D500 Exposure Meter

[HeldInTheMoment]

Anyone else have mild issues with the light meter in the D500? With indoor shoots, mostly with low light, I find the meter in the camera to be perfect or close to and the preview on the back looks good. Then when I go to post, I find myself bumping the exposure by a full stop!

Maybe calibrate it, or anyone else notice this?

 

[astroNikon]

At what ISOs?
I've had odd exposures where there is a high ISO when it shouldn't be.

Are you shooting in raw or jpeg ?
Examples?

 

[KmH]

Using what metering mode(s) and which exposure mode(s)?

DSLR light meters are calibrated for a 12% to 18% reflectivity and an average scene color gamut that is middle gray.

In low light, or a scene that is brighter than normal, DSLR meters get 'fooled' by the less/more than average scene reflectance.
When that happens the photographer has to add Exposure Compensation (EC) or adjust exposure post process.

Using a hand held light meter to measure incident light is a good way to determine how much EC one needs to add/subtract from what the in-the-camera light meter indicates as a 'zero' exposure.
The in-the-camera light meter can only measure reflected light.

Without a hand held light meter another way to ensure a good exposure is to use the camera's bracketing feature.

Understanding Camera Metering and Exposure
Understanding Digital Camera Histograms: Tones and Contrast

 

[Destin]

Anyone else have mild issues with the light meter in the D500? With indoor shoots, mostly with low light, I find the meter in the camera to be perfect or close to and the preview on the back looks good. Then when I go to post, I find myself bumping the exposure by a full stop!

Maybe calibrate it, or anyone else notice this?

Don't ever trust the preview on the back of the camera. You can use it for very rough too dark or too light calls, but it can easily be off by several full stops on any camera.

This is why they include histogram displays, spend some time reading up on them in the manual and learning how to read them.

 

[jcdeboever]

I had constant underexposure with my D7200 and the D3300 wasn't as bad but still there, that was one of those irritating things that I had on my list when I made the switch. If I bumped the EC, then I was adjusting clipped highlights, it was a catch 22 for me and it didn't matter what metering mode I was in. I did rent the D500 for a day and it was the same thing, hence the reason I didn't go that route. Sigma glass was even worse. The AF was way better on the D500.

 

[astroNikon]

btw, how bright or dim do you have your LCD set to ?
another reason to check the histogram. I use the one screen with Pic in top left, exposure info below and the histogram to the right when I initially check images.

 

[Derrel]

SNIP> and the preview on the back looks good. Then when I go to post, I find myself bumping the exposure by a full stop!

This sounds like you might be judging exposure by the camera's LCD image, and not by the camera's Histogram. This issue is not that uncommon, and results most of the time from the user having the camera LCD brightness set too high. The cure is to lower the camera's brightness level, so it matches the "real" image exposure, or to judge exposure in the field based on the histogram, and not the "picture" as seen on the LCD.

 

[HeldInTheMoment]

Thanks All! I know I really need to fine tune the LCD Screen for my liking; though, it really only happens in "Low Light" compared to Day Light or well lite rooms. I usually shoot at ISO 100-400 if possible, but rarely go above ISO 6400. I shoot in RAW+JPEG-Fine so with the JPEG's being displayed maybe the D500 is adding some corrections the RAW files don't have. In addition, I should check the Histogram more and double check Metering Modes. I was more so curious if others experience the same issues.

 

[adamhiram]

If you're shooting in low light, the LCD will make photo previews seem brighter than they are unless you dim it accordingly. I just leave mine at the default brightness and either trust the meter or check the histogram.

 

[HeldInTheMoment]

If you're shooting in low light, the LCD will make photo previews seem brighter than they are unless you dim it accordingly. I just leave mine at the default brightness and either trust the meter or check the histogram.

Boom! That's gotta be my issue then...thanks!