5D overexposing. Is it me or the camera?

[woodbyte]

<p>I recently purchased a used 5D. All good apart from I can't get my head round the exposure. Many shots are coming out over-exposed by 1-2 stops.<br>

I will post some images to show my problem. Both shot with Aperture Priority and I had already dialed in -1/3EV compensation, yet still came out overexposed.<br>

Am encountering this in many different situations indoors and out.<br>

Thanks for any advice.<br>

james</p>

<div></div>

[woodbyte]

<p>minus one stop adjusted in Lightroom</p><div></div>

[woodbyte]

<p>no adjustment - exported from lightroom</p><div></div>

[woodbyte]

<p>minus one stop in lightroom</p><div></div>

[woodbyte]

<p>Here's a comparison shot taken with IDmkiiN and 70-200 2.8IS</p>

<p>1/640 at f8 aperture priority and 0EV</p><div></div>

[woodbyte]

<p>a similar shot taken with 5d and 24-105<br />1/500 at f7.1 aperture priority and -1/3EV</p><div></div>

[steve_crist]

<p>Try "Clear All Settings" in the tool menu. This removes any custom adjustments that the previous owner may have set. Does this happen with just one lens or many? Also have you tried different metering (spot, center weighted, etc.)? Your samples are beach scenes that can fool meters looking for 18% gray.</p>

[PuppyDigs]

<p>Sweet. Looks like you've mastered "exposing to the right." </p>

[steveg]

<p>Are you using a calibrated monitor on your PC?</p>

<p>To me the "as exposed" pictures look about right - the "-1 stop" look too dark - but as Steve said beach scenes can be tricky - whats the camera like with other subjects?</p>

[digitmstr]

<p>I don't see a problem with the shots, in fact, the 'corrected' ones seem too dark.</p>

<p>When you shoot in BRIGHT sunlight and use in-camera JPG conversion you should lower the contrast as well. When you let the camera do the work for you then, you have two choices:</p>

<p>1) accept what the camera does</p>

<p>2) learn the features the camera offers and adjust settings to suit your taste.</p>

<p>Those shots are just fine and there are no burned out zones to speak of. In addition, it all depends on where you meter, the metering pattern and your JPG conversion settings.</p>

[elliot1]

<p>I agree with steve, but if you feel the camera is overexposing, simply dial in more exposure compensation - I have owned several cameras where I have had to do this and it is no big deal. You can always send the camera to Canon to have it checked and if necessary, corrected.</p>

[matthijs]

<p>To my eyes the lighter versions are a correct view of a sunny beach. Aesthetically I'd like a little more saturation. Darker images appear more saturated and therefore might look nicer but they are often not "as it was".</p>

<p>In short: do as you please and make your camera work for you in stead of the other way around...</p>

<p>Matthijs.</p>

[evphotography]

<p>Not every camera will expose an image the same. Cameras meter scenes differently and therefore produce different results. From the images you posted it looks like to me that your 5D is right on, I don't see any blown highlights and they are exposed to the rights which will give you the cleanest images. Exposing your images so your histogram is as far to right without any blown highlights is the best method, then lower the exposure in the RAW converter to taste and you will get the highest quality images with the least amount of noise.</p>

[digitmstr]

<p>BTW, the two comparison shots between 1DMKII and 5D MKII were done with a different lens, which makes the comparison null. You should use the same lens at the same focal lenght.</p>

<p>To see if its sensor is properly calibrated and/or if your shutter and f/stop electronics are working as they should simply get a hand-held meter, take an incident reading and set the camera in Manual using a combination of f/stop and shutter as per meter reading. If the pictures look OK then, the sensor is fine and so are the shutter and f/stop controls. If the picture is GROSSLY off then, there is a problem. It's a quick and dirty way to get some basic info.</p>

[christopher_blumenshine]

<p>It's you. :) Your camera is fine. </p>

[stephen sullivan]

<p>Advice: If you're going to shoot at the beach, lean the sunny f/16 rule. Or in general for landscape photography, lean the sunny f/16 rule.</p>

<p>Why? Internal light meters don't know what black is, don't know what white is, but they now how to expose for middle gray.</p>

[mendel_leisk]

<p>I think anytime your shooting in an environment that's brighter than normal, sandy beaches are moderately brighter, snow slopes are extremely brighter, the camera's metering is going to <em>under</em> expose a bit. The camera's just aiming to neutral gray, but the mentioned scenes are predominantly brighter, so your shot will tend to be underexposed if you don't override the metering's defaults.</p>

<p>To the OP, how do the histograms look?</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>I had the same problem when I got my used 5D. I reset the camera and then redid all the preferences on the camera menus and the problem went away. The hint about the display recalibration is also useful. Very occasionally some of my Nikkors on adapters need a bit of exposure compensation, a problem that seems to occur less often on my old 20D.</p>

[woodbyte]

<p>Great responses - thanks.</p>

<p>I obviously have relied too much on the cameras Auto Exposure over the years. The only time I venture into "M" mode has been indoor shots, and I use ETTL flash to compensate, so researching the Sunny f16 has been very interesting. I'm going to actively practice in "M" mode and see how it goes.</p>

<p>Some of the other tips I'm also going to investigate further:</p>

<p>- resetting all functions to default on the 5D. Thought I'd done it, but will try again.</p>

<p>- study the histogram. In fact, per Eric's comment above, the three images I posted, plus many others, are defintely leaning way towards the right, but (remarkably after close inspection) just tail off, rather than go off-scale at the very end. In fact when I set the highlight blown areas, there are indeed very few. I only ever shoot raw, and certainly appreciate and enjoy the post shot editing, and am amazed how much can be gained by subtle tweaks on the sliders.</p>

<p>- one concern I have is monitor calibration. The closest I came was an inbuilt test system in Paint Shop Pro, but when I ran it, the screen appeared very dark. One of these days I guess I'll invest in a screen/print calibrater.</p>

<p>I guess the thing that concerned me was that I've shot with a 1DmkiiN for a few years and never experienced (my perceived) overexposure. I guess as a few pointed out above, all cameras are not made equal, and each has it subtleties one has to grasp. I just figured a 1D going after 18% grey would do a similar job as a 5D.</p>

<p>Here's the histogram of the shells, and this was with -1/3EV dialed in on the 5D. You'll all tell me now this is perfect.......</p>

<p>So.... Maybe it IS me.</p><div></div>

[woodbyte]

<p>erhmm - sized for the optically challenged, obviously.</p>

[digitmstr]

<p>What RAW converter are you using? Does this happen also with in-camera JPGs? If so, have you tried using a LOWER contrast setting for bright sunlight shots? The exposure is right on, nothing is burned out, no lost pixels so to speak :)<br>

The rest is a matter of taste of course...</p>

[dogbert]

<p>For landscapes I am more often than not dialling in -1/3 EV on my 5D but for most other shots the 5D metering seems centered. That is not to say the metering is not regularly fooled.</p>

[lindsay_dobson]

<p>When I bought my 5D (new) a year ago I had noticeable problems with over-exposure. Given a good understanding of metering and the technical side of photography, this really shouldn't happen and I suspect your camera has an issue. You need to feel happy and confident in your gear, so I suggest you send it off the Canon for re-calibration, to at least rule that out. That's what I did, they confirmed it had a fault, and when I got the camera back it was perfect.</p>

[daniel flather]

<p>Spot meter a grey card in direct sunlight. That will tell you if the meter is incorrect.</p>

[daniel flather]

<p><em> 5D overexposing. Is it me or the camera? </em><br>

Yes.</p>