exposure comp on a cloudy day for wildlife.

[jaomul]

If you use auto wb also there is a second auto option. Wb doesn't effect exposure per se but the first normal auto renders cloudy a bit cold and makes it look drab and dull, the second one is better, or better still just adjust yourself to cloudy

 

[soufiej]

There are far more technically savvy members than I but I think you are going about this the wrong way. The camera is doing exactly as you have set it to do.

Your problem is not going to be solved by using exposure compensation IMO. No more than if you had placed a ND filter on your lens.

Exposure comp will change the entire scene which will simply make the subject darker when you are trying to even out the DR difference between the subject and the background.

Are you checking the histogram before you shoot? It will tell you when your exposure is "best" for each scene.

You camera is set to produce a silhouetted subject. You can meter the subject to achieve a more correct value for just that portion of the image but that will almost always blow out the sky. Your problem, IMO, is not the exposure but the quality of light you are shooting in. And in that situation, yes, you are going to have to learn just what the available light demands.

However, to have the subject properly exposed the subject is what you must meter.

 

[jaomul]

^^^
No disrespect intended as you are likely right in what you say for most instances, however it is said the d7200 had a tendency to underexpose in cloudy conditions so adding exp compensation is a fix

 

[dannylightning]

i just recently got the D7200 so i am still learning the camera, ill have to figure out how find the histogram..

most of the time my white balance looks great set to auto1 every now and again i get one that's a bit off.

i took a brush in lightroom and did some painting the water on some of my pie billed grebe shots, now the birds really stand out from the water, i even painted some nice vibrant blue looking water on some of them..

i am not sure how i wold have my camera set to give me a silhouette, my camera is set to tell me when i have a proper exposure. on a day with good lightning its usually dead on, but on cloudy days its not. i was reading some pro wildlife photographers guides to camera settings and they all mentioned using exposure compensation in these kinds of situations, i have used exposure comp before during good lighting and that is simple to get the hang of. but in these kinds of lightning conditions its a whole new ball game

 

[soufiej]

^^^
No disrespect intended as you are likely right in what you say for most instances, however it is said the d7200 had a tendency to underexpose in cloudy conditions so adding exp compensation is a fix

If that's the case with the op's camera, what does exposure compensation change on this camera?

The op has said his images turn out noisy. Would the camera be ramping up the ISO value when exposure comp is increased?

That would somewhat defeat the purpose of the increase if noise was an issue.

 

[jaomul]

When a photo is underexposed noise is always much more evident. By increasing exp to get a balance noise should be reduced

 

[dannylightning]

^^^
No disrespect intended as you are likely right in what you say for most instances, however it is said the d7200 had a tendency to underexpose in cloudy conditions so adding exp compensation is a fix

If that's the case with the op's camera, what does exposure compensation change on this camera?

The op has said his images turn out noisy. Would the camera be ramping up the ISO value when exposure comp is increased?

That would somewhat defeat the purpose of the increase if noise was an issue.

this is how exposure comp works... since i use auto ISO that will always change the ISO so the light meter bar reads dead center which should technically be a properly exposed image. if your not getting a properly exposed image when it shows the bar shows center, exposure compensation will increase or decrease the amount of exposure you get when the bar reads 0 so if i increase the exposure comp to +1 it will increase the exposure by one stop.

if i were not using the the auto iso i could just adjust the shutter speed, iso or aperture to increase or decrease the exposure, but if i do that with auto ISO turned on the camera will just automatically adjust the ISO to make the light meter bar read center again and give me the exact same exposure . the exposure comp kind of over rides that so i cant tell the camera if i need more or less exposure yet the light meter bar will still read 0 even though its giving me a stop more or less exposure.

in full manual mode you would never need to use exposure comp. but when all or any of these are set to a auto mode. aperture, shutter speed or ISO the camera is always going to give you what it thinks is proper exposure unless you over ride that with exposure comp when the cameras light meter is wrong for the type of lightning you are shooting in..

 

[soufiej]

When a photo is underexposed noise is always much more evident. By increasing exp to get a balance noise should be reduced

Well, yes, but only in the under exposed areas of the image, right? The blown out sky will show less noise because it is being eaten up by the loss of fine detail and is being exposed as pure white.

 

[soufiej]

this is how exposure comp works... since i use auto ISO that will always change the ISO so the light meter bar reads dead center which should technically be a properly exposed image. if your not getting a properly exposed image when it shows the bar shows center, exposure compensation will increase or decrease the amount of exposure you get when the bar reads 0 so if i increase the exposure comp to +1 it will increase the exposure by one stop.

No problem there. But the exposure compensation must come from one of the legs of the triangle. Right?

If exposure will increase by one stop, what changes when you set auto ISO?

