EC Question: I believe that when a camera is in the aperture priority mode setting a + or - exposure compensation simply changes the shutter speed. And when it's in the shutter...

Lille Loc: Upstate, NY

I believe that when a camera is in the aperture priority mode setting a + or - exposure compensation simply changes the shutter speed. And when it's in the shutter priority mode changing the exposure compensation actually changes the aperture.

If that's true, as I think it is, why do I often see photos posted here that were shot in the manual mode and yet have a + or - exposure setting ? If shooting in the manual mode why would someone dial in a EC setting in lieu of simply changing the shutter or aperture ?

What am I missing ?

Thanks,

Lille

Bill_de Loc: US

Sometimes auto ISO may still be set.

Or, the photographer chooses to over or under expose compared to what the meter says is correct. Backlit subjects is a common example where you would want to give more light than the meter might indicate. The meter would indicate an overexposure, but your subjects face would be lit properly.

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Lille Loc: Upstate, NY

Bill_de wrote:

Sometimes auto ISO may still be set.

Or, the photographer chooses to over or under expose compared to what the meter says is correct. Backlit subjects is a common example where you would want to give more light than the meter might indicate. The meter would indicate an overexposure, but your subjects face would be lit properly.

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Thanks Bill,

But I still don't understand why a photographer would set a + or - EC when he/she could simply make that same change with the shutter setting or the aperture setting since he's adjusting those anyway.

I guess I need to sit and think about this a bit more.

Thanks

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

By changing in Manual you can get 1/2 Fstop increase / decrease . Changing ISO, speed or aperture would be a full Fstop unless you are good at maths on the run.

I think!
Manual is still guesswork to me

ricardo7 Loc: Washington, DC - Santiago, Chile

No, no, no. If you know what you are doing and you are shooting in Manual mode
and you want to deviate from the metered exposure you simply change the aperture
or shutter speed. You would leave the ISO alone assuming you set a particular ISO
for a reason.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Lille wrote:

Thanks Bill,

But I still don't understand why a photographer would set a + or - EC when he/she could simply make that same change with the shutter setting or the aperture setting since he's adjusting those anyway.

I guess I need to sit and think about this a bit more.

Thanks

Yes, it seems odd. If in manual mode what is EC actually doing?

Problem is it seems many cameras have even more modes and sub modes than they did just a few years ago that generalizations are meaningless unless everyone know the specific model under discussion. And that would be seldom here on the Hog. And most of use never even get around to trying every possible setting and menu item we have. Most of us use what works for us unless we are forced to try a new method. Makes sense.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

G Brown wrote:

By changing in Manual you can get 1/2 Fstop increase / decrease . Changing ISO, speed or aperture would be a full Fstop unless you are good at maths on the run.

I think!
Manual is still guesswork to me

Today most, if not all, current DSLRs allow you to modify shutter speed, aperture, and ISO in identical 1/3 stop increments

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

ricardo7 wrote:

No, no, no. If you know what you are doing and you are shooting in Manual mode
and you want to deviate from the metered exposure you simply change the aperture
or shutter speed. You would leave the ISO alone assuming you set a particular ISO
for a reason.

Yes, that is "Traditional" Manual Mode, but it seems some cameras deviate from that. How or why is not my idea.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Lille wrote:

Thanks Bill,

But I still don't understand why a photographer would set a + or - EC when he/she could simply make that same change with the shutter setting or the aperture setting since he's adjusting those anyway.

I guess I need to sit and think about this a bit more.

Thanks

Lille, I'm not sure what you're seeing, BUT, in manual my Canons won't shoot on EC, BUT, you can dial it in and it applies to a bracketed sequence.
So if you're on manual and don't trust your shot, you could shoot a series of bracketed shots and if you post either the plus or minus shot, it will show up in the exif with EC, but so should that it was set up on Bracket mode.
SS

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

With my Nikon if I use EC in manual mode the camera biases the meter. If I want a 2 stop over exposure the meter factors that in so when I "center the needle" I will get a 2 stop OE

PS; When in manual mode the Nikon will not alter the users aperture or shutter speed settings when using EC. It only tells you what those settings should be. It is still up to the user to make the final decision.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

lamiaceae wrote:

Yes, it seems odd. If in manual mode what is EC a... (show quote)

Only a few cameras, most notably recent Canons, allow EC in manual mode. In Canon's case, such as on my 7D Mark II, EC in manual mode requires Auto ISO to be set. EC then tweaks the Auto ISO up or down in 1/3 stops to modify the exposure without changing the shutter speed or aperture. Auto ISO will still automatically change as the lighting, shutter speed or aperture are changed but will continue to take the amount of compensation dialed-in into account when it does. I find it faster and more flexible than setting a specific ISO value.

JimRPhoto Loc: Raleigh NC

Hi Lille. For a long time I used to bracket. I would simply set my camera up to shoot at the settings I picked, and then do one + and one -. Sometimes a third stop, sometimes a half stop. Then I would pick the best picture, in my judgment. So if you saw photos I would have taken, some of them would have a + or a - something in the data accompanying the photo. Hope this helps. JimR

Lille Loc: Upstate, NY

lamiaceae wrote:

Yes, it seems odd. If in manual mode what is EC actually doing?
:

I have two cameras. On one of them, an Olympus, I can't change the EC in the manual mode at all !
On the other changing the EC in the manual mode seems to change only the shutter speed. In no case can I get the EC to change the ISO. ( Not that I'd want it to )

So much to learn !

Lille Loc: Upstate, NY

Brackets !!!

I'll bet that's what I see !

I often see a beautiful photo here on UHH ( Example : http://static.uglyhedgehog.com/upload/2017/10/17/768890-jlr1114.jpg ) that was shot in the manual mode with a + or - EC and I'll bet that's exactly what it is.... A bracketed shot.

Thanks everyone for your posts. Much appreciated.

Lille

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

I'm thinking in manual, EC does nothing.