11/01/2020 Need some help with my Canon 5Ds: I traded up to this Canon and after reading the manual and downloading the online manual I can not find what I am doing wrong. I have been...

CLF Loc: Raleigh, NC

I traded up to this Canon and after reading the manual and downloading the online manual I can not find what I am doing wrong. I have been shooting in manual mode for most of my experience with DSLRs. The mode is set to M. shutter speed at 1/400, F stop is set at F11, ISO on Auto but top limit is set to max of 800. When I process the photo (mainly crop and at times some color changes). When I process the photo and look at the settings via EXIF it states the shutter speed is 1/125, F stop 5.6 and ISO at 250. When I double check the settings on the camera it is still set as I stated above. What is allowing the camera to change all the settings to something other than I listed set via a manual mode? I have attached a photo I took yesterday.

Thank you for looking at this problem I am having,

Greg

(Download)

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Is Safety Shift active? Have you disabled Auto Lighting Optimizer in Manual?

If the camera went to a slower shutter (by 1 2/3 stop) and a wider aperture (by 2-stop), it felt your manual selection was way too dark. When you dialed the manual exposure, what did the meter tell you in the view finder, as in: was the meter positioned "at" or "left" or "right" of the 0-mark? Manual exposure is not just dialing-in the settings, but assessing how those settings correspond to the composition and available light, as communicated by the camera's meter.

CLF Loc: Raleigh, NC

CHG_CANON wrote:

Is Safety Shift active? Have you disabled Auto Lig... (show quote)

Paul, I was hoping you would see the post. Saftey Shift is OFF and Auto Lighting Optimizer is also OFF and it indicates and it indicates it is disabled in M or B modes.

Greg

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

CLF wrote:

Paul, I was hoping you would see the post. Saftey Shift is OFF and Auto Lighting Optimizer is also OFF and it indicates and it indicates it is disabled in M or B modes.

Greg

Then, it would seem you should get a rather underexposed image based on the manual settings vs the resulting settings, see comments about stops adjustment. So, the question about what the meter reads applies. I didn't download the 5Ds manual specifically to see if it has some unique 'override' setting, different from other 5D series EOS bodies.

Based on this image and your manual settings, the ISO would have to be allowed to go higher than ISO-0800, +3 2/3-stops over ISO-0800, a necessary ISO that is higher than this model's max ISO-6400 setting.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

Try shooting something similar as this shot, with your choice of settings, check exif, if diff from chosen settings, shift camera to those settings, then re-check exif. That might tell you something.

Also, shootin full manual, then check reading on the camera screen for readings. Same as set, or shifted as you explained?
?

CLF Loc: Raleigh, NC

CHG_CANON wrote:

Then, it would seem you should get a rather undere... (show quote)

Thank you, Paul. You are correct about the original settings would have generated a dark image. Thank you for giving me some areas to better understand. I will be reviewing the online manual.

Greg

CLF Loc: Raleigh, NC

DeanS wrote:

Try shooting something similar as this shot, with your choice of settings, check exif, if diff from chosen settings, shift camera to those settings, then re-check exif. That might tell you something.

Also, shootin full manual, then check reading on the camera screen for readings. Same as set, or shifted as you explained?
?

Dean, I did check to see what the settings were prior to and after the photo. They were as stated and never gave me a clue that they would change. I will keep looking and reading the manuals.

Greg

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

CLF wrote:

Thank you, Paul. You are correct about the original settings would have generated a dark image. Thank you for giving me some areas to better understand. I will be reviewing the online manual.

Greg

Safety Shift doesn't show up in the EXIF, but reading the impact on the min / max settings for ISO and Shutter speed, it would seem it was active? (pages 162-163 of the EOS 5Ds manual)

CLF Loc: Raleigh, NC

CHG_CANON wrote:

Safety Shift doesn't show up in the EXIF, but reading the impact on the min / max settings for ISO and Shutter speed, it would seem it was active? (pages 162-163 of the EOS 5Ds manual)

Paul, on pages 210 and 211 it explains what the camera will do to assure you get a good exposure. It also tells you what the camera is going to do to get the best exposure it can get. when I read this after I got the camera it did not make much sense. Now having experience as to what it would want to do I understand it and will give it a good effore try. It can not e tested until later today. Need to take care of dinner, etc for the wife and myself.

Greg

CLF Loc: Raleigh, NC

CLF wrote:

Paul, on pages 210 and 211 it explains what the camera will do to assure you get a good exposure. It also tells you what the camera is going to do to get the best exposure it can get. when I read this after I got the camera it did not make much sense. Now having experience as to what it would want to do I understand it and will give it a good effore try. It can not e tested until later today. Need to take care of dinner, etc for the wife and myself.

Greg

Paul and Dean, I now understand what the camera was intending to do and that it also tells you what it needs to do. Even when the mode is set to "M" it will change the settings to get the best photo it can get within the set parameters I have set. I upped the ISO to 3200 and left it on AUTO. The result was the ISO going up and an indication as to what is still required to capture a proper photo exposure which is what it was doing for me without my knowledge. Manuals are great and I do read them from cover to cover but experience is far more important to assist in understanding what the words are telling you. I have read so many times that you should try out all the different settings a camera will give you but that is almost impossible to do (way to many possible combinations}. Having available help like I recieved from both of you sure does offer a solution to the overload that can occur with a new camera body.

One more time, I thank you both.

Greg

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

CLF wrote:

Paul and Dean, I now understand what the camera wa... (show quote)

Glad it all came together.

steve49 Loc: massachusetts

Good you got it sorted.
These things are complicated computers these days really.

bweber Loc: Newton, MA

I continue to find it hard to understand people who want to use manual mode as if it makes them a more professional photographer. When you purchased the 5ds you purchased a sophisticated camera with many advanced features, for its time, including a very accurate matrix metering system. Why are you choosing to ignore this feature. I have owned Canon camera since 1968. My early camera's only had a match needle metering system that is similar to "manual mode". I now shoot with a 5dsr and and EOS R. I generally shoot aperture priority because I want to control the depth of field. I keep an eye on the shutter speed depending on the lens I am using, making sure it is not to slow. I may set the ISO to auto in changing light, but I set an outside limit of IO 1600. This works for me. I shoot manually with studio lights and sometimes with a flash. In the studio I use a hand held meter and generally read the light with the incident meter on.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

bweber wrote:

I continue to find it hard to understand people wh... (show quote)

Very well stated.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

steve49 wrote:

Good you got it sorted.
These things are complicated computers these days really.

"To err is human, but to really foul things up takes a computer!"