# Manual Mode and Exposure Meter



## Tish (Jan 31, 2011)

Hello  I just joined.  I hope my first question isn't too dumb :blushing: but I am a complete beginner and the Nikon D60 is my first SLR.  

I tried the manual mode to take some photos in the garden.  I set the apperture at f/5.6 and the shutter speed at 1/60 and an ISO of 100 but the photos were dark so I tried some different combinations and ISO settings.  Because it was an overcast day I tried to use a bigger aperture (f/4) to let light into the lens and various shutterspeeds and ISO.   

I tried to use the exposure meter but found it very difficult to get it to the centre point.  

Can anyone give some tips i.e. what manual settings would you use to take photos on an overcast day?

Thanks :thumbup:


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## puyjapin (Jan 31, 2011)

not without being there. assuming this is hand held you will need a reasonably fast shutter or there will be camera shake. also it depends what the meter is telling you as it may be in spot metering mode whereas a scene may be better in matrix mode. if it is a dark day you may be better on a tripod as you can use along shutter and lower iso etc. bear in mind when you set ur exposure it should be overexposed for bright things and under for dark things.


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## mwcfarms (Jan 31, 2011)

Try taking some shots in auto mode and see what those settings were and then trying that in manual. It might help some. Sometimes certain lenses such as kit lenses do poorly in low light on the settings you mentioned.  If you were to keep your largest aperature open and boost your iso till your meter balanced and you had a fast enough shutter speed to minimalize camera shake. Good luck.


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## KmH (Jan 31, 2011)

Which of the 3 metering modes was your D60 set to? Spot, Center-weighted, or Matrix? See pages 62 and 63 of your D60 Users Manual.


Assuming the meter indicators are still at the default with over exposure to the left of center and under exposure to the right:

If the meter is to the right of center (under-exposure) more light is needed to make a good exposure. More light can get into the camera - by increasing the ISO, a larger lens aperture, or a slower shutter speed or a combination of all 3.
If the meter is to the left of center (over-exposure) less light is needed. In that case lower the ISO, stop down the lens aperture, or use a faster shutter speed.
In the case of adjusting the setting to correct for under exposure:

increasing the ISO introduces more noise into the photo.
a larger lens aperture reduces the depth-of-field (more shallow), and if the lens is wide open focus may soften somewhat, and/or it may be difficult to get as much of the subject in focus as you would like.
A slower shutter speed makes it more likely subject motion blur or camera shake will be recorded.
In the case of adjusting the setting to correct for over exposure:

decreasing ISO minimizes image noise.
A smaller len aperture increases the depth-of-field (deeper), focus will likely start to soften at the smallest apertures because of diffraction, and with more of the scene in focus it may be difficult to isolate your subject focus wise.
A faster shutter speed makes it more likely to stop both subject motion and camera shake.


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## Tish (Jan 31, 2011)

Thank you for the advice.  I will  have another go.  :thumbup:


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## RockstarPhotography (Jan 31, 2011)

also remember there is a third thing that effects your exposure, and that is your iso.  The hight the iso, the better the sensor can read low light, but you will start to induce noise into the photo.


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## Patrice (Jan 31, 2011)

RockstarPhotography said:


> The <higher> iso, the better the sensor can read low light,




NOT TRUE.
The sensor will always react the same way given a constant amount of photons.




RockstarPhotography said:


> you will start to induce noise into the photo.



TRUE


Increasing the 'iso' does not change how the sensor reacts. What you are in fact doing is increasing the gain in the analogue to digital converter. Then, same as with an audio amplifier, when you increase the gain (volume) you also increase the noise in the signal. If you keep increasing the 'iso' to ever higher levels at some point the noise overwhelms the signal and the image become unusable.


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## Patrice (Jan 31, 2011)

Tish said:


> Thank you for the advice.  _I will  have another go. _ :thumbup:



That is the best attitude to learning.

Some one above suggested taking an exposure on 'auto everything' mode and then trying to replicate the settings in manual. Good advice. The settings selected by your camera can be viewed in image preview on the lcd screen or with an exif reader.

Then when you have set the settings exactly as the camera has, given the same amount of light available of course, change ONLY one of either the shutter speed or aperture and NOTICE the change. Do this for a few settings, above and a few settings below the camera auto ones, and you will very quickly learn what each variable changes and the reasons you might want to change the camera selected ones.

Have fun and keep learning.
Lifetime learning will keep you young.


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## Tish (Feb 1, 2011)

Taking a photo in auto, noting the settings and then experimenting from there is a great idea.  

All the advice has been very helpful so many thanks to you all.  I certainly have more idea now, just need to put it into practice.

I have only just found this forum - so glad I did :thumbup:


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