bobgreen Loc: Maryland

I am currently in New Mexico traveling with my wife. I recently purchased a d7100 and practiced with it before I left. To hedge my bets, I an shooting in both RAW and JPEG. I typically have been shooting landscapes with several different lenses , all Nikon. Obviously, I have not processed any pictures. I normally shoot in aperture priority.

After I take my shots, and look at the pictures on the lcd screen, they consistently look over exposed. Enough so that I also take a duplicate shot using one of scene modes, something I prefer not to do. My white balance is set to daylight most of the time. I vary my ISO depending on the shutter speed desired vs aperture.

Am I doing something wrong or do RAW pics look this way on the screen? I wish I could send you a sample, but all data is still in camera. This is my first time shooting RAW.

whitewolfowner

You really cannot tell exposure fine tuning from the rear screen. Only the computer will let you know one way or another.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Unless your image is totally blown out (solid white) or the other extreme, solid black, you can always rescue it in post IF you shoot RAW.
Secondly, there's this little exposure compensation scale at the bottom of the viewfinder. Rotate the Main Command Dial (back top right) to bring the pointer into the center of the scale.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Turn on your highlight warning, and look at the histogram. That will tell you if your images are overexposed. You cannot judge exposure accurately from the preview screen.

If you are shooting raw and jpeg, you are "leaving money on the table", so to speak. In high contrast situations, correct exposures for jpeg will emphasize proper exposure for mid tones, sacrificing highlights and shadows. With raw, you can protect the highlights and use post processing to reveal shadow detail, much more and with better quality than can be recovered from a jpeg. You can also work on just the shadows to remove the extra noise and to add back contrast and detail that often is lost when you under expose dark areas.

The following three pictures are from the same raw capture. The first one has not been adjusted. I used settings that would protect the highlights in the cascading water in the center of the image. It would make a terrible final image, but it is correctly exposed, as you can see in the second image. Using adjustments in Lightroom, I was able to lift the dark shadows and bring them to a normal tone, while at the same time maintaining the detail in the water in the center of the image. Had I exposed for a nice looking jpeg, it might have looked like picture #3.

exposed to protect bright highlights in center of image

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adjusted for tone and contrast

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Revet Loc: Fairview Park, Ohio

I found this to be the case with my D3100 (Shooting Raw and viewing in Lightroom). I found that center weighted metering was a better fit for the D3100 as it rendered a more accurate exposure. This is not the case with my D7100 or D500 both of which are spot on with matrix metering in most cases.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

One word of warning, if you are using matrix do not expect consistent exposures with different subjects. Matrix metering tends to modify the exposure and nobody knows by how much. Spot or center weighted metering are better choices.
Look at the histogram after the exposure to make sure you got it right. My tendency with digital is to expose for an important highlight and compensate accordingly.
If you are shooting RAW for the first time I am going to say that you picked the wrong time, that is, when traveling.

Robert Bailey Loc: Canada

On my Nikon D7100 I discovered that the camera monitor shows the image at least one stop
brighter than it actually is. I lowered the camera monitor brightness by one stop so that it
is closer to the actual exposure.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Can you view them on a computer? That will give you a better idea of how they really look.

I don't know if it matters, but the D7100 doesn't seem to have a Daylight setting for WB. I always leave mine on auto. If I think the pictures are off a bit, it's easy enough to correct. You can download a D7100 manual to a phone or tablet. WB starts on page 89.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

If I am shooting slow (time to set up between shots) I peek, I always do. If my shot is off I use the exposure compensation to make adjustments and shoot again. This has been a common practice. I get very few PERFECT exposed shots IMHO. NO matter what camera or what lens their is always a little adjustments I like to make rather than do it later in post. My mantra is "get it right in the camera the first time". When I can that is.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

WB is not the same as exposure. FWIW, the daylight temperature for photographic purposes is 5500k which you can set. Check the manual for menu choice. It's a fairly easy tweak with raw in pp.
Neither a computer monitor nor the camera display will tell you much about exposure. Both can be set for brightness.
i would not depend on either one to determine exposure. The earlier instruction referencing the histogram is your best answer.

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

Do you look at your histogram at all?

rmm0605 Loc: Atlanta GA

This is pretty basic, but I forgot to do it! Check the exposure compensation button (+ main dial) to see if you are unwittingly adding exposure to your automatic setting. In my case I somehow had set a +3 on that dial and ALL my pictures were overexposed! Obviously! Set back to zero and all is well.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Bob, as they say, a picture is worth a 1000 words. Here's two, a SOOC and processed image of the same scene, from the same RAW file. The technique I use renders the in camera preview image completely useless for chimping. It also renders any histogram information useless, as well. Therefore, I don't rely on either when photographing.

Understand that the image you see on the back of the camera is a jpg rendered from the RAW data. There are a number of camera settings that do no affect the RAW data. Knowing your camera and then the associated processing techniques will enhance your photos and your enjoyment of taking/making them.
--Bob

SOOC

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Processed

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gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I use Program mode on my D7000 with no issues. You can change the aperture or shutter or ISO with the turn of a dial and the others follow suit.