Why have an extra dial for exposure compensation?
Apr 7, 2020 15:14:04 #
rond-photography wrote:
If you are set for Aperture priority and a fixed I... (show quote)
This is a great, straight forward explanation of EC's use and what it is from different starting settings.
When I use it: When we get into breaching whales you suddenly have a dark background (spruce and hemlock trees) and a dark whale surrounded by white, foamy water. My guests excitedly show me their breaching shots, and though I usually say "Good job" I am usually thinking "over exposure." When I shoot active whales I set my EC to under expose at least one full stop, sometimes more on a sunny day.
Spot metering is useless. By the time you do that the whale is long gone. Someone else here alluded too giving up control or not understanding what your camera is doing. That's so lame. Almost everyone on this site totally understands what their cameras are doing all the time. This is a site for photo geeks if ever there was one. I include myself in that. The EC is one of my favorite controls. I use it often and teach its use to most of the people on my photo tour.
As an aside, I'm sad right now. The whales are returning to Southeast Alaska right now but the cruise ships are not coming. We are not sure they will come at all this summer. This means no whale watching and no sharing our home with wonderful people from all over the world. We know many of the whales that come here every summer and to not see them every day is going tough. These are weird times.
...Cam
Apr 7, 2020 15:15:57 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
Your first 10,000 images are your worst. That's when you should learn about Exposure Compensation.
Good answer.
...Cam
Apr 7, 2020 15:48:15 #
amfoto1 wrote:
That's what Henri Cartier-Bresson told us. But he was shooting film with a Leica rangefinder and a 50mm lens.
With today's digital photography, it's your first 100,000 images that will be your worst... and some people never learn even after that!
With today's digital photography, it's your first 100,000 images that will be your worst... and some people never learn even after that!
He probably learned faster because his Leica did not have a meter and, of course, no exposure compensation dial.
Apr 7, 2020 15:49:06 #
selmslie wrote:
He probably learned faster because his Leica did not have a meter and, of course, no exposure compensation dial.
And I bet if he had them he would use them.
Apr 7, 2020 15:50:55 #
SuperflyTNT wrote:
And I bet if he had them he would use them.
No, they would have slowed him down. He would have missed all of his decisive moments screwing around with the controls.
Apr 7, 2020 15:56:25 #
kenArchi wrote:
Can you change exposure at ISO, Aperture or Speed?
Would that give better control knowing what you will get?
It seems confusing using Exposure Compensation.
Do you know what it is changing in your camera?
If it changes aperture, it will change depth of field. That might not be what I want.
So I see how confusing it is because I am not in control.
Am I being correct in this matter.
Or photographers don't care about the end result of their pictures.
Would that give better control knowing what you will get?
It seems confusing using Exposure Compensation.
Do you know what it is changing in your camera?
If it changes aperture, it will change depth of field. That might not be what I want.
So I see how confusing it is because I am not in control.
Am I being correct in this matter.
Or photographers don't care about the end result of their pictures.
Try photographing BIF without EC and you have a dark object against the sky.
Apr 7, 2020 16:00:29 #
selmslie wrote:
No, they would have slowed him down. He would have missed all of his decisive moments screwing around with the controls.
Maybe. Or maybe by being able to see those settings through the viewfinder he would have been able to capture even more excellent images.
Apr 7, 2020 16:10:39 #
SuperflyTNT wrote:
Maybe. Or maybe by being able to see those settings through the viewfinder he would have been able to capture even more excellent images.
It doesn't sound like you know anything about his photography or how he went about it.
He did not need in-camera metering because he understood how exposure and ISO really works, unlike many who think that their camera's can think for them.
Apr 7, 2020 16:17:39 #
rehess wrote:
I don’t think I’ve taken even 10K photos since I switched from film some thirteen years ago - I suppose I should check the total over that time someday.
For me, if you count "shutter activations", just about 1000 per year.
For me, if you count "unique photos", more like half as many.
Apr 7, 2020 16:22:57 #
selmslie wrote:
It doesn't sound like you know anything about his photography or how he went about it.
