Nikon D80 - permanent exposure compensation?

Mark.A

Mark.A

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I've read in a few places that some users find they need to add a permanent exposure compensation to compensate for the overexposure tendency of the D80. Have you found this to be the case or not?

I've tried using it with -0.3 dialled in and -0.7 and even -1.0 but the results so far seem underexposed to me even with just -0.3? :shrug: The exposure metering seems pretty good as it is to me. :thinking:
 
I didn't use the ec with my D80, I did, however, find shooting at 200 iso made all the difference, so that's what I did
 
Shooting at an ISO of 200 made all the difference to what? Sorry not with you.
 
I have noticed blown highlights do appear in high contrast scenes with bright light but surely thats just that the scene has too much dynamic range for the camera to capture and so it presumes you want the middle range within the image? In these cases you can either expose for the highlights by adding exposure compensation or bracket the exposure. You can then use HDR or tone mapping in PP to keep detail in the highlights/shadows.

In average or low contrast scenes the exposure seems to be about spot on to me.
 
Sounds like it might be a problem with just some D80's then, as I can't see this with mine.
 
Different manufacturers have different ideas on "helping" (or not) the photographer, Pentax are the other way & it's common for users to dial
in +0.7EV as underexposure seems to be "programmed in"

simon
 
I'll keep an eye out for it still but haven't noticed it particularly just yet anyway.
 
Mark.A said:
Because others seem to have it. :thinking:
Click to expand...

Other people have headaches and bad backs. You may have these problems one day, but you don't go looking for them.

If your exposures seem fine at metered speeds, be glad, and don't worry about it. The more you wish it on yourself, the more likely it is to happen.
 
I've been looking at this some more and I think that the people who are complaining about the D80 over exposing may just not be using the metering as it's meant to be used? The D80 when in pattern metering mode does give more of a bias to the selected focus point than other cameras do, so if the focus point selected is over a medium to dark tone within the image then the medium to dark tones are the main areas where the D80 is going to aim to get good exposure. If the image happens to have a bright sky or other bright point in it then that is going to be blown out.

If you had placed the focus point over the bright part and used AE-lock then recomposed and shot the image the bright part would be the area that the D80 considered most for good exposure, so you'd get the bright part properly exposed and the medium and dark tones would be darker.

As an example here are two snaps I just took of tree branches against the sky. Both shots were taken in AP mode with an ISO of 100 using pattern metering mode. No +/-EV was used in either shot.

This first shot was composed as is and the focus point was on the branches at the top right rule of thirds point.

DSC1617.jpg


As you can see the image is fairly over exposed in general, the sky is blown, etc.

This second image had nothing changed on the camera, all I did was move the camera so the selected focus point was over the large area of sky and used AE-lock, then I recomposed and took the shot.

DSC1621.jpg


As you can see the image is properly exposed, the sky is now exposed correctly and the branches are dark, as they should be.

The over exposure in the first image wasn't down to the D80 being prone to over exposure but to the fact that the D80 gives a bias to the selected focus point when metering. The pattern metering on the D80 is more like centre weighted metering but it bases the exposure bias on whichever focus point you have selected instead of the centre. So long as you are aware of that and use AE-lock where necessary then there's no need to add a permanent +/-EV. That's what I've found anyway.
 
I've no idea so couldn't comment on that, lol. Just pointing out what I've found myself. ;)

Does anyone think the second image is over exposed? That was taken with no exposure compensation. :shrug:
 
I believe Ken Rockwell also states that you should permanently dial in -0.7. I've done that for a week or so but ultimately I find I have to do it on a per shot basis because it doesn't really solve everything.
 
I believe Ken Rockwell also states that you should permanently dial in -0.7
Click to expand...
IMO, there's one more reason not to believe it. :lol:

I've found quite a lot that Ken says to be wrong so I don't take his word for anything any more. ;)
 
Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum so here's my first reply/post.

I have tried dialling in -7 to -1 for exposure with mixed results. However I have recently began to experiment with exposure lock in conjunction with D-Lighting.

Basically (for outdoor shots) my cam is set to lock the exposure for the sky and then I recompose my shot. This I do for High contrast shots when I know its more than likely the cam will correctly expose the darker sections of the image and completely blow any highlights, i.e. Sky etc.

Having done this I review the image and then apply the desired amount of D-Lighting to bring out any underexposed sections.

This may seem a little heavy handed, but my first attempts have produced some acceptable results. Can I also say that i'm a jpeg shooter first and foremost and therefore spending any time at my laptop is to be avoided at all costs! :)

Also I shoot aperture, shutter or manual (never auto) and have set my sharpness to +2 with everything else set to default.
 
Nikon has had a bit of a tendancy to meter on the hot side since the D80.

D100 - underexposed, often by 1 stop
D70 - underexposed, often by - 0.7EV.
D200 - Best Nikon metering ever, they got it right
D80 - Balls up the D200's metering too much emphasis on focus points, about 0.7EV too hot.
D300 - About 0.3E EV too hot
D700 - About 0.5 EV too hot

I think Nikon is going for a more "consumer-y" bright look at the moment, the D80 being the start of this trend.
 
I read Ken Rockwells comments but never found my D80 overexpose to the extent that I would need to permanently dial in a compensation. My D200 ( bought used from a pro tog) was already set at -0.3 when I got it, ( somebody reading KR again?), I set it back to normal, it never needed it.
I must agree though that the D200 was exceptionally good at delivering perfect exposures.
I leave my D300 set at normal too, but it does tend to overexpose on occasions but not enough that I cant easily compensate on the fly.
Allan
 
Mark: There's no way that second shot is overexposed in my opinion.

puddleduck said:
Nikon has had a bit of a tendancy to meter on the hot side since the D80.

D100 - underexposed, often by 1 stop
D70 - underexposed, often by - 0.7EV.
D200 - Best Nikon metering ever, they got it right
D80 - Balls up the D200's metering too much emphasis on focus points, about 0.7EV too hot.
D300 - About 0.3E EV too hot
D700 - About 0.5 EV too hot

I think Nikon is going for a more "consumer-y" bright look at the moment, the D80 being the start of this trend.
Click to expand...

Makes sense ..possibly something to do with pushing the histogram to the right to gain more info as well possibly...seems daft if your gonna blow the highlights though. :shrug:

On my D70s ...I found the matrix meter will underexpose on a bright day and overexpose in dim light, about half a stop I agree. ... It's a very useful safety net generally I find. I quite like it and because it works both ways I never leave anything dialed in permanently.... that would be disaster for me and my memory.
 
A few places around the web reckon the newer firmware, 1.10 in fact, fixes the issues even though Nikon don't mention it as a fix, perhaps because that'd be them admitting that their metering system in some of their cameras is flawed.
Maybe a bit far fetched but who knows, I'll have to let you know how I find it when I get mine next week.

Here's a thread:
http://www.nikonians.org/forums/dcb...&forum=150&topic_id=25594&mesg_id=25594&page=
 
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