D2x underexposes compared to D700

<p>I have been using my D700 for about 6 months and have had great exposures from it, all pretty accurate (either from landscape/city/travel shots or studio portraits/weddings using Elinchrom flash.<br>

I have carried my old D2x with me as a backup but never used it, but today I was just testing the D2x and found that it underexposes either ambient or flash by about 1.5 stops. When I say underexposes I mean that if I take a meter reading using a handheld meter (I use either a Sekonic L608 or the little 308b) and set both cameras to the same exposure value (on manual setting), then the D2x produces a file that is about 1.5 stops underexposed. Both cameras give the same meter readings as the Sekonics from ambient light. I am checking the under exposure using the levels and looking at the files on my iMac screen.<br>

When I used to use the D2x as my only DSLR I always got good exposures - or so I thought. I have checked iso and changed lenses. By the way, the D2x is also giving me very blue tinted files, which I always used to assume was normal on a DSLR and just corrected in PS.<br>

Am I missing something blatantly obvious and having one of my dumb moments - any ideas gratefully received?<br>

Many thanks.<br>

David</p>

<p>I have the same underexposing issue with the D200 compared to the D300. Many images shot with my D200 are up to a half stop under exposed. Shooting NEF I can correct the exposure in post, but the JPG straight from the camera is about one stop under. Adobe RAW agrees with me. It's the one major flaw with the D200 that the D300 seems to have rectified. I shot this photo yesterday with my D200 at Lake Easton in Eastern Washington.<br>

<br /> JPG from camera:<br /> <img src="http://hull534.smugmug.com/photos/521745823_gpyS7-L.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="536" /> <br /> Adobe RAW conversion, correct exposure:<br /> <img src="http://hull534.smugmug.com/photos/522386838_WKFXE-L.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>When all else fails, reset to factory defaults.</p>

<p>Occasionally I'll dial in some odd custom settings for my D2H to suit specific situations. A week later, if I didn't reset to defaults, I'll grab the camera, take some photos and wonder why the results are so odd. Almost every time it's because I had reassigned certain command dials and buttons to custom settings and forgotten about it.</p>

<p>If resetting doesn't work, check the EXIF data on your problem photos carefully and look for indications of a custom setting that might be throwing the photos off. If you're not sure what to look for, upload a *small* JPEG here with complete EXIF data. The JPEG only needs to be less than 700 pixels wide. But if you prepare it with Nikon's own software it will preserve all EXIF data intact and will not introduce new data (a problem with Adobe and other software).</p>

<p>Nikon Capture made a more subtle change, which I think is nearly as good as Adobe's solution. This was done by applying the D-Lighting filter:<br /> <img src="http://hull534.smugmug.com/photos/522409219_Y7Auy-L.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Could the increased dynamic range of the D700 be part of it? It may be a silly question - just trying to learn from this thread...<br>

Lil :)</p>

<p>I found that the selected camera profile/picture control setting/picture style has a surprising impact. You can easily try this in Lightroom or ACR: load a D700 NEF and compare the camera profile setting "camera standard" with "D2X Mode 2". The D2X profiles appear quite a bit darker IMHO.</p>

<p>It looks like the D200 is going to need a custom curve to lift the exposures a little, or a permanent +0.3 EV adjustment. Compared to the D300/D700, it underexposes too often.</p>

<p>When I acquired my D200 a few years ago, one of the user spreadsheets for the D200 recommended a +0.3 exposure compensation as sugested by the previous poster. I use this setting for the majority of my RAW shots. I also use the -2 setting in Auto WB recommeneded by the same spreadsheet as do many D200 shooters I know with fairly consistent results in ambient light.</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies, I will certainly do a +0.3 exposure compensation (or perhaps even more). It is true that I have found the D2x profiles to be somewhat darker in ACR and lightroom, but never paid it much attention.<br>

I guess my next step is to consider whether I should sell the D2x to help buy another D700, so I have a bit more (easy) consistency between the two.<br>

Thanks for the help.<br>

David</p>

<p>I was mystified when I bought the D700 as it appeared to overexpose in many cases. I tested the D700 meter against my D200, F100, and N80. The latter three cameras all matched in their readings, and those readings matched my Pentax spotmeter; the D700 was typically +2/3 over the other cameras.</p>

<p>I'm guessing that up through the D200/D2x/D2h years that Nikon tuned their digital and film meters similarly. On later cameras like the D300 and D700, they seem to have tuned the meters more for digital capture and the expose to the right philosophy.</p>

<p>That said, it's very easy to blow out the red channel on the D700. If I take a photo that contains any red, I'll under-expose the D700 by as much as a stop or risk losing detail in the reds.</p>

<p>David: Short of a D2x I haven't tried, but how do the pictures of D2x & D700 compare if you set both to the same profile ("D2X Mode") in Lightroom/ACR? I read that Nikon released these pictures styles/camera profiles for D3 & D700 to match the output to the D2.</p>

<p>Okay, so I imported into lightroom two shots - one from D700 and one from D2x. And after setting both files to the profile D2x mode (1 or 11) the files loked pretty much the same, with the D700 looking a little cooler (marginally). I can relax again, and get on with my life. And yes, turning the active-D lighting off on the D700 did even up things considerably.<br>

Thanks so much for all the help.<br>

David</p>

<p>Active D-Lighting will underexpose the image slightly to preserve highlights. I did tests with it on and off, and liked it on more than off, but I'm not someone big on post-processing my photos.</p>

<p>I want to clarify something in my earlier comments. Even thought the D700 seemed to overexpose relative to other cameras, it was NOT OVEREXPOSING THE IMAGES in most cases. The D700's 14-bit sensor has a lot of lattitude. Even when highlights appear to be clipped in the histogram, they're no necessarily lost. The histogram may be tuned to the limits of 8-bit JPEG files, not 14-bit NEF (RAW) files.</p>

<p>The D700's metering system required some adjustment, but I have learned to trust it in the majority of shooting situations. It's not in sync with my other cameras but it works very well with its own sensor. </p>