Nikon is underexposing

KAikens318 · Nov 26, 2009

So I am having some sever exposure issues with my Nikon and I am trying to figure out what is going on. I had my aperture at 5.3, a shutter speed of 1/40 and ISO of 800 and it is still coming out underexposed, it was not a low light situation either. This has been happening all day. I checked the exposure compensation and it's set at 0, but even if I change it one way or the other it still doesn't help the exposure. Not sure what is going on but I really want the proper exposure on my pics!!!!

Josh66 · Nov 26, 2009

What is your meter telling you?

Post some sample pics.

Those settings are meaningless to us without seeing the pictures.

Josh66 · Nov 26, 2009

Also, what metering mode are you using?

Knowing how the various metering modes work and knowing when to use what, along with understanding what the meter is showing you is all you need for proper exposure.

If you have all of that covered and are still having problems, it might be a hardware problem. I would think that would be highly unlikely these days though.

KmH · Nov 26, 2009

It helps if we know what model Nikon also.

Setting, and finding, exposure compensation on a D60 is very different than setting it on a D90. (ask me how I know)

Phranquey · Nov 26, 2009

KAikens318 said:
So I am having some sever exposure issues with my Nikon and I am trying to figure out what is going on. I had my aperture at 5.3, a shutter speed of 1/40 and ISO of 800 and it is still coming out underexposed, it was not a low light situation either. This has been happening all day. I checked the exposure compensation and it's set at 0, but even if I change it one way or the other it still doesn't help the exposure. Not sure what is going on but I really want the proper exposure on my pics!!!!

I'm assuming from your statement that you are shooting in manual mode...

Have you tried the camera in other modes (Program, Aperture or Shutter priority)? If it is getting incorrect exposures in other modes, then there may be a problem with the camera, but right now I'm more inclined to believe operator error.