D300 underexposing in bright sunlight

When I shot in bright sunlight my D300 underexposes everything.
Since I shot RAW it is easy to correct the exposure but I would like to
know why this is happening. Indoor, shade or clody days come out fine.

Because your sensor wants to bring everything down to middle grey. If you were to shoot in a darkened room, you would find it would over expose things because it would want to come up to middle grey.

Try spot metering - get the main subject of the image in the middle - set your exposure, then focus and compose your shot afterwards.

Check your exposure settings in camera. It's definitely in your Custom Settings menu...I think it's b4.

Hi and welcome...Have you tried shooting in Matrix???

authorizeduser said:

When I shot in bright sunlight my D300 underexposes everything.
Since I shot RAW it is easy to correct the exposure but I would like to
know why this is happening. Indoor, shade or clody days come out fine.

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As a person who shoots event outdoors a lot. I can tell you that the camera metering and flash metering is crap and has not advanced at all, even since back since I was using F5's.

when youre shooting situation where there are dark objects with very bright backlight or even objects that are bright it will almost always underexpose. your best friend is the EC button. learn to use it. at times ive had to go from +2.3 stops to under -0.7. but like I said, the metering in the camera are just crap. when im shooting events outdoors, im constantly adjusting acording to the angle of the light, or if in shade (which usuely needs +) when theyre are a lot of bright and dark patches in the frame and they are small, it does it fine, but shoot two people in baclit situation where they are shot horizontal and tight, it will UE. I shoot matrix mostly, sometimes spot.
just garbage in every way. shooting outdoors is much more difficult than indoors. if you can master that, indoors is easy peazy

If today's digital shooters would only take the time and trouble to carry a grey card in their bags, this exposure problem would just not exist. Either take an incident light meter or a grey card to help you evaluate what the camera's meter is guessing for and from there, make your own decision.

youre absolutely right.

wait wait! priest/rabbi, stop the ceremony! dont put that ring on her finger yet, let me shoot a picture with a grey card first. and then let me shoot it at different angles so now I get my exposure properly.

C'mon... Shoot it once in direct sunlight, once backlit, once in shadow and then try to remember the "limits" you've found. After a while you should be able to eyeball it (at least that's what I hope will happen with my own efforts )

Our cameras metering systems are really incredible but this happens because they are being tricked by all of the extra light coming at them. We are still smarter than our cameras metering system, switch to manual or use your exposure compensation as said above. Grass is at 18% Grey and works great for setting an exposure. Put your camera in Manual. If you don't have a grey card handy but are outside point your lens at the grass and set your exposure. Than take the picture of your subject in the backlit situation. I almost always shoot manual as it creates consistency in my photos and simplifies editing. If you have no grey card, and no grass check your histogram and adjust accordingly while in Manual Mode. (Hope this helps!)

rocketman122 said:

When you're shooting situation where there are dark objects with very bright back-light or even objects that are bright it will almost always underexpose. Your best friend is the EC button. Learn to use it. at times I've had to go from +2.3 stops to under -0.7.

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As someone who shoots outdoors primarily as well, I wholeheartedly agree: The Exposure Compensation button is something you've GOT to get comfortable with. That... And your Histograms. Shooting in RAW is of huge benefit, but you've also got avoid blowing out your highlights and shadows because once they're blown out, there's no pulling them back. And the only way to know if you're blowing something out is to check your Histograms.

rocketman122 said:

... the metering in the camera are just crap.

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I agree Matrix metering is way too quick to underexpose, but then the metering tools are just that, tools; and you have to get over the fact Matrix metering is not the "Guaranteed Perfect Exposure 100% of the Time" setting. It's just not. Get to know your EC button, how to read and actually understand the histograms and you'll be fine in my experience.


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Horoscope Fish said:

As someone who shoots outdoors primarily as well, I wholeheartedly agree: The Exposure Compensation button is something you've GOT to get comfortable with. That... And your Histograms. Shooting in RAW is of huge benefit, but you've also got avoid blowing out your highlights and shadows because once they're blown out, there's no pulling them back. And the only way to know if you're blowing something out is to check your Histograms.



I agree Matrix metering is way too quick to underexpose, but then the metering tools are just that, tools; and you have to get over the fact Matrix metering is not the "Guaranteed Perfect Exposure 100% of the Time" setting. It's just not. Get to know your EC button, how to read and actually understand the histograms and you'll be fine in my experience.


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If you looked in the F5 brochure it spoke of the matrix 1005 COLOR pixels having 40-60000 different "actual" scenes in it and knows how to handle backlit and high key and low key. something like that. shooting with the D3 and D3s, nothing has changed. it underexposes when you put a bride with a white dress and overexposes a groom in a black tux. metering has not advanced since the F5/Sb28 time and till now. if they can make a camera do 10 fps, low noise till 20000 iso surely its about time to get the metering up to spec. nothing has advanced with it. the same from the F5 and till now. the F5 was great then but today not much better. I will same about the flash. specifically vertical shots with the flash rotated upwards. very bad. I try not to shoot vertical with high iso. its just pot luck.

I cant get this one to work

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