You maintain the same aperture, right?

And you maintain the same shutter speed, correct?

What am I missing?

if i were not using the the auto iso i could just adjust the shutter speed, iso or aperture to increase or decrease the exposure, but if i do that with auto ISO turned on the camera will just automatically adjust the ISO to make the light meter bar read center again and give me the exact same exposure . the exposure comp kind of over rides that so i cant tell the camera if i need more or less exposure yet the light meter bar will still read 0 even though its giving me a stop more or less exposure.

So, you "can't" tell the camera you need more or less exposure? If the camera doesn't change ISO with exposure compensation, then it must change some other value within the triangle. It can split the difference between shutter and ISO but it must change one or more of the exposure triangle's values to achieve more or less exposure.

If the exposure changes, at least one of the three legs of the triangle must change. No?

So, my question still is, what changes when you adjust exposure compensation on your camera?



[Quote}in full manual mode you would never need to use exposure comp. but when all or any of these are set to a auto mode. aperture, shutter speed or ISO the camera is always going to give you what it thinks is proper exposure unless you over ride that with exposure comp when the cameras light meter is wrong for the type of lightning you are shooting in..[/QUOTE]


But the meter is not "wrong". It is reading the scene as you have set the system. By including the sky (background) in your metering, you have set the camera to capture a silhouette.

Change the metering method and the "proper exposure" values will change but that doesn't make the previous reading wrong. Only different because the metering method was different.

 

[dannylightning]

I used spot metering so it should meter what the focus point is on I would think, and since the ISO is the only thing set to change on my camera, when using the exposure comp it should be changing the ISO. I set up a max ISO, usually at 6400 so the ISO should never go above that.

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[soufiej]

I used spot metering so it should meter what the focus point is on I would think, and since the ISO is the only thing set to change on my camera, when using the exposure comp it should be changing the ISO. I set up a max ISO, usually at 6400 so the ISO should never go above that.

Sent from my XT1028 using Tapatalk

Obviously, I don't know your camera well enough to say. I shoot Canon so Nikon remains a mystery to me.

How tightly does your spot metering refine the system? On a camera such as the 7200, I would think not as tightly as the focus point. I don't know but, doesn't the 7200 have something a bazillion focus points?

As I understand the system, if you are reading from both the birds/limb and the sky, the meter will average out the difference just as if you were using a wider point.

I would say, for me at least, spot metering only on the birds in that shot would be rather tough.

What were you trying to spot meter?



So, the camera only alters ISO when changing exposure comp?

We know that for sure?

Again, I don't know your camera but, isn't 6400 a bit high if you're concerned about noise?

 

[jaomul]

When a photo is underexposed noise is always much more evident. By increasing exp to get a balance noise should be reduced

Well, yes, but only in the under exposed areas of the image, right? The blown out sky will show less noise because it is being eaten up by the loss of fine detail and is being exposed as pure white.

I am not talking about over exposing a shot here. I am not talking about blown out skies. The d7200 tends to underexpose in cloudy conditions. Adding approx 1 stop exp compensation goes a long way to remedy this. This does not blow out the sky, as without the exp comp the sky is generally underexposed.

 

[dannylightning]

I have it set to single focus point. And that point is directly on a birds head or if possible its eye when I am close enough, I am sure it dies see more light from other things though.

No 6400 does not add that much noise, set any higher than that it starts to get too noisy for my taste.

When looking at the photos info it still says it was f/8, 1/1000 and what ever ISO the camera decides to use so I do not know what else it could be changing except for the ISO when using exposure comp.

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[dannylightning]

This might answer your question about what happens when you use exposure compensation

I'm in full manual, the light bar read 0, I change it to + 1 with exposure comp and now the light bar tells me I'm a stop underexposed, so I have to change one of the settings myself to get the light bar to read 0 again. So its not changing anything but the reading on the light meter. Now with auto ISO turned on it should just crank up the ISO till the light bar reads 0 again after I change the exposure comp.

If the ISO is maxed out at 6400 and the light bar shows that I am under exposed after changing the exposure comp than I would need to use a longer shutter speed or wider aperture to get the light bar to read 0 again.

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[Braineack]

I'm in full manual, the light bar read 0, I change it to + 1 with exposure comp and now the light bar tells me I'm a stop underexposed, so I have to change one of the settings myself to get the light bar to read 0 again

yes. You only have three things you can adjust to change the exposure, and if you set lock them all down manually, what do you expect the camera to do?

If you're shooting in MANUAL mode, then using exp. comp. doesn't really make sense unless you are using auto-iso.

Otherwise just shoot a few stops underexposed and just recover the files in post. you need a lot of light for 1/1000sec and f/8.