on focus modes. Its about the d7000, but still applicable to the d7100. http://www.pixelfinesse.com/_docs/D7000_AF_Explained.pdf

Well it's simple enough to figure out if it's you or the camera: Put the camera into either Aperture Priority mode or full Automatic and go take some easy, full daylight photos and check the exposure.

If it's all good, you know it's not the camera.

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Welcome to the forum.

ISO is part of the equation that would help us understand. Do you know what ISO you were shooting? I happened to be out yesterday with my D7100 and Sigma 150-500. It was a bright/cloudless day, my ISO was 100, f7.1 and shutterspeeds were anywhere around 1/50 to 1/640. If I wanted faster shutterspeeds (like 1/1600 to 1/3200) then I'd have to boost my ISO to above 320.

It's a give and take relationship with those elements to achieve proper exposure.

Hi

Thanks all for the welcome

I have been shooting with an iso setting of 100 as its usually been sufficient with my D3100 while shooting at mid day sunlight conditions.
Buy if its just the iso settings I will be very happy

Have you moved the Exposure Compensation at all

Hi Pedro. I have not touched it.

Sample photos with exit data please.

How do you get the exit data if i may ask?

klasvaakie said:

How do you get the exit data if i may ask?

Click to expand...

Exit data> typo > EXIF data. Its embeded in the picture right from the camera, but the trick is keeping it. Some post processing programs will remove it and the forum sometimes strips it off too. I think you have better luck uploading to your gallery and then adding the gallery photo to your post. Maybe someone else can give you more specifics on how not to lose it.

If you use Firefox browser, there is a plugin you can add to right click and see the exif on other people's photos when available. It's called FxIF.

Here's a read:
EXIF Data Explained | Photography Mad

Remove the lens cap...

Ok, I tried to upload these photos. As you can see, they are very dark

Looks to me the exposure compensation was used - it should be at "0" to me it looks like it's at - 1.7 or more. It's that little button with the +/- on the top of your camera close to the shutter button. Press it down and spin the main control wheel(might be the other on the D7100) and make sure it's at 0

pedroj said:

Remove the lens cap...

Click to expand...

Now that's real helpful isn't it? No wonder newbies have a problem here.

Exif data for the pic with the bird. Soz for the format but I didnt know how to put it into a text file

The pick with the rhinos exif info

Oh, sorry, I am not english. Exposure was set +1

These look simply under exposed. No exif data came through, but that is hit or miss. I'm thinking your camera would warn you in the viewfinder that exposure was not correct. (unless you had some compensation dialed in, but you said earlier you did not.)
What mode were these shot in? And did your meter say all was good? First shot looks like maybe you were in shutter priority because it looks sharp although under exposed. Second shot, maybe shutter priority also, but at too slow a speed for your lens. If this very same shot was made in P mode or aperture priority, I would expect an even more shaky shot, but well exposed.
If exposure compensation was not accidentally used, I suggest higher iso, whatever is needed to get a safe shutter speed for hand holding and also keep your exposure meter 'happy'.

The Metering on your camera is set to "Center"; you might do better with "Matrix" metering.

Also, Exposure Compensation has been set to "+1", set that to "0".

With lenses that long I would recommend you use "A"perture priority mode with Auto-ISO and a high minimum shutter speed (like 1/400 or so) as well, but that's up to you.

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Just saw your exif. +1 won't cause the problem. It would actually call for some over exposure, but the light for that to happen with your settings was not available, so you still got an underexposure. I don't know that 500mm lens, but even if it has vibration reduction, you risk a blurry shot at 1/400. I think higher iso is the answer.