D300 overexposure has me guessing

I suppose its time to read the D300 manual again. And perhaps press the reset

button on the camera for factory default settings?. After an outing at the

local zoo, I was disappointed to find that many of the images are at least 1 to

1 1/2 stops (or more) overexposed, with washed out color, very poor contrast

and poor dynamic range. Outdoor shooting conditions were bright with some

cloud cover, and D300 settings were at ISO 200, Aperture mode, white balance

set to auto, general lens aperture settings of around f/8 on my 50mm f/1.4 and

85mm f.1.8, Matrix metering, 3-D multi point focusing, Active D-lighting turned

off, and Standard picture control. I started out with the ISO Auto turned on,

but I later turned it off. Judging the histograms at the time of shooting was

rather difficult due to the bright overhead sun's glare on the camera screen.

Not really knowing how to post an example photo here should not make any

difference, if anyone asks because as I said, many images are just way over-

overexposed. It is as if I had left the D300 in manual mode but didn't adjust

the exposure settings, and shot into the sun. But I am knowledgeable enough

about general photography to not have done that. So, is there something I'm

overlooking? I have scanned the photo.net archives and found one reference to

the auto ISO setting being a possible explanation. There is obviously some

setting in my D300 that is not giving me what the eye sees. Any advice would be

appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I failed to mention that the D300's auto bracketing was turned off, EV compensation was turned to 0.0, the AE lock button was not pressed, and Active D-Lighting was originally turned on to the normal setting. PC monitor is calibrated. Thanks again for any observations about what may be going wrong with the D300 settings.

Next time out, set the camera to the Neutral Picture Control. The Standard Picture Control has a "bump" in the higher mid tones that makes many images look overexposed. It also has a higher contrast and saturation level. Basically, it's Nikon's effort to make the images from the camera look more like a Point & Shoot. If you want to just plug the chip into a printer and run off some 4x6 prints with a lot of "pop", it's darn near perfect. It's also probably just the ticket for really dreary gray day. However, it full sun it will kill your dynamic range.

 

BTW, so far the best Picture Controls that I have found are the D2x mode 1, great for shooting people and very neutral with a nice smooth tone curve, and the D2x mode 3, with a bit higher saturation without being excessive and great for landscape type shooting. They are available for free from Nikon's tech support site. BTW, the Neutral Picture Control is also pretty good, a very near match for the D2x mode 3.

 

As for the Vivid Picture Contol, wow, to me that looks Neon with the saturation nearly off the charts. Actually, it looks a lot like the color on the TV show CSI Miami, if your familiar with that. So, I am sure that there will be some users who like it.

 

Anyhow, there are a lot of features that you can experiment with to tune the camera to your needs. So, as my Dad used to say, "get crackin and learn how to use it".

 

PS, my set up at this point. D2x Mode 1, AF-S Single Area or AF-C Dynamic 21 Area, Sharpness at 2, Contrast at 0, Saturation at 0, Hue at 0, LCD display at -1, High ISO NR OFF, ISO anywhere I need it because the camera is freaking awesome. BTW, I prefer to walk the sharpness/noise tightrope during post where I have a very fine degree of control. If you keep the camera set to ISO 200 you can bump the sharpening to 4 with only a tiny bit of added noise.

Well, I can't comment on the D300 but my D2x generally produces exposures that are brighter than I like. For most subjects I leave the exposure compensation at -0.7 EV and use Center Weighted metering quite a bit.

Someone has to ask, so it may as well be I. Did you capture any images in raw mode? If so, when you open them in ACR does the histogram confirm that the highlights are severely blown out?

 

I must also note that my D200 consistently overexposes by 1/2 to 2/3 stop when using matrix metering in fairly bright daylight.

When I read overexposure problems with D300, I become quite suprised.. I never had

overexposure issues with my D300. It is as reliable as it can get so far after over 1000

shots.. Infact, on some rare occasions, I do get underexposure.

 

maybe some D300's left factory with slight adjustment differences ? you can send it to

Nikon for a check.

 

if interested, take a look at this shots. http://gokce.zenfolio.com/p532885834 . They are

straight out of the camera jpegs and no exposure compensation has been giving in almost

all shots. For me, all turned out to be spot on.

Standard Picture Mode will not give you the most accurate representation of whether you have overexposed any of the color channels shooting in RAW.

 

For an accurate assessment of your exposures, consider this: http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00OJid

 

For how much exposure latitude you can expect at ISO 200 I have compiled some information here: http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00OPW5

 

Experiences like yours are one of the main reasons I always urge shooting in RAW.

Steve without examples posted somewhere ( a few raw and a few jpg) it is nearly impossible to give more than guesses.

Well you checked the histograms but did you check the Highlight alert? did you get any blinkys? The screen on the back of the camera may look too bright but if they aint blinking you have perfect highlights. The D300 as well as any digital nikon DSLR has some of the most accurate metering systems on the planet. If the clouds were over head the contrast range should have been perfect. Did you have exposure compensations set? Was the meter calibration altered in the custom functions?

 

Eric did you know you can calibrate your meter in the custom functions on a D 2,3,200,300 and I think even the 80. So you won't have to set it to - 0.7

Wait a min. I just realized who you are Steve, you posted about redundant exposure modes. Even with all of the clear advise everyone gave you you still refused to see the point. I am certain this is a waste of time.

I get the same in my D80. It tends to overexpose so I always leave my EV to -0.7. One thing that will get you overexposed images is the LCD screen. The more you use it, the hotter it gets and the sensor is right behind the screen and it will overexpose images as it gets hotter. Just my .2 cents. Good luck.

"One thing that will get you overexposed images is the LCD screen. The more you use it, the hotter it gets and the sensor is right behind the screen and it will overexpose images as it gets hotter."

 

> That could increase noise, but it has nothing to do with exposure.

Steve, one of the reasons for posting samples is so we can inspect the EXIF data to check settings. Sometimes a user _thinks_ a particular setting is on or off but is incorrect. Looking at the EXIF removes that source of error.

 

Scott's suggestion of changing the Picture Mode is a good one, imo.

 

Personally, I haven't run into an overexposure problem with my D300.

 

larsbc

"LCD screen. The more you use it, the hotter it gets "

 

Anthony I think Herson must be referring to nude photography here :-P

 

In today's winter breeze I was not able to warm my hands on the LCD of my D200. In laboratory use we cool image sensors to very low temperatures to reduce noise. Luckily exposure is not affected.

Thanks to everyone (except Tak Imura sensei) for their comments. I will follow your advice. Today I went out again with the D300 set to the same settings, except the Auto ISO was turned off, and my images were much improved in exposure, color, dynamic range and contrast. I muct have had some errant setting inside the camera working against a 18% gray card level exposure, though I don't quite know what that was.

 

PS - Isn't it remarkable how most any question posted here in this forum often resutls in at least one smart-a*s comment from someone (see above)? Ah, the unbridled ego some people abuse by hiding within the nameless internet.