Exposure compensation

[SabrinaO]

When would I use exposure compensation? I know EC is used to make a scene brighter or darker, but doesn't the fiddling with exposure triangle do that too? Is exposure compensation just a quick way to adjust the scene? What is the benefit of using EC? Wouldn't it be better to adjust the EC instead adjusting the ISO which would create noise at high speeds?

 

[quiddity]

when using some filters is one

 

[Trever1t]

You use EC when shooting in one of the semi-auto modes like Aperture or Speed priority to fine tune for the effect desired

 

[marmots]

what mode are you using?
exposure compensation doesn't work in manual

 

[Kerbouchard]

Well, a few things to clear up. There are only three things that effect your exposure, and that is the amount of light in the scene, your aperture, and your shutter speed. Since we can't always control the light, we can adjust shutter speed(which may lead to motion blur) or we can adjust aperture(which effects our depth of field). Now, we can also use ISO, which amplifies the signal that our sensor recieves which does introduce noise. Those are all choices we have in manual.

Exposure compensation doesn't work in manual. In automated modes, it will bias the meter to make it think a subject needs more or less exposure, which means:
in program mode, it may change aperture, shutter speed, or ISO
In shutter priority, it will change aperture if it can based on lens limitations
In aperture priority, it will change shutter speed possibly leading to motion blur.
If auto-ISO is enabled, it will generally change the shutter speed until it hits a low limit that you set and then start raising ISO.

In general, exposure compensation simply tells the camera meter to behave as if the scene was metered lower or higher than it actually reads it and the mode you are in determines how it reacts.

I don't use it very often since I rarely shoot outside of manual.

Now, flash exposure compensation is completely different and I use it quite often. It will influence the TTL metering from the flash to put out more or less power. Very handy and quick to adjust for changing conditions.

 

[SabrinaO]

i shoot in manual

 

[SabrinaO]

Well, a few things to clear up. There is only one thing that effects your exposure, and that is the amount of light in the scene, your aperture, and your shutter speed. Since we can't always control the light, we can adjust shutter speed(which may lead to motion blur) or we can adjust aperture(which effects our depth of field). Now, we can also use ISO, which amplifies the signal that our sensor recieves which does introduce noise. Those are all choices we have in manual.

Exposure compensation doesn't work in manual. In automated modes, it will bias the meter to make it think a subject needs more or less exposure, which means:
in program mode, it may change aperture, shutter speed, or ISO
In shutter priority, it will change aperture if it can based one lens limitations
In aperture priority, it will change shutter speed possibly leading to motion blur.
If auto-ISO is enabled, it will generally change the shutter speed until it hits a low limit that you set and then start raising ISO.

In general, exposure compensation simply tells the camera meter to behave as if the scene was metered lower or higher than it actually reads it and the mode you are in determines how it reacts.

I don't use it very often since I rarely shoot outside of manual.

Now, flash exposure compensation is completely different and I use it quite often. It will influence the TTL metering from the flash to put out more or less power. Very handy and quick to adjust for changing conditions.

Thank you! You are always so helpful! I shoot in manual too so thats probably why i couldn't find the reasoning in EC.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

EC does work in manual on Nikons. I just learned that.

 

[Kerbouchard]

EC does work in manual on Nikons. I just learned that.

EC does not change the exposure of a shot when in manual with any camera manufacturer...Nikons included.

However, for Nikon, it does bias the meter so that it will read plus or minus depending on the exposure compensation that is set, which could, indeed, lead somebody to improperly expose their shots.

 

[kundalini]

Didn't we have this discussion recently?

 

[Kerbouchard]

Didn't we have this discussion recently?

Have there been any thread topics on here in the last 6 months that haven't been discussed recently?

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Didn't we have this discussion recently?

Yeah, wasn't it you that pointed out how Nikon EC works to me?

 

[Kbarredo]

EC does work in manual on Nikons. I just learned that.

No all it does is screw you over when you forget its on and you end up over/under exposing your pics. I dont understand if it doesnt work on manual why do they still allow you to use it.

 

[Compaq]

EC is at the end of the day just the same as when you in manual mode decide to under/over expose your image. EC +1 stop is the same as over exposing your shot by 1 stop.
It's a very neat and convenient thing to be able to do in the half manual modes. However, it only changes shutter speed, that is, either choosing a faster or slower shutter speed and thus under/over exposing your final image.

 

[Big Mike]

This is a funny issue...where Canon & Nikon do it differently...and so you get different answers depending on who knows which system.

With Canon, you can use EC in any of the auto or priority modes. It adjusts the exposure away from the zero --0-- . It does this by changing one of the three exposure variables (if you are starting from zero compensation). It's fairly east to set & change, but when you switch into manual mode, the control that used to control EC, now controls the aperture or shutter speed. So there is no EC in manual mode.

Nikon, on the other hand, allows EC to be set in any mode, including manual. In manual mode, it isn't really changing any exposure settings, but it does off-set the meter. So if you wanted to shoot at +1 over the meter reading, you could adjust the EC down one stop, then in manual, adjust your exposure settings to get back to zero on the meter.
Seems silly if you ask me. If you want to expose at +1...why not just expose to +1?

Now, the thing that I see a lot in the classes I teach, is that someone has inadvertently set the EC without knowing it. So when they start learning how to control their exposure, their photos are not coming out right.

On both Nikon & Canon, there is an icon that appears when you have EC set, so learn to recognize that.