D90 or any other Nikon question.

TJ K · Dec 30, 2008

Ok so in the view finder it shows the exposure display but does it tell you if the photo is going to be over/under exposed or does it just show you the exposure you set? I was reading my manual and it says " the electronic analog exposure display in the viewfinder shows whether the photograph would be under- or over- exposed at current settings."

Thank you to anyone who helps.
-TJ

TJ K · Jan 2, 2009

Anyone?

Kegger · Jan 2, 2009

That's what the meter on the bottom of the frame is for. Center in properly exposed, to the right is underexposed, and left is over exposed.

Easy_Target · Jan 2, 2009

I don't know how it is on a D90, but on my D50, there's a center vertical bar with a bit of space on both sides then a + on one side and a - on the other. If you have bars between the middle and one of those, it's either over or under exposed. no bars, means it's a proper exposure according to the meter.

Fishboy · Jan 2, 2009

What the above 2 posts have described goes for my D80 too.

Kendo · Jan 2, 2009

Kegger said:
That's what the meter on the bottom of the frame is for. Center in properly exposed, to the right is underexposed, and left is over exposed.

I thought that if it was to the right it would be overexposed and to the left it would be underexposed. Is it like the histogram? Or is it opposite of what I said?

dEARlEADER · Jan 2, 2009

Kendo said:
I thought that if it was to the right it would be overexposed and to the left it would be underexposed. Is it like the histogram? Or is it opposite of what I said?

I think Canon and Nikon viewfinder meters are reversed...

Nikon uses the better format. Even Phil Canon (president of Canon) confessed this...

Samanax · Jan 2, 2009

dEARlEADER said:
Even Phil Canon (president of Canon) confessed this...

"Phil Canon"? Who's that? President of Canon Worldwide is Tsuneji Uchida. President of Canon USA is Joe Adachi. President of Canon Canada is Kazuto "Kevin" Ogawa.

Or were you making a joke?

Kendo · Jan 2, 2009

Samanax said:
"Phil Canon"? Who's that? President of Canon Worldwide is Tsuneji Uchida. President of Canon USA is Joe Adachi. President of Canon Canada is Kazuto "Kevin" Ogawa.

Or were you making a joke?

After looking this info on Google, you are right. So the bars are different for exposure.

mrodgers · Jan 3, 2009

Interesting on the difference between Canon and Nikon (and probably most others that would be like the Nikon).

This is only in manual mode though, correct? In Av or Tv, that would be the exposure compensation? It is with mine (superzoom though, with EVF).

kyrio · Dec 26, 2010

on my d90, the exposure display is not 100% correct (However I do admit that white background might be a contributing factor)... is it my camera's issue?

sleist · Dec 27, 2010

Just want to add that you will only see it constantly in M.

In A or S, you will not see it if the camera is able to adjust shutter or aperture to achieve a proper exposure. If it can't, you will see the meter and it will blink along with the flash icon and ISO reading, indicating the ISO needs to be changed or flash activated to expose correctly.

HTH

KmH · Dec 27, 2010

kyrio said:
on my d90, the exposure display is not 100% correct (However I do admit that white background might be a contributing factor)... is it my camera's issue?

In which of the 3 metering modes? Spot? Center-weighted? Or Matrix?

In-camera light meters are calibrated to render the metered portion of the scene as 18% gray.

Vinny · Dec 27, 2010

Something that wasn't mentioned is that on a D90 (possibly others) you can reverse the meter.

OrionsByte · Dec 27, 2010

Vinny said:
Something that wasn't mentioned is that on a D90 (possibly others) you can reverse the meter.

It may seem counter-intuitive to think of left being overexposed and right being underexposed, but think of it this way:

In manual mode, you turn the rear command dial counter-clockwise (brushing your thumb from left to right) to choose a faster shutter speed, which decreases exposure. Turning the front command dial clockwise (brushing your finger from left to right) will select a smaller aperture, which also decreases exposure.

Therefore, if the meter thinks your shot is overexposed and displays to the left of center, you want to move it to the right. So moving either your thumb or forefinger from left to right will decrease exposure and move the meter towards the center.

(Put differently, whichever direction you move either your thumb or forefinger, that's the direction the meter will move as well.)

So from that perspective, it's way more intuitive than it might seem at first.