# Technically correct exposures on d7100



## SnappingShark (Jan 24, 2014)

OK, so as I've not been shooting, I've been post processing.

I've been working for a short while on getting "technically" correct exposures instead of going for the artsy exposures. Sufficed to say, a lot of shots are pretty straight forward and simple.

However, whenever I use my camera and its built in light meter, it always gets under exposed by 1 stop (according to software edits).
Is there a setting to say that when the exposure meter is "correct", then adjust it so it indicates 1 stop undexexposed so I can bump it up to get he CORRECT exposure?

Does this make sense? It's with every photo I've taken using technically correct exposure.


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## Tailgunner (Jan 24, 2014)

exposure compensate +1? 

I've noticed the same thing and just plus or minus one on the meter or exposure compensate +/-.


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## apaflo (Jan 24, 2014)

BrightByNature said:


> OK, so as I've not been shooting, I've been post processing.
> 
> I've been working for a short while on getting "technically" correct exposures instead of going for the artsy exposures. Sufficed to say, a lot of shots are pretty straight forward and simple.
> 
> ...



Use "Exposure Compensation".  Set it to +1 and see how close you get.  If that over exposes, set it  lower, say to +0.7 and try that.

Of course there is still a huge problem, because what is "right" for one scene will not be right for another.  With experience you'll get better at deciding when it needs more or less.  But there's nothing like measuring rather than trying to judge it.  Look at the histogram.  That's a measured result.  Combing the graphic display and the blinking display provides an extremely good indication of  how close you are.


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## SnappingShark (Jan 24, 2014)

OK, so I've not been into those settings before - or haven't played with them yet - is this something that can be set for eternity, or has to be done on a "every time I turn it on" basis?

I can't shoot for a couple of weeks, but am interested to know.

It's on every picture, every scene, it always needs to be adjusted!


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## Tailgunner (Jan 24, 2014)

BrightByNature said:


> OK, so I've not been into those settings before - or haven't played with them yet - is this something that can be set for eternity, or has to be done on a "every time I turn it on" basis?
> 
> I can't shoot for a couple of weeks, but am interested to know.
> 
> It's on every picture, every scene, it always needs to be adjusted!



The D7100 has a +/- button on top near the shutter button. This is to adjust exposure compensation. You just hold the button down and turn the forward dial (maybe the rear dial) to adjust the compensation...one direction for + and the other for - compensation. You can view the changes from the top LCD screen. Now this setting will remain the same even if you power down the camera. So keep that in mind with changes in your lighting.


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## ratssass (Jan 24, 2014)

...i seem to get the same results as BBN shooting in full manual.Both Lightroom 4,and PSP13 want to increase exposure.Most times I think they choose to overexpose.


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## SnappingShark (Jan 24, 2014)

sweet!!

Thanks!  I like the fact it lasts even through a power down! Thanks guys


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## apaflo (Jan 24, 2014)

BrightByNature said:


> OK, so I've not been into those settings before - or haven't played with them yet - is this something that can be set for eternity, or has to be done on a "every time I turn it on" basis?
> 
> I can't shoot for a couple of weeks, but am interested to know.
> 
> It's on every picture, every scene, it always needs to be adjusted!



Exposure Compensation is pretty much something you'd set for each shot, individually, if the most accuracy is your goal.

But realistically, in many cases you can set it and shoot away for awhile without needing to change.  

 All it does is "calibrate" the exposure meter.  A light meter assumes it is looking at an area that averages out to middle grey.  Different meters are calibrated differently.  For example any given meter might be calibrated for 12 percent reflectance, 14 percent, or 18 percent.  Then there is the distinction between using a "spot" meter, a center weighted meter, or one that averages your entire view.

Whatever it is, the ideal concept is that the meter will provide a reading that results in middle grey, or about 2.7 fstops lower than pure white.  Of course if you are shooting a black dog in a coal bin it won't be right, and a white bunny in a snow bank won't be right either!  So if you look at a scene, for example a nice winter scene that is mostly snow, you have to realize that the meter doesn't see it as all white, but rather as all middle grey.  To get white, adjust Exposure Compensation to +1 EV.  Other shots will be the opposite, and might need -1 EV (a raven with a dark forest in the background).

It's very much a judgement call, and experience counts.

