DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 

DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> rebel exposure
Pages:  
Showing posts 1 - 18 of 18, (reverse)
AuthorThread
 03/28/2004 11:37:08 AM · #1
I am having a hard time getting my exposure settings correct on this camera, I used the spot metering heavily on my old cam and rebel not having one I seem to not gauge it properly on the a/v button. Is there a rule of thumb I can follow? Heres an example
03/28/2004 11:41:34 AM · #2
can you post the EXIF info too?
 03/28/2004 11:46:40 AM · #3
exif on shot is
ap 7.1
1/400
iso 100
focal length-260mm
 03/28/2004 11:58:02 AM · #4
I was having the same problem because I always used
partial metering. What I do now is just before I take
the shot I hit the AE lock which uses partial metering.
It's like second nature to me now! I suggest giving it a whirl!
 03/28/2004 12:10:11 PM · #5
That exposure looks fine. The highlights are not lost.
 03/28/2004 12:16:28 PM · #6
However, I do agree with John, I don't really see a problem here.
03/28/2004 12:37:18 PM · #7
well thx guys, it feels very dark to me
 03/28/2004 12:41:14 PM · #8
Originally posted by ellamay:
well thx guys, it feels very dark to me


It is dark.

But since the highlights are intact and the dark areas still have good detail, you have a correct exposure. Any adjustment in this exposure to lighten up the image would probably disintegrate those highlights.

The lighting for this scene did not allow for a high detail exposure in the darker areas.
 03/28/2004 03:01:24 PM · #9
Originally posted by ellamay:
I used the spot metering heavily on my old cam and rebel not having one I seem to not gauge it properly on the a/v button.

The Digital Rebel has a 9% partial spot meter. All you have to do is zoom in so that the subject you want to meter (which should be 18% gray to meter it correctly) just fills the central imaging circle and get a "spot" exposure reading by pushing the AE-Lock button. This works as long as you're in one of the "creative" modes (P, Tv, Av, M, A-Dep).

Message edited by author 2004-03-28 15:06:22.
 03/28/2004 03:04:20 PM · #10
One of my favourite printers always says 'all the best photos are dark' - one of the things I try to keep in mind at all times.

E
 03/28/2004 03:56:02 PM · #11
eddy, thx that is the best explanation of how to work the spot function I have gotten so far...
thx everyone else too, makes sense ...back to the shooting range : )
 03/28/2004 04:30:57 PM · #12
i think the metering - even with partial metering uses the active focal point. so it may not be the center spot if one of the other ones is picking up focus.

been trying to figure that out myself, but can also kind of gauge how much compensation is needed based on the light to expose properly.
and tend to fall back on that instead

edit: i would agree, the photo is properly exposed

Message edited by author 2004-03-28 16:31:39.
 03/28/2004 10:02:53 PM · #13
To lighten up the photo, use the Levels function of any editing program and adjust the midtone slider to the left. This lightens the midtones without blowing the highlights, and definitely improves the photo. As others have mentioned, increasing the exposure to get the midtones right would have overexposed the highlights (e.g., on the back of the front duck and under the wing of the back duck).
 03/28/2004 10:11:00 PM · #14
I discovered while shooting today(by mistake) the button on the back of camera on the top right allows you tho change what you are 'spotting' on, I changed mine to be in the center and it seems to work like a spot meter in conjunction with the * button next to it... it seems to allow much more versatility and ease in 'choosing' what to meter on, maybe I am imaging that this works this way, if so please set me straight, I was very excitied I will post later with some that i took in this fashion.
 03/28/2004 10:12:25 PM · #15
I have a Rebel too and find that many of my outdoor shots end up too dark. Usually 1-3 - 2/3 stops to the left makes it look right to me.

I enabled the histogram for the preview screen. This is now almost all I look at after shooting - to ensure that there aren't any highlites (unless they are supposed to be there). I have no idea how I once managed without the histogram...
 03/28/2004 11:04:49 PM · #16
Originally posted by Are_62:
...I enabled the histogram for the preview screen. This is now almost all I look at after shooting - to ensure that there aren't any highlites (unless they are supposed to be there). I have no idea how I once managed without the histogram...


This is definitely the way to go with the D-Rebel or 10D. The LCD will fool you, it looks "too bright" when set to full intensity.

@ellamay: Your original exposure was dark, but as john pointed out not irrecoverably dark. The backlight produced a very high contrast image. My correction for this involved levels & the "shadow/highlight" tool in Photoshop CS. In levels, I slid the white point slider in, then ran shadow/highlight tool and adjusted the shadows portion to my taste.
Between using the histogram in preview and using the partial spot meter, you'll soon banish this problem to an occasional "oops!"
BTW, remember to spot meter on something that should be a midtone, e.g. the equivalent of 18% gray.
 04/06/2004 12:19:54 AM · #17
Originally posted by ellamay:
I discovered while shooting today(by mistake) the button on the back of camera on the top right allows you tho change what you are 'spotting' on, I changed mine to be in the center and it seems to work like a spot meter in conjunction with the * button next to it... it seems to allow much more versatility and ease in 'choosing' what to meter on, maybe I am imaging that this works this way, if so please set me straight, I was very excitied I will post later with some that i took in this fashion.


Lynn I think what you are describing is the Evaluative metering which uses the active AF point to set the exposure.

I'm not sure I understand Evaluative metering though. My understanding is that it uses the active AF point, but also considers all 35 zones.
I'm left wondering what the difference is between Evaluative metering achored on the center AF point, and Centerweighted average metering.
 04/06/2004 01:01:41 AM · #18
Center weighted average metering: Measures the entire image field emphasizing the center area

Evaluative metering: A separate reading is taken from all zones. Algorithms are then applied to determine the result. This mode generally produces better results than center weight average metering though in some instances will probably produce the same result.

Partial metering: Meters the 9% circle in the middle of the image. To use this like spot metering zoom in so the area you want to meter fills the circle.
Pages:  
Current Server Time: 09/03/2025 08:00:42 AM

Please log in or register to post to the forums.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 09/03/2025 08:00:42 AM EDT.