Canon EOS20D-underexposing - DPChallenge Forums

09/28/2005 11:04:44 PM · #1

So many subjects here..a bit overwhelming.I hope this is the right place to ask...

My images are way underexposed.I purchased this camera in March. I returned to the store where I bought it and they told me the factory had not made the proper settings..so they set them for me..the cmaera worked for a very short while..It is necessary to go into photoshop and lighten each image before I can really see it. I have cleared the sittings many times now to no avail..I sent an image email to the store and they called me back and said there is nothing wrong with the image..it must be my monitor...well if it is my monitor then all images on my computer should be dark as well..?? yes??? I am wondering if there are any other owners out there experiencing this kind of problem with their 20 D??
thanks.

09/28/2005 11:06:41 PM · #2

can you post an unedited example?

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

09/28/2005 11:06:56 PM · #3

Can you upload some examples? And leave the EXIF data intact for us to see...

pianomom

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

09/28/2005 11:14:42 PM · #4

Try to post some pics. I just got my 20D & haven't noticed a problem like that.

Message edited by author 2005-09-28 23:15:21.

eschelar

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

09/28/2005 11:28:15 PM · #5

I wonder if the shop that you contacted merely reset the settings in your camera. It sounds to me like you might consider doing a firmware upgrade or reinstall. If they made some changes and your battery went dead and you didnt' use the camera for a few weeks, the secondary battery might have run out as well and upon the next power-up would have reverted to the firmware settings. Did you have to reset your camera time and date when your settings dropped off? How often do you change mode?

If the settings they changed were in mode only, the changes wouldn't stick past a battery change or possibly a full power-off.

The 20D has three power settings. Do you usually use the standby or the off setting?

The only way to really get an idea of underexposing that a stubborn shopkeeper might understand is to take the pictures IN SHOP with another similar camera beside it. Repairpeople require replication of problems to fix them.

Likewise, if you can post examples of full-sie pics, can you maybe provide another example of the same pic with another camera? One should be enough.

There are a few settings that exist outside of firmware that is a sensor correction map. This is a factory set sensor map that measures the innate differences between the efficiency of each pixel to gather light. That information should not be changeable except with factory equipment.

09/28/2005 11:41:43 PM · #6

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

can you post an unedited example?

as well as shutter and arperture of the shot from EXIF.

If using windows, EXIF can be found like this:

Also what program are you using to view your photos? They could be darker in your editing program (by the color profile choosen) and Windows could be bright and cheery.

09/28/2005 11:48:16 PM · #7

I am so new at this...please bear with me...I'm not sure how to respond to each of the responses posted here...let me see...Ok, it says I need to have a url for my image..I don't have one....the images are all on my computer?

09/29/2005 12:01:49 AM · #8

I am going to try to answer all of your questions here..I hope that is the way this is done...

I use Photoshop 7.0 for editing.
I don't recall having to reset anything myself when I took the camera back the first time..the camera tech just said the factory had failed to properly set the camera settings so he did it for me..so he said.
The camera worked fine for a short while then back to its old tricks..if I shoot outside the images are not quite as dark, but still not what I see when I look at the image monitor...exposures look great...but when I upload and view them it is whole different image.

Re:The 20D has three power settings. Do you usually use the standby or the off setting?
>>I am not sure I am following you here???

RE:Likewise, if you can post examples of full-sie pics, can you maybe provide another example of the same pic with another camera? One should be enough.

>>>>I'm sorry I don't know how to do this either )-; I could send them email?

I was going to send the camera to Canon myself, but I read some horror stories here about owners who did and Canon could not find their camera-so that is not going to happen...

I have an acquaintance who has this smae camera..maybe I should ask to borrow it and takes some shots and see what happens.......

09/29/2005 12:03:12 AM · #9

Jen I sent you a PM

09/29/2005 12:17:00 AM · #10

I'm so sorry.I am not familiar with a PM????

