HELP! Exposure problem on D90

[Destin]

Ok now that thats been ansered I can ask (didn't want to hijack the thread)
biases the in camera exposure meter? does it change the image exp at all? according to the manuel which is a little ambiguous, the aperature and shutter speed would not change? so bottom line...does exposure compensation have any effect on an image in manuel? and if so what is happening to do so?

To my knowledge, exposure compensation doesn't change anything when your shooting in manual exposure mode.

But then I've never tried, because it would be rather pointless. If your in manual mode, you want full control, so why would you use EC instead of just changing SS/Aperture/iso?

I just checked it on my D7000 and KMH's bolded statement is correct. The indicated "correct exposure" on the light meter already includes the EC.

So for example if you set your EC to overexpose 3 stops, when you dial in the "correct exposure" on the light meter on MANUAL mode, it will be 3 stops overexposed.

Wow that could actually be useful in certain situations. Nothing that you couldn't do by just setting the exposure up/down a few stops on the meter, but it is good to know.