But if you keep your camera set to show you a preview of each shot, and set the preview to show blinking highlights and an RGB histogram, you can check that to see very near to exactly what you are actually getting.  Use the camera as if it were an external light meter!  Just click the button and then check to see if changes are necessary.  Extra exposures don't cost a thing, so waste just as many as it takes to find out what works best for any given shot.

And if you are shooting something that is changing continuously, making it impossible to reshoot if it isn't right, set exposure to something conservatively underexposed.  You can easily pull the exposure up later.  But if anything gets overexposed (truly overexposed where the data is clipping), there is no way to get it back.  (Hmmm... sounds just like the camera defaults to about that and therefore your original complaint!)


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## Tailgunner (Jan 24, 2014)

apaflo said:


> And if you are shooting something that is changing continuously, making it impossible to reshoot if it isn't right, set exposure to something conservatively underexposed.  You can easily pull the exposure up later.  But if anything gets overexposed (truly overexposed where the data is clipping), there is no way to get it back.  (Hmmm... sounds just like the camera defaults to about that and therefore your original complaint!)



Good advice! 

I'll adjust my exposure compensate if my meter is way off but for the most part it only shoots slightly underexposed. I used to hate it but over time found it was easier to simply pull up the exposure in post processing on an underexposed photo vs trying to salvage an over exposed photo. And as stated above, clicking off a couple extra shots to double check exposure is free, so take advantage of it. I shoot a lot of sunrise or sunset type shots and the lighting is constantly changing...the last 10-15 changes really quick. So I'm also checking my settings and clicking off an extra shot or two to double check things. 

Anyhow, it takes some time to get used to your camera but it will eventually become second nature.


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## Derrel (Jan 24, 2014)

I would say that is the exposures you are getting with the lenses you are using and the way the camera is set up, and the way that YOU do your metering, that exposure compensation is NOT WHAT is needed, but something else. THat would be in the custom settings menu Custom Setting b5, *Fine Tune Optimal Exposure.

*This is a way to override the metering, and to "calibrate" or "offset" the metering system so it achieves the optimal exposure for YOU. This is entirely separate from exposure compensation. By adjusting the Fine Tune Optimal Exposure setting, you will in effect get the meter properly "zeroed in" to use to old expression; that way, you can then add + or - exposure compensation, and get the DESIRED results, along with having normalized +/- values.


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## ratssass (Jan 24, 2014)

Derrel said:


> I would say that is the exposures you are getting with the lenses you are using and the way the camera is set up, and the way that YOU do your metering, that exposure compensation is NOT WHAT is needed, but something else. THat would be in the custom settings menu Custom Setting b5, *Fine Tune Optimal Exposure.
> 
> *This is a way to override the metering, and to "calibrate" or "offset" the metering system so it achieves the optimal exposure for YOU. This is entirely separate from exposure compensation. By adjusting the Fine Tune Optimal Exposure setting, you will in effect get the meter properly "zeroed in" to use to old expression; that way, you can then add + or - exposure compensation, and get the DESIRED results, along with having normalized +/- values.



does this work in full manual?The reason I ask is,I've used the lightmeter app on my cell-phone,and it pretty much dials up what matches "0" on my in camera (d7000) meter.Then,as I said if I bring the file into either lightroom 4 or PSP13,those programs want to increase exposure.....JPEG or RAW...


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## Derrel (Jan 24, 2014)

ratssass said:


> Derrel said:
> 
> 
> > I would say that is the exposures you are getting with the lenses you are using and the way the camera is set up, and the way that YOU do your metering, that exposure compensation is NOT WHAT is needed, but something else. THat would be in the custom settings menu Custom Setting b5, *Fine Tune Optimal Exposure.
> ...



Yes sir, it does. It works in all metering modes. Lemme see if I can find an article on-line that will tell you more.

Okay, here's one.Nikon D7100 tips and tricks

And according to noted camera manual author David Busch, the Fine Tune Optimal Exposure setting will "*survive a two-button re-set*", AND it also does NOT show up, meaning is not "indicated" in the finder!!!

David Buschs Compact Field Guide for the Nikon® D7100 - David D. Busch - Google Books


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## ratssass (Jan 24, 2014)

cool...........thanks,Derrell


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## apaflo (Jan 24, 2014)

See page 236 of the D7100 manual.