I put this up:
//home.earthlink.net/~fotoshtr/canontestshots.htm

Does this help at all?

thanks,
jen

09/29/2005 12:20:56 AM · #11

PM is a Private Message that will be sent to your email. I had my email address in there for you to send the pic to me to post, but you got a link so that is cool, you can delete the PM when you get it.

Clickable Link:
//home.earthlink.net/~fotoshtr/canontestshots.htm

09/29/2005 12:20:57 AM · #12

That looks like a decently exposed auto mode flash photo in my opinion...

09/29/2005 12:32:35 AM · #13

I agree with JM... exposure is decent, appears to be full auto mode with onboard flash. How do your outdoor pics look?

Here's the EXIF if it helps:

1/60sec f/4 ISO-400 @ 36mm

09/29/2005 12:33:37 AM · #14

That particular photo is not a good 'example' shot to determine over/underexposure problems. do an outdoor daytime shot and see what it looks like.

09/29/2005 12:34:29 AM · #15

RE:That looks like a decently exposed auto mode flash photo in my opinion...

This is SO frustrating to me...on my end there is very little detail the image is so dark.........

RE:PM is a Private Message that will be sent to your email. I had my email address in there for you to send the pic to me to post, but you got a link so that is cool, you can delete the PM when you get it

Oh, ok got-maybe I'll keep it for awhile in case I need to send a phot email....how does the image look to you?

thanks, jen

09/29/2005 12:39:37 AM · #16

I can see detail throughout the photo. You may indeed have a monitor calibration issue.

brianlh

Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi

09/29/2005 12:39:57 AM · #17

Originally posted by jenniferL:

RE:That looks like a decently exposed auto mode flash photo in my opinion...

This is SO frustrating to me...on my end there is very little detail the image is so dark.........

Perhaps your monitor is to blame? See if you can increase the contrast and turn up the brightness a bit.

dpdave

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

09/29/2005 12:42:21 AM · #18

I agree with that being a reasonably well exposed shot. I suspect the problem may be in your monitor or software. I think someone already mentioned checking the color profile.

09/29/2005 12:51:54 AM · #19

RE:I agree with that being a reasonably well exposed shot. I suspect the problem may be in your monitor or software. I think someone already mentioned checking the color profile.
RE:Perhaps your monitor is to blame? See if you can increase the contrast and turn up the brightness a bit.

I already went that route-someone else told me I needed a new monitor..so I went to look into that,but (hold on to your hats)the salesman talked me out of it..he said there is nothing wrong with my monitor unless all the images I see are dark-which they are not-I tried increasing the contrast and turning up the brightness a bit,and vice versa...it made no difference...sure is bugging me....it has to be something in my monitor- grrrrrrrr..when I look at the photo online it looks the same to me than it does on my computer..dark......If in fact it is a monitor calibration issue I don't know how to resolve it...I shoould go look at some of your pictures and see how they look..I am sure they will look fine....

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

09/29/2005 12:53:21 AM · #20

Quick test:

How many different bands (bars) do you see in this pic:

//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=237757

ttreit

Canon EOS-50D

09/29/2005 12:53:32 AM · #21

Get a print made and see what it looks like.

09/29/2005 12:58:25 AM · #22

RE:as well as shutter and arperture of the shot from EXIF.

If using windows, EXIF can be found like this:

I'm still working on this one....

I'm looking for outdoor pics that have not been lightened...
Ah I forgot...it was suggested to me that I take my card into a photo store and look at the images on their photo printer...I did that earlier this evening..they were even darker on that monitor than mine??

09/29/2005 01:01:34 AM · #23

RE:Get a print made and see what it looks like.

This was another thing someone suggested to me, as yet I have not done it..I will try to do that tomorrow........

thanks, jen

garrywhite2

Canon EOS-7D

09/29/2005 01:03:03 AM · #24

going out on a limb.

Since you are using photoshop, you should have the tools that will allow you to calibrate your monitor. You should be able to locate it in your Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Calibration folder of the drive which you installed photoshop. The tool, Adobe Gamma Control Panel Extension is easy to use especially if you use the wizard.