Canon 60D exposure setting

jwlz131 · Nov 3, 2015

Hi,

I'm still new to my camera and I'm finding that I'm having trouble with the exposure setting bar in the viewfinder. When used in the live view mode it works fine, however in the view finder once the bar is in the center to indicate correct exposure the photo comes out way to dark.

Please let me know how to fix!

thanks!~

JacaRanda · Nov 3, 2015

When that happens, what are the values for aperture, shutter speed and iso?

DarkShadow · Nov 3, 2015

Something that may help you here Why Your Camera's Meter gets Exposure Wrong - Digital Photography School

jwlz131 · Nov 4, 2015

Thanks for that article, however I don't think that is the issue. I think it has something to do with the actual meter on my camera since it works during live mode. It is happening regardless where my ISO, aperture, shutter speeds are. It happens indoors/outdoors etc. As an example here are a few pictures taken at the same time in place showing what the meter looks like in live mode vs. when live mode is not on.
1st picture is settings when NOT in live mode- notice where the meter is
2nd picture is what the photo looks like at those settings
3rd picture is the settings adjusted based on the live mode
4th picture is where the meter is located during live mode

Punisher911 · Nov 4, 2015

Try taking it off "evaluative meter" and try spot metering? Evaluative is probably the best overall meter mode, but not always the ideal one. Why your camera seems to meter differently between normal and live mode has me confused, but I'm no camera expert. However, I have noticed the meter on my 70D has "lied" to me a few times and given the same results as you have. So when we were working on that chapter in photography class, I started using live mode to get a more accurate first time result. In live mode, I could change settings on the fly and get a reasonably accurate preview in the lcd before I shot. A fellow student with me had the same issue, she just couldn't get a good shot when there was a large range between the highlights and shadows using her built in meter. So I suggested she used the live view mode as well and all went well for her.

jwlz131 · Nov 4, 2015

Thanks, I played with the evaluative meter and it still does not make any difference. My metering used to work fine, I haven't used my camera in about 2 years and I finally decided to get back into my hobby again and noticed this happening. Prior to using it this time around I never had any issues, so I feel like I may have done something with the settings without realizing.

JacaRanda · Nov 4, 2015

Are you covering the viewfinder when using LiveView?

Your shutter speed is significantly different in the two images. 1/200 is much faster than 1/10 and does not allow nearly the same amount of light in.

jwlz131 · Nov 4, 2015

I'm not doing anything different besides switching to live view. My meter is only working in live view, which is what I'm trying to fix. Please let me know if this has happened to anyone else and how to fix!

thanks!!

weepete · Nov 5, 2015

Weird. I'd probably try a hard reset of the camera.
Resetting Canon EOS 60D Digital SLR Camera

Punisher911 · Nov 5, 2015

I know this is not the answer you are looking for but.... Mind occasionally does that too. I ignore the meter if it's wrong and just make adjustments to my settings. After all, your camera is using a reflective light meter. As in it reads the light that is reflecting back to the camera from the subject. Not the most accurate metering method by any means. Even in the studio, we are using hand held incidental light meters. A bit more accurate, but still they are just merely recommendations for your camera settings. This is the digital era, you get an instant preview of the exposure in your LCD once you take the shot. Use your meter to get a start point for your settings, take a shot, then adjust from there. The only time the meter will actually control your camera and prevent quality exposures is if you are using Auto mode... So regardless if the meter tells you the shot will be under/overexposed, the actual result is what matters.... Last night in the studio, I was taking pictures of my guitar, a step stool, and a notepad that was on a black velvet background. Because of the dominant black backdrop, my in camera meter was predicting underexposed shots, but in actuality the shots were just fine.