This is probably a stupid question but here goes...

[BJPhotography]

Is the Exposure meter the same as the Light meter? I ask because I cant seem to figure out how to read my light meter and Im reading stuff on line that refers to it as such but my manual says its an exposure meter.

What I was trying to do was go into a well-lit room and set my camera to F8 and ISO at 200. I want to set my shutter speed according to what my light/exposure meter says but it just keeps saying that Im overexposed by more than 2 stops. It wont change. Ive gone all the way up and all the way down on my shutter speed and it wont change. I cant get it to 0. What am I doing wrong?

Im still new so its probably something stupid but its frustrating me.

 

[480sparky]

What mode are you shooting in?

 

[BJPhotography]

manual

 

[480sparky]

So your ISO never changes from 200 and the aperture is always 8...........

If that's the case, you need only to change the shutter so the meter is centered between the + and - (0).

Is the shutter speed actually changing when you adjust it? Assuming you haven't reprogrammed the default settings, you should be turning the rear wheel.

 

[Derrel]

Perhaps you have the Exposure Compensation control left set to the ON position, with a value of MORE THAN + 2 stops programmed into it. This control is almost universally marked by the symbols of +/- (ie, Plus and Minus).

 

[Paul D. Van Hoy II]

At ISO 200 and f/8 in a decently lit room - you should be able to achieve "normal" exposure at around 1/25th to 1/60th of a second for your exposure.

I'm a bit confused why your exposure meter won't level out, but keep taking test shots to find your correct or desired exposure. Your camera may be programmed to over or underexpose by two stops, regardless of your selected exposure setting, and if this is the case, you need to go back and reset the exposure bracket setting to 0.

Paul

Toronto Wedding Photographer

 

[KmH]

Is the Exposure meter the same as the Light meter? I ask because I cant seem to figure out how to read my light meter and Im reading stuff on line that refers to it as such but my manual says its an exposure meter.

Yes, the exposure meter is the same as the light meter.

An in-camera meter can only measure reflected light. Hand held meters can also measure reflected light, but hand held meters have the advantage of also measuring incident and strobed light.

Your D7000 has 3 metering modes:

1. Spot metering, which only samples about 2% of the scene in the viewfinder. The part of the scene it meters is concurent with the selected focus point.
2. Center weighted metering, which looks at the entire scene but puts more emphasis on the central part of the scene. You can set how much of the central part of the scene in the metering menus.
3. Matrix metering, which averages the reflected light in the entire scene.

 

[480sparky]

Possibly you're in Bracket mode as well.

 

[BJPhotography]

I do know Im in Matrix metering. Its also set to two stops over or under (I cant remember now) where its supposed to be. I have to read the manual to figure out how to set that to 0. Not sure why its default isnt 0 to begin with. I will check the bracket. I did end up getting it to expose correctly after changing those few things. Thanks guys.

 

[Robin Usagani]

If you are over exposed or underexposed by more than 2 stops, it will only show +2 or -2. It is actually more or less than that!

 

[BJPhotography]

It was showing that I was underexposed by more than 2 stops. But I think thats because of that setting that I had to change.

 

[o hey tyler]

You should know how this works. You were telling me that the image processor was what was helping you get "sharp" images the other day. Weren't you?

 

[480sparky]

If you're shooting in manual, there's no way it can default to 0. All the controls are up to you. You must set the ISO, the shutter and the aperture.

Is every image you take underexposed by exactly two stops?

 

[KmH]

You need to read your D7000 users manual a few more times.

Exposure compensation is adjusted by holding down the +- button near the shutter release and turning the rear command wheel to change the setting.

In manual mode setting EC to a value other than zero biases the light meter.

 

[480sparky]

It would be nice if you told us how you corrected the problem instead of leaving us still guessing.