jason_min

Thank you for the comment. The thing is the photos from the D610 has the Vivid mode also, but its photos are not under exposed as the D850. If the exposure is automatically calculated for optimal exposure in the A mode matrix metering, why would it be under exposed? That is why I raised the question in the first place. Thank you.

Thank you for the comment. I am happy if my expensive D850 is not faulty or defective. I hope I can find a systematic way of dealing with this under-exposure in A mode. Thank you.

Thank you for the comment. If I take a photo of solid blue, why would the other 2 colors(red and green) are shown as underexposed in the histogram and if I take a photo of solid red, why would the other 2 colors(green and blue) are shown as underexposed in the histogram? Is this normal behavior? Because of the other 2 colors are underexposed, the avg 3 color exposure is under exposed, I assume. Is that how it works? Thank you.

OK. Here is the 3 channels of the histogram. Is this what is supposed to be? The main histogram of D850 is to the left whereas the D610 main histogram is near the middle, I think. Thank you.

Thank you for the comment. As you commented, I took the photo of the 18% gray card again, and this time I took it in the shady area during the broad daylight. And the histogram came out just a little bit underexposed as compared to the blue sunny sky. I uploaded the histograms of the 18% gray card for your review. Does that mean that my camera exposure metering and A mode with matrix metering are A-Okay? If so, I am relieved to know that my D850 is normal. I just wanted to know other people's opinion on my D850 exposure metering behavior because I never had this unexpected under-exposed histograms before in the A mode matrix metering. Thank you.

Thank you for the comment. I am happy if my camera is not defective and my knowledge is defective. As I mentioned in my original question, when compared to my D610, the A mode photos seems under-exposed in many photos. All my previous camera D70, D7000 D610 did not have this underexposure issue with A mode. I am learning and getting used to this new D850 exposure metering. Thank you.

Thank you for the comment. The reason I raised the question is that I noticed many photos that I took with A mode & matrix metering in my last trip came out dark, which is underexposed. If I learn clear and consistent pattern in D850 exposure metering, I think I can adapt with no problem. I feel that compared to D610 that I have, somehow, D850 seems to give underexposed photos with A mode & matrix metering in many occasions. I am happy if there is nothing wrong with my camera. I just wanted to know if the camera is defective or my knowledge is defective. Thank you.

Thank you very much everybody. There are many postings on my issues, and I thank you for your help. Here is what I found out so far. I noticed that when I took the photo of the sunny sky in Manual mode in matrix metering, even thought the top control panel shows 1/3 stop over exposure on the exposure meter, the actual histogram shows 1/3 stop or so under exposure in the monitor. I attached the 2 photos of this for your view. I took the photo of the camera to before taking the photo. ( there is one hour time difference due to un-checked the daylight saving time option) I also tried the same Manual mode in matrix metering by making the top control panel show the correct exposure with the exposure meter at zero, the histogram of the photo shows 1/2 or 2/3 stop underexposure. So, the control panel metering and the histogram do not match. This may be the reason the A mode shows under exposed photos in matrix metering. This occurs also with center-weighted metering, but not much in the spot metering, but sometimes it varies. I also tried on the 18% gray card and the results are similar to the sunny sky. So, I suspect that the exposure metering is not working right either due to the faulty hardware or software. Thank you.

Thank you for the reply. I understand what you mean. But please look at the 6 photos that I just uploaded. I took the same scenes with both D850 and D610. The D610 histogram is consistently somewhere in the middle, whereas the D850 is not. I took the scenes of low contrast almost even in color to make a point. How do you account for the D850 histogram in this case?

Here