Nikon D200 underexposing all shots

[brookewhatnall]

My nikon D200 is underexposing all shots, even when I shoot in P mode, I end up having to lift the

exposure in lightroom 2/3 of a stop every time

 

please help

[andrew robertson]

Add 2/3rds stop exposure compensation.

 

But chances are, you are just not metering correctly. The more sky you see in the frame,

the darker everything else will tend to be.

[vivek iyer]

Can't use any +/- compensations reliably while using matrix metering. Use center weight or spot, check histogram and add the compensation.

[michael_hahn]

Better to underexpose than to overexpose with digital. Nothing really wrong with underexposing 2/3rds a stop, just fix w/ software. Do you have many overexposures? Probably not and that is a good thing!

 

Michael.

[ShunCheung]

I suggest try a test shot around noon time in a sunny day and see whether the "sunny 16" rule holds or not.

[pete_s.]

Why not Vivek? Exposure compensation is applied as an offset to the result from the metering. That's why you can use it with matrix, center and spot metering in manual, aperture priority, shutter speed priority and program mode.

 

My guess though is that lightroom doesn't have clue what tonal curve the D200 used at the time of shooting and applies an automatic exposure correction. But I don't use lighroom so I'm only guessing.

[joseph_smith3]

Brooke, are you shooting in RAW or JPEG? I suggest you try a comparison test of processing softwares: Nikon Capture NX and Lightroom. Download Capture NX free for 30 days. Shoot the image in RAW or RAW and JPEG and process in both softwares and see if the underexposures occur in both software packages. Make sure you do not have any other camera settings that could be causing the difference. You can do this by selecting a shooting bank set at factory defaults. This also assumes that your monitor has been calibrated properly. If you have not calibrated your monitor and if it is a flat panel, that could be the cause right there. Joe Smith

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

I have been advised to shoot with a E.V. + 0.3 with my D200. I also noticed the underexposure & somewhere I've read that it does this essentially in order to protect high lights. I now do that & mostly use Matrix metering, but also Spot metering - those give me the best result.

 

I've spent weeks this last summer experimenting with E.V. settings & now always adjust my E.V. setting after I check my histograms.

 

Anyhow, in Capture NX you can easily adjust the E.V. setting by always shoot RAW. Download it for test for 30 days & do watch the tutorials on the CaptureNX.com (I think it is) web site. They'll get you started in a new wonderful world of pp-ing. I bought the program after just a few days. I simply love it & always start there.

 

JMHO

 

Lil

[Dieter Schaefer]

Vivek Iver: <i> Can't use any +/- compensations reliably while using matrix metering. </i>

 

Found this to be essentially true, as the result can be a bit unpredictable.

 

Michael Hahn: <i> Better to underexpose than to overexpose with digital.</i>

 

Believed that for some time too (shooting slide film most of my life) but it is WRONG in the digital world! Shoot RAW, overexpose and recover in post processing - it does wonders for your signal-to-noise ratio.

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

Dieter - I've been taught to underexpose certain colors by some very wise digital pro shooters.

 

Red, underexpose to give an example.

 

White, underexpose so I won't blow highlights.

 

Fact is that the minute I started controlling my EV by adjusting my EV setting based upon my histograms I ended up seeing a huge improvement in my exposure - not to mention once I got brave enough to start raising my ISO.

 

I now work on colors & luminescence values to control my EV settings. I find thinking in gray scale & with the histograms a great help.

 

Once you blow your highlights - - how are you going to recover them in post?

 

JMHO

 

Lil

[tonybeach]

For Peter:

 

"Exposure compensation is applied as an offset to the result from the metering. That's why you can use it with matrix..."

 

Yes, but to be more precise, it is Matrix metering that is the problem with reliability and not the compensation thereof. Take a shot using Matrix metering of a dark foreground against a bright sky and see what exposure you get, then turn your camera upside down and take the same shot, the exposure will prioritize the foreground in the first shot and the sky in the second shot. You can fiddle with EC and Matrix metering to avoid blowing out the sky or blocking the shadows in the foreground depending on your intentions rather than what the camera guesses your intentions are, but you will be trying to guess what the camera is guessing as you try to determine what if any compensation to apply (ergo, get ready for extensive chimping); or you can use center weighted metering, understanding that if you want the bright sky not to blow out you dial in negative EC and if you want the dark foreground adequately exposed you dial in positive EC.

[tonybeach]

For Lil:

 

"Red, underexpose to give an example."

 

Who told you to do that? I would question what exactly they meant (as in yes if you are shooting JPEG, but no if you are shooting RAW). Anyway, I just got through explaining what is wrong with this approach here: http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00NCy6

[Dieter Schaefer]

Lil, I should have been more precise: the histogram works off the JPEG, that's 8-bit - the RAW is 12 bit (or 14 in some cameras) - so what looks blown in the histogram is still available and not blown in the RAW (there are limits, of course) and can be retrieved in PP.

 

CCD/CMOS are most sensitive in the RED - ask any stage photographer why they hate red light.

 

CCD/CMOS is least sensitive in the blue - so here every photon that hits the sensor helps to increase signal-to-noise.

 

I need to follow the link above and educate myself a bit more now.

[chris_leck]

Even Nikon will tell you that the combination of Matrix metering and exposure compensation are a little unpredictable. If your exposure is consistently off, it might be better to fine tune the meter (it's in the manual).

 

It's better to overexpose slightly. Underexposure makes your images dark. If you correct it, you bring up the noise. You'll get blinkies long before you blow all three channels. The objective is to properly expose your subject. Sometimes this requires blowing-out part of the image or considering a different composition or approach.

 

Lightroom, and most raw converters other than Capture, ignore custom camera curves.

[brookewhatnall]

Hey, Thanks for all the helpful feedback, I think it is the lightroom toan curve problem as

Peter said here "My guess though is that lightroom doesn't have clue what tonal curve the

D200 used at the time of shooting and applies an automatic exposure correction. But I don't

use lighroom so I'm only guessing."

 

How do I set up the tonal curve, I imported some shots from today, and lightroom shows

them exposed, and then when they have rendered the first time, they drop about 1/3 of a

stop in exposure :(

[chris_leck]

Tone curves and exposure are two different, interrelated things. As I mentioned above, you can fine-tune your meter.

 

The tone curve determines how contrast is re-allocated throughout the image. Lightroom has three defaults, linear, medium, and strong. You can design your own curves and save them, IIRC.

[dcraton]

Interesting, my D200's shoot a bit hot. So, I made adjustments accordingly and am getting excellent results inside, outside, flash, etc.

 

In a perfect world. . .

[josephwalsh]

I'm having a similar problem as Brooke and can't figure it out.

 

The image and the histogram look fine on my D200. Ditto the image and histogram on my computer with Lightroom. But when I print on my Epson 3800 it is ALWAYS too dark. I have to apply + 1/2 to + 2/3 more exposure. At that point, the histogram is jammed to the right, image looks too light on the computer but the print density is good.

I have printer management "off"

 

Any thoughts? TIA