"Fine-Tuning Exposure

Exposure fine-tuning is not affected by two-button resets.  Note that as the 
exposure compensation icon is not displayed, the only way to determine how much
exposure has been altered is to view the amount in the fine-tuning menu.  *Exposure
compensations (page 86) is preferred in most situations.*"  (Emphasis added.)

 This is not actually separate from Exposure Compensation, it is virtually the same thing and just hidded from view.  Note that it is adjusted in 1/6 stop increments, and over a range of plus or minus 1 stop.  The primary reason it is not recommended over EC is precisely because it is hidden, and unless it is set using far more precise means that most people have available it is in fact making the light meter inaccurate.  In that sense fine tuning is calibration and EC is a personal offset.  

With most precision equipment the calibration adjustments are hidden and the operator offsets are on the front panel.  Calibration techs adjust one, operators adjust the other.  I personally do not have equipment to calibrate a light meter,and see no point in adjusting the fine tuning.


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## TheLost (Jan 24, 2014)

Umm.. maybe its already been mentioned.. but.. What metering mode are you using on the camera?

'Matrix' - Takes the entire scene and tries to find the best balance between the light and dark areas.

'Center weighted' - Kind of does the same thing as Matrix but it only looks at the center area of the scene.

'Spot' - Sets the exposure based on the selected focus point.  

If i had to guess... i'd say your mostly shooting in Matrix mode and that's why your shots are a bit under exposed.   Matrix is a 'compromise' of the light and dark areas of your picture.

Your exposures would be correct from the get-go if you used 'spot' metering and select the target you want to expose properly.  They put Exposure-Lock on your camera for a reason.

Full disclosure..  I shoot 99% in Matrix mode 


Nikon | Imaging Products | Digital SLR Camera Basics | Metering


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## Derrel (Jan 24, 2014)

There is a reason that Fine Tune Optimal Exposure exists. It was designed as a feature for critical workers who wish to fine-tune the optimal exposure setting. There is a reason setting b5 SURVIVES the two-button re-set. There is a reason it does NOT show up via in-finder indicators, and is entirely separate from Exposure Compensation settings. There are reasons that cameras have spot, matrix, and center-weighted metering patterns.

When you're wrong about something, or you feel somebody has shown you up, don't make excuses... just accept the fact that Nikon itself has incorporated a fine-tuning mechanism into their cameras, and there are reasons it works exactly as it works.

Same thing with the way Nikon allows users to adjust the size of the metering sensitivity circle--allowing individual users to adjust their cameras in multiple ways is the way "advanced" equipment and "advanced workers" like things to be.


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## ratssass (Jan 24, 2014)

i'd say im probably 90% matrix,8%center,and on rare occasions,spot.All allegedly under-exposed according to software.....trust the light meter/camera meter or the software.Quite honestly,i put less stock in the software.


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## KmH (Jan 24, 2014)

The EC (Exposure Compensation) setting does not change when the camera is powered off.

The OP may discover they had at some point in the past inadvertently set -1 EV of EC that is causing the constant under exposure.
But, being consumer electronics it is entirely possible to get a camera that consistently shoots under exposed.
That's why the EC setting does not reset to 0 when the camera is powered off.

Also true is that since the camera light meter is calibrated based on the assumption normal scenes have an average reflectance equal to 12% to 18%, the camera will not accurately meter all scenes. The photographer has to apply some judgement as to if some +/- EC needs to be dialed in when a scene is more, or less, reflective than normal.
That's why the +/- EC button is right next to the shutter button too.

As mentioned, the metering mode used is a factor, and not all parts of a photo will be 'correctly' exposed regardless the metering mode and exposure settings used.

So what it boils down to is the photographer has to understand how the camera works and has to be familiar with all the controls and features the camera offers for making photographs.
Exposure Compensation is one of the more critical controls a photographer needs to be familiar with pretty much as soon as they get their camera.

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-metering.htm


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## apaflo (Jan 24, 2014)

ratssass said:


> i'd say im probably 90% matrix,8%center,and on rare occasions,spot.All allegedly under-exposed according to software.....trust the light meter/camera meter or the software.Quite honestly,i put less stock in the software.



 It's almost certain that your camera is very accurate...  and so is your software!  They are actually looking at two different things.

