Dellis51 Loc: Linn County Ks

I have a new (to me) Nikon D850. I shoot birds mostly and I like auto ISO for the speed of gives me in adjustment. Even though the exposure indicator is balanced, my pictures mostly come out over exposed, which I have to fix later. Any ideas? I am using single point for focus - not sure that matters

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Single point AF could be an issue, if you're spot metering too and that AF isn't where it should be.

But, the single best way to get help on this issue is to post and store an unedited JPEG example so that original EXIF is included. The community likely can see from the image and EXIF data, the source of your issue.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Paul has given you good counsel.

In addition, I'm not a fan of the "green dot reset," but the exception is when one buys a used camera like the D850. Setup choices are so flexible that there's no way to predict what weird configurations the previous owner had dialed into the camera.

Check also to make sure there's no Exposure Compensation set up.

You don't say what metering mode you use, but in my experience, Spot Metering can be a real risk when shooting any kind of moving subject. It's just really easy to move the spot somewhere inappropriate, especially if you are trying to "lead" or "lag" your subject. You might try using Center Weighted metering instead.

BebuLamar

If the camera is new to you. Check it out carefully and make sure everything working as it should.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Yes, sounds like a metering mode problem. It would help if the OP could post an example or at least tell us if it's the sky or the subjects that are overexposed.

Capn_Dave

My first thought is Exposure Compensation is set too high. I too would like for you to do as Paul said

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

If your shooting birds in flight I strongly suggest you switch your focusing system to GROUP AUTO FOCUS. This will give you four dots that are visible in the viewfinder, if any part of the bird is within these four dots, your bird will be in sharp focus.
If your shooting in auto ISO your EC dial is active, if it is on the + side, your images will be overexposed regardless of what your exposure indicator is showing. (this is the advantage of a mirrorless as it will show you in the viewfinder that your image is over exposed)
As far as fixing it later, overexposed shots will loose a lot of detail no matter what you do in post, it is far better to underexpose slightly than overexpose.
So, check your EC dial and make sure it is at 0.
Good luck and keep on shooting until the end.
PS. I always used to use matrix metering on birds in flight against a background and not a bird in the sky. For birds in the sky I use manual metering, I meter a green tree in the background, this will give me a very accurate as green tree reflect 18% of the light just like a gray card, I keep this exposure for the bird in the air, you cannot miss. . And group auto focus for my focusing system. Below is a shot taken with this system with a Nikon D850 and 500mm PF 5.6 lens.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Dellis51 - until you provide an example of your specific problem, your post will just begin to attract image litter, such as above, where your request for help / understanding will be lost in discussion of other images and unrelated topics.

scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL

A light colored bird against a dark background will almost always be overexposed unless you have -EC, often 2 stops.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

If it uses the bird for exposure calculation then it will be the opposite. It will try to make the subject middle grey.

The OP should first test the camera on a white card or a grey card in known lighting such as Sunny 16. Eliminate the east stuff first.

Dellis51 Loc: Linn County Ks

Here is the file. Do you need further info? Thanks for your help.

(Download)

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Great. Now people 'see' what you're saying. I did pull the EXIF quickly, and the file reports 'PaintShopPro' as the software. What was the original file format, JPEG or RAW? Do you have a JPEG directly from the camera? The original camera / lens info has been lost from the file, such as what lens, such as what metering mode, such as where the AF fell and what AF mode.

What we can see from the image and the EXIF, is some exposure and focusing opportunities:

1, The exposure mode reports manual and an aperture of f/16 at 1/1000 sec. You definitely want to avoid such small apertures, maybe staying within the f/5.6 to f/11 range, although we'd need to know what lens model. For this 'hunting' (aka static bird), you don't need to be that fast, say going with 1/500 sec instead.

2, Get an AF point on the bird's eye. I know this is just an example to show an issue, but the bird in the center of the frame is not in sharp focus.

3, Get closer to the subject to better fill the frame, even with a 46MP D850. Although, these pixels seem to offer a deep crop to fill the screen with the bird, but only if the bird is in focus.

4, Seek shooting situations where the light comes from behind you, lighting the subject in front of you, especially for a dark subject against a bright background.

scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL

What were you exposing for? The bird is too small to affect the exposure. What exposure mode did you have set on your camera?

Dellis51 Loc: Linn County Ks

EC: 0.0 iso 6400, 1/1000, f16

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

These parameters show how you forced the camera to a high ISO, completely unnecessarily for the actual conditions. I have provided some other observations and actionable tips, above. With a full read-out of the original EXIF, more actionable ideas would be revealed for the human to take better control of the situation.