He did not need in-camera metering because he understood how exposure and ISO really works, unlike many who think that their camera's can think for them.
He did not need in-camera metering because he understood how exposure and ISO really works, unlike many who think that their camera's can think for them.
My first 35mm camera had a meter, but I had to manually move EV reading.
Every camera I have had since then has moved it automatically, saving me effort I spend on something the camera cannot do instead - composing the scene and/or deciding the moment was right. I do the thinking, and leave to the camera the work that can be automated.
Apr 7, 2020 16:53:56 #
selmslie wrote:
It doesn't sound like you know anything about his photography or how he went about it.
He did not need in-camera metering because he understood how exposure and ISO really works, unlike many who think that their camera's can think for them.
He did not need in-camera metering because he understood how exposure and ISO really works, unlike many who think that their camera's can think for them.
How quaint that you believe that because a photographer didn’t have the tools we have now that they wouldn’t have used them if they were available then. No I don’t think that my camera can think for me and I understand how exposure works, but I appreciate the capabilities of modern cameras and understand how they can make me a more efficient photographer.
Apr 7, 2020 17:05:27 #
kenArchi wrote:
Can you change exposure at ISO, Aperture or Speed?
Would that give better control knowing what you will get?
It seems confusing using Exposure Compensation.
Do you know what it is changing in your camera?
If it changes aperture, it will change depth of field. That might not be what I want.
So I see how confusing it is because I am not in control.
Am I being correct in this matter.
Or photographers don't care about the end result of their pictures.
Would that give better control knowing what you will get?
It seems confusing using Exposure Compensation.
Do you know what it is changing in your camera?
If it changes aperture, it will change depth of field. That might not be what I want.
So I see how confusing it is because I am not in control.
Am I being correct in this matter.
Or photographers don't care about the end result of their pictures.
If you don't know, you have never used it. Those of us who use it need it. Obviously you don't.
Apr 7, 2020 17:10:31 #
SuperflyTNT wrote:
How quaint that you believe that because a photographer didn’t have the tools we have now that they wouldn’t have used them if they were available then. No I don’t think that my camera can think for me and I understand how exposure works, but I appreciate the capabilities of modern cameras and understand how they can make me a more efficient photographer.
There are many of us who have them available today that don't use them all of the time because they can get in the way.
Auto exposure would have made no sense to any of the famous film photographers. It would have not been very useful to Ansel Adams or HCB.
Although it's convenient for some situations today it's hardly necessary. There are lots of other ways to get things right.
Apr 7, 2020 18:39:11 #
kenArchi wrote:
Can you change exposure at ISO, Aperture or Speed?
Would that give better control knowing what you will get?
It seems confusing using Exposure Compensation.
Do you know what it is changing in your camera?
If it changes aperture, it will change depth of field. That might not be what I want.
So I see how confusing it is because I am not in control.
Am I being correct in this matter.
Or photographers don't care about the end result of their pictures.
Would that give better control knowing what you will get?
It seems confusing using Exposure Compensation.
Do you know what it is changing in your camera?
If it changes aperture, it will change depth of field. That might not be what I want.
So I see how confusing it is because I am not in control.
Am I being correct in this matter.
Or photographers don't care about the end result of their pictures.
Exposure compensation is a valuable control when in aperture or shutter priority mode, for quickly adjusting the parameter that is variable. I use it all the time in aperture priority. I'm using mirrorless and so I can see areas that might be overexposed, and then just dial down the exposure until the highlights are in bounds. Or if I see that the image is too dark, I can dial up the exposure to get maximum dynamic range. I've put it on a thumbwheel so that I can instantly tailor exposure without taking the camera from my eye.
In a more general sense, one can set a certain amount of exposure compensation in full auto mode for extra insurance against overexposure, for example in high contrast situations with small areas of highlights. You might argue that setting this manually gives you more "control", but in real life, fast moving situations, there often is not time to do this.
Apr 7, 2020 19:07:46 #
Buy a mirrorless camera. Set it to aperture priority and you will work out just how effective this dial is.
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