The camera is measuring light, and with that measurement you configure the camera for a specific *exposure*.  That produces a sensor signal that corresponds to some level of image brightness which also depends on all sorts of configuration options other than exposure.  Sensor data saved in a RAW file has been adjusted very little (ISO sensitivity is about the only configuration option that has been applied).  But when an image is generated with a RAW converter there are several other configuration options that will change the brightness of the image you eventually work on with an editor or see with a viewer.

 As a result it can be very difficult to judge from the RGB image data (which incidentally is what the camera's histogram is generated from, and it can be just as inaccurate).  It is possible to either over or under expose in terms of where the RAW data values are when adjusting by judging from the RGB values.  Usually the result makes the RGB look overexposed, but it can be the other way too.  The significance is that with default settings the camera probably does not clip highlights in the RAW data when that is not showing up in the JPEG generated histogram.

 This business of re-calibrating a light meter is a lot more complex than it initially appears.  Tweek the wrong parameter for the right reason and you may suffer consequences without realizing it.  But it is safe, particularly with newer cameras that have a dynamic range much higher than either a JPEG or print can  possibly display, to slightly under expose from 0 to -1 EV and then correct for it when adjusting gamma and brightness during the RAW conversion process (whether done in camera or as post processing).

Pick the right place to make adjustments, where the chances of it being a little wrong are less likely to be a serious error.  And to some degree that is why Nikon does not suggest using light meter fne tuning over Exposure Compensation.


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## ratssass (Jan 24, 2014)

...ok.Let me run this by you.In manual mode,there is no EC other than increasing to the plus side,through any combo of shutter,aperture or ISO,correct?That aside,is the software looking at the file globally,when it really only needs to compensate locally?


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## apaflo (Jan 24, 2014)

ratssass said:


> ...ok.Let me run this by you.In manual mode,there is no EC other than increasing to the plus side,through any combo of shutter,aperture or ISO,correct?That aside,is the software looking at the file globally,when it really only needs to compensate locally?



I don't understand what you are saying.  In manual exposure mode, EC works just like it does in other modes and can be set plus or minus.  It changes the light meter reading.  Because it is in manual mode it doesn't change shutter speed or aperture.  ISO will change automatically only if AutoISO is set to ON.

I'm also not sure what you mean by "globally" and "locally" in terms of the software's view.  Software looks at all or part of an image depending on how you configure the software.  Unless you purposely restrict what it looks at, it affects the entire image.


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## robbins.photo (Jan 24, 2014)

Derrel said:


> There is a reason that Fine Tune Optimal Exposure exists. It was designed as a feature for critical workers who wish to fine-tune the optimal exposure setting.



So wait, your assertion here is tha the reason Fine Tune Optimal exposure exists is for people who wish to fine tune the optimal exposure settings?

Derrel.. geez.  Where do you come up with this stuff.  Honestly.  Ok, have you got any Nikon white papers or some other form of proof?  Heck I'd even go with a note from your mom on this one!  Or is this just another one of those crazy put on your tinfoil hat consipracy theories?

Lol..


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## sk66 (Jan 24, 2014)

With my previous Nikons I always had a +.7 EC set as the default. With many Canons it was a -.5 EC. Don't know why exactly, just the way they were programmed as opposed to what I wanted. I could have set a global fine tune and reset EC to 0, but I never felt the need. My current Nikons are set to 0 by default w/o fine tune.

It may be that the cameras are offset towards slight underexposure by default... they are, the reported ISO is always higher than the actual sensitivity to light. This is done in order to protect the images from the harsh highlight clipping character of a digital sensor, and it may be done *more* in lower level cameras.

"Correct exposure" is based upon the REI, "recommended exposure index." This amounts to "whatever they feel like making it." Even in the days of film we would offset the ISO/ASA in order to get what we wanted from the camera as opposed to what they recommended.

The point is, if *you* feel the camera is always too dark, set the exposure higher however you feel like doing it. Neither the camera nor the software is "right," there is no such thing as "right." (but there *is* such a thing as completely blown out...)


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## ratssass (Jan 24, 2014)

...thank you all that took the time to give valuable input,and I apologize to the OP for hijacking the thread.Just realized I did that.I've always been happy with the exposure the in camera meter provides.Just thought it odd that 2 different programs want to expose it more.Lightroom 4,usually just a little,but PSP13 quite a bit.


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