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Getting frustrated with my D700


melissa_van_leeuwen

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<p>I've recently upgraded from D90 to a D700. I've found quite few posts on where people are finding that their D700's are over exposing by 1 or 2 stops. So for me what is happening is this:</p>

<p>1) My pictures are under exposed by 1 stop when shooting in "centre weighted" metering mode<br>

2) Over exposed by 1 to 2 stops in "spot metering" mode<br>

3) Under exposed by 1 to 2 stops in "3D color matrix" mode</p>

<p>So for all my test shots the pictures are taken of the same subject under the exact same lighting circumstances. All pictures were taken with the same settings, the only variable was the metering of each picture, in which I changed the shutter speed. I took 3 pictures for each metering mode; the first picture was set to "proper" exposure, second was 1 stop over exposed and third was 2 stops over exposed.<br>

What I used to gauge proper exposure was my histograms. I hope this isn't too confusing:) I'm definitely not an expert on the D700 and maybe it is just an over site of mine that using a different metering mode will result in different exposures? I would think not.<br>

I'm just not happy with my D700, and was getting more consistent results with my D90. All of my settings are set to factory default except for my dynamic af area which is set to 51 points. Is there something that I'm missing or do I have a faulty camera? My exposure always seems off . Any insights would be greatly appreciated!</p>

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<p>Are you certain you do not have bracketing set accidentally? If you do, you'll see a +/- sign in the finder. I've had a D700 since it first came out and have had consistently excellent exposures. I use manual and aperture priority most often. I'd not use the back of the camera histograms, they are jpg renderings even if you shoot RAW, which you should be doing. I'd recommend downloading to Lightroom or Photoshop CSx and look at the histograms there.<br>

Good luck.<br>

Eric</p>

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<p>I think the D90 might expose for a punchier image out of the camera, and the D700 will expose more neutrally do preserve information for post-processing.</p>

<p>The spot and center metering modes are used to determe the proper exposure on a specific part of the image, your tripod test would not have addressed this.</p>

<p>I use exposure compensation all the time. The camera can only tell me what it thinks is the right exposure, I have to do the rest.</p>

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<p>Thanks Eric. I've checked my bracketing again, and it's not on. I shoot in manual mode and shoot Raw as well. I've taken a look at my raw images in LR from a shoot I just did in "centre weighted" mode and they are underexposed.</p>

<p>So do I just stick with "centre weighted" mode and over expose by 1-2 stops? Or is this a problem because of the variance between modes?</p>

<p> </p>

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<p>Hi Melissa, I got a little confused on the description of your problem.</p>

<p>Is this a question about the meter's judgment about what is a "good" exposure for a given scene for the different metering modes? It sounds like you are saying the camera is making bad judgments, giving you under and overexposed images. Or are you saying the camera is malfunctioning? I'll assume the former for the moment. Let me know if I got it wrong.</p>

<p>Spot meter: The camera reads a narrow angle, and uses the reading from that spot as a reference tone at 18% reflectance. The historical use of this is that the photographer carries a Kodak gray card which reflects light at 18%, and is considered a reference level for "middle gray" in a black and white scale. The camera assumes that whatever the spot meter is pointed to is an 18% gray card and reads accordingly. A caucasian face is about one stop or so brighter than this, so using the spot meter on the subject's face can give the wrong exposure. </p>

<p>Center weighted: This reads the average of the entire scene, weighted 60% towards the center (or the lower center). This is historically a setting from film cameras beginning in the 1970s, and it was a fairly good "start with this" exposure recommendation, and it was used in many early SLR auto-exposure systems. But it is easily fooled. I think it is largely included in modern DSLRs because there are still many people out there who are practiced at using these settings on earlier cameras. </p>

<p>Matrix meter: Nikon has created a meter with over a thousand segments in color and a large scene database. It keys off your focus points sometimes, be aware. It is often very smart, and yet it is often given to change its judgments quite a lot with a very slight change in the framing of a scene. It tries to not blow your highlights much. But once in a while, it will sacrifice for the sake of what it thinks is your main subject. It is a very useful tool, and it has a way of 'telling you things' about your scene and what would actually be the best exposure sometimes. </p>

<p>To hone your exposures, use UniWB (neutral picture control, daylight balance) to get a true histogram and to get a more 'accurate' playback on the LCD, learn when to dial in exposure compensation, use the spot meter to read the midtone, and learn how to partner with the matrix meter.</p>

