Lisa722

Try being "nice".

BebuLamar

I seriously think he wanted to give us a quiz! He is a guru!

jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419

In aperture mode, when you use the exposure compensation dial, you will see the shutter speed change accordingly. You can get exactly the same result in manual mode simply by directly change the shutter speed.

In shutter speed mode, you get the same effect with respect to changing the aperture in manual mode.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I have noticed that same thing "OP never responds" on quite a few posts lately (no one particular OP), many members respond, but the OP never comes back, at least not in my monitoring timeframe and I do get the email notifications of additional posts to subjects I've viewed or have some interest in...…. not sure what it means.

tommystrat Loc: Bigfork, Montana

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

I strongly disagree that it is unnecessary. I often shoot fully manual (not floating the ISO) and setting the EC enables me to take a spot meter reading of the area I want to get to 18% grey. If you have EC set in full manual mode the meter bar in the viewfinder and top display will show exactly how much over or under your desired exposure you are, and you can adjust any one of the three controls (Shutter/Aperture/ISO) to get the best combination for the particular shot. I think I pay more attention to EC when shooting full manual - I'm more likely to chimp and adjust when I am floating any of the factors.

So it may be unnecessary for some, but it's an intrinsic part of my manual shooting process.

Andy

PhotosBySteve

The main difference is, when using exposure compensation the camera must be set to one of the auto type modes and the camera will make all the decisions for you to create a proper exposure, depending on what type of exposure mode is set.
In full manual mode all decisions are made by the photographer. Either method may deliver the correct exposure provided they are done properly.

was_a_guru

OK, so I apologize if I violated convention by not replying immediately. I was asking a question not quizzing anyone. I usually get many responses to my questions over several days so wanted to wait until I've seen all of them. I also don't necessarily want to add to everyone's email load by just replying with just thanks. I would hope that that is somewhat assumed. So in advance I do find this forum very useful and have a great respect for all of you and your expertise, and thank you for your past and future responses.

My "guru" credentials are not in photography. I was in the data storage business for 40+ years designing and managing the design of HD & SSD drives.

BebuLamar

Thank you for answering my question. For practical purposes there would be no difference between the 2 ways of getting the exposure you want. Just a different ways of accomplishing the same thing.
As I said there is a slight difference with some cameras. For example if you have the camera on A mode and the aperture showing f/8 and 1/125 and you set the +1 EC it would then show f/8 and 1/60. You can switch the camera to M and set the same f/8 and 1/60 you would get the same exposure. Well on some camera when in A and it shows f/8 and 1/125 it may actually set for 1/130 and if you set the EC to +1 it will set the shutter speed to 1/65 instead of 1/60 although it would still show 1/60. However it's of no consequence because it wouldn't be more than 1/6 of a stop different.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

No worries! Ignore any remarks you find snarky, most people are just trying to help.

The only thing you need to remember is that the exposure compensation controls metering only - UNLESS you are in one of the automatic or semi-automatic exposure modes. In manual, it will show the preferred exposure, but won't actually change the settings, that's up to you. I find it useful if I'm shooting in conditions where I have to be careful of which of the three controls I use because I'm trying to control motion with shutter speed, depth of field with aperture, and minimize grain with ISO, all at the same time.

Andy

Andy

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

If you know what you are doing and you are in Manual mode when you speak of just changing aperture and/or shutter speed, then no, there's no difference.

Exposure compensation is a way to either add more exposure or reduce the exposure of the image when you are in one of the creative automatic modes such as aperture priority or shutter priority. So, if you are in Av or A (aperture priority) and you dial in -1 stop of EC (exposure compensation), you are in effect, increasing your shutter speed one stop, cutting down the light by that value in essence reducing the exposure 1 stop. If you go +1 stop of EC, your camera will again change the shutter speed to a longer duration by one full stop causing your image to brighten up by a stop.

If you are in Tv or S (shutter priority), and you dial in -1 EC, the camera will automatically change the aperture one stop by stopping it down by a stop therefore cutting the light by a stop and reducing the overall exposure by a stop and vise versa.

If you shoot M (manual), simply dial in your settings for the proper exposure paying attention to the exposure meter in your camera, and then you can decide to either change your shutter or aperture to do the same thing. Simply dial them in either direction to increase or reduce the exposure by paying attention to the cameras meter for a - or + exposure.

kdogg Loc: Gallipolis Ferry WV

Good to know, am just now getting to the task of establishing a decent backup system for my photos and music collection. When the time comes I hope to bend your ear.
By the way it took me awhile to get used to digital EC after coming from 50 yrs of film work. In those days we had match needle meters and it was easy to go +/- using fstop or shutter speed according to the situation as the ASA of the film you were using was constant, not like digital where the ISO (ASA) is variable. Seems simple but took me a long time to grasp it.

BebuLamar

Actually the true exposure compensation is the exposure slider in the RAW converter. This slider actually compensates for over or under exposure when you took the picture.

2666loco

Yes. Changing shutter speed and aperture together produces the same exposure. I use exposure compensation on my Nikon D700 (when I remember to do so) on a sunny day and underexpose by 1/3 stop to get more saturated color. I used to do it with film and it works in digital also.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Fix your ISO rather than having it float, and your meter dial becomes exactly the same as it was in film days. The scale shows how many stops over or under you are, but you can re-center the scale by setting EC. It's really easy to use in FULL Manual exactly because it mimics the old match needle behavior, only more precisely.

If the EC is turned on, it will correct to the over or underexposure setting automatically, depending on your settings, but as long as you have all three "locked", it's up to you whether you want to center the needle by adjusting aperture, shutter speed, or ISO. Once you get used to working this way, it's much easier (IMHO) than any film era match needle or auto setting.

Andy