<p>If we're not seeing your problem, feel free to post some samples and we'll try again.</p>

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<p>I was using my 50mm 1.4, @ 1.8. I was shooting a container of vinegar. Obviously a white container but the part of the label I was focusing on was black.<br>

If it's sunny tomorrow I'll be sure to head outside and check my exposure. Stanley I can see what you mean by a punchier image with the D90. That's it, the d90 seemed punchier but like you said if it's preserving information for post processing that would be the reasoning.<br>

I really thought my transition from d90 to d700 would've been a bit smoother.</p>

<p> </p>

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Ah, I see now. So that's what little bar type thing is at the bottom of the view finder. I've been using one of the other shooting modes to get a base, dial that into manual mode as a start and then just counting stops up and down for shutter speed, aperture and ISO to get the desired effect. Using the bar seems to be quicker. :-)

Thanks!

--Wade

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<blockquote>

<p>I was using my 50mm 1.4, @ 1.8. I was shooting a container of vinegar. Obviously a white container but the part of the label I was focusing on was black.</p>

<p>1) My pictures are under exposed by 1 stop when shooting in "centre weighted" metering mode<br /> 2) Over exposed by 1 to 2 stops in "spot metering" mode<br /> 3) Under exposed by 1 to 2 stops in "3D color matrix" mode</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Shooting a black label on a white bottle could explain why you are over exposing only in spot meter mode while underexposing in the matrix/CE mode but I'm too confused about what you did exactly in your "test shots"</p>

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<p>Test your meter by shooting a flat surface, like white paper or a painted wall. Do it on a tripod and test it at the various metering modes. Problem with meters is they actually do meter what they see and a white vinegar bottle isn't going to give consistent results in various modes. If the label is dark, then spot will overexpose, in center weighted most likely underexposes and in matrix--will depend also on how tight you are to subject and background.</p>

<p>The wall thing will give you indications as to if it is the meter modes or the subject. Unfortunately, the cameras can do a great job, but will get fooled and that is why there is the extra mode, you, to determine the correct exposure. If you go out and shoot in various lighting/subject conditions and you find it is always over or under exposing in this mode or that, then you gain some info on your camera and you make adjustments for it--just like people did when they shot film. If it isn't consistent in a single mode, then most likely neither are your subjects.</p>

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<p>As you said, preserving information for post-processing is part of the workflow of RAW capture. Very often we capture using the neutral or "linear" setting, which produces what looks at first like a relatively flat image. However, this is the cleanest data you can start with. All the things you want to do with rendering (contrast, clarity, vibrancy, etc) can be most easily achieved with a neutral starting point. The D700 gives you very rich image data. You have an endpoint in mind, but typically the endpoint is not something that comes out of camera. </p>
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<p> Wow Luke very informative! Like I said I am no expert on everything the D700 has to offer but it sounds like you know what you're talking about. Because my camera was underexposing in centre weighted mode I decided to play around and try out the other metering modes. It appears that it is probably not a malfunction issue. It was a bit frustrating though for me as all of my images were underexposed. Luke what would you recommend as a choice for metering? I mainly do shoots with young children, families etc. Then I guess I will have to compensate my exposure accordingly seems, I get such varying results form the metering modes.<br>

Sorry I have completely forgotten about another annoying issue. I was having MAJOR focusing issues with my D700 on my last shoot. I kept closing down my f stop thinking it was to wide and unable to focus on both of my subjects. My camera would just not focus on my subjects properly. Both subjects were lying on a white blanket in moderate sunlight. I had never had this problem with the D90 and an inability to focus. Sometimes with the D90 if I was shooting wide open I would get one eye in focus and one out of focus. But that was easily fixed. Any suggestions or camera settings to help my D700 focus? It seemed as though the sensor was jumping everywhere and not focusing properly.</p>

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<p>Melissa, the D700, similar to the D3 family and D300 family cameras, uses the Multi-CAM 3500 AF module. Among the 51 AF points, only the center 15 are of cross type. The other 36 are off line type. The 15 cross type AF points will give you much better AF accuracy for sports and under dim light. If you can, I would try to stick to 1 of those 15 as much as you can.</p>

<p>See the following thread where I posted an image on November 17, 2008, highlighting the 15 cross type AF points: <a href="../nikon-camera-forum/00RWJC">http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00RWJC</a></p>

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<p>Didn't notice Active D-Lighting mentioned, which may also play a role in your exposure issues especially when shooting RAW. Many people have achieved more consistent results with Active D-Lighting turned off. You could try it both ways and see if it makes a difference. </p>
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<p>I use manual exposure. Under b6 in my menu I can manually fine tune my exposure accordingly. If I'm finding I am getting consistently over/under exposed images (even though the exposure reading is telling me that I'm correctly exposed) I'm going to "tweak" this to my liking.</p>

<p>Shun, I'm checking out that thread and it's very interesting. So I'm think with 51 points it's a bit excessive. I may try single point AF with either 9 or 21 points and see if that works better for me.</p>

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<p>Melissa, If you can invest another $198.00 in your photography, consider a 4 week on-line camera course at BetterPhoto.com. "Master the Nikon D3 and Nikon D700" taught by Tony Sweet. I have taken a course at BetterPhoto, and look forward to taking another later. I have no professional connection to BetterPhoto.com. Here is the link if you are interested:</p>

<p>http://www.betterphoto.com/courseOverview.asp?cspID=196</p>

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<p>Awe, thanks Robert! You guys are truly awesome on this forum. Yes Active D-Lighting was by default set to auto. I turned this to off and my exposure was perfect in "centre weighted" metering mode. All of my settings were identical in both pictures but my image was properly exposed in the picture with Active D off. That makes me feel better.<br>

I know I'm just using the histogram on my camera but with Active D on auto, it was obviously underexposed, although camera said it was perfect.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

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<p>I used Active D-Lighting in the above photo (ferry), it just slightly underexposes your shot and evens out your contrast to give you a semi HDR look in certain situations. Not as good as leaving it off and using Capture NX2 and D-Lighting but if you're in a hurry it's a nice feature. I leave it off as a default with my D300.</p>
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<p>Hi Melissa,<br>

So you've got three kinds of tools for metering in your camera. The spot and center-weighted averaging modes are straightforward measuring tools. The matrix meter is intelligent though. I usually start by asking the matrix meter what it wants to tell me. Very often, it is telling me something useful. It tries very hard to solve for a backlighted subject, for example. It knows where your focus point is and uses that information. It is often right, and when it is wrong, you generally still have some kind of shot. Try one shot with the meter's recommendation and evaluate it before going on.</p>

<p>Let's say you are following around young children when they are active indoors. My choice would be to set the lens close to wide open, and the shutter speed at the minimum in which I could stop the action sufficiently. Let's say that would be f/2 or so at 1/125th sec. I would set the auto-ISO on with a maximum ISO of 6400, and I would let the matrix meter choose the ISO for each picture. You are simply moving too quickly to read the light before every shot, going in and out of window light, going between back lighting and front lighting.</p>

<p>Let's say you are working in the theater, or outdoors. You have extremely strong sources of light but also much shade. Sunlight pours in on someone's face. Or the subject is standing with the spotlight raking across one side. Again, it is hard to keep up with this if you are working quickly. This is a time when you might try a shot with the matrix meter and see that it is blowing the very strong highlights. here you can use the matrix meter with auto-ISO and use negative exposure compensation to keep from blowing the highlights.</p>

<p>If you are shooting a studio scene under hot lights, such as a food shot, then the spot meter might come in handy. Investing in a gray card -- or even an Xrite Passport Color Checker -- isn't a bad idea. You can set up the gray card in the scene and use the spot meter to read it. Whatever you point the spot meter to will be computed to come out *middle gray*. So you read off the gray thing itself. Move the gray card around the scene and average out the various readings, or decide what part of the scene you want to favor. This is basically a working-out-the-exposure task. </p>

<p>Some photographers know how to read light on the fly, and they use the spot meter to help. For example, meter off of a caucasian subject's face and boost one more stop to solve for the right exposure. Caucasian skin is twice as reflective as middle gray on average. The spot meter is just a straightforward measurement device that tells you one thing about whatever you point it to.</p>

<p>Using something like UniWB, you can read your camera's histogram more accurately and know when you've captured everything in the scene that you needed. Getting the good data is the first thing, and rendering it is the second thing. You will develop a personal look this way that will have an edge over the stock out-of-camera look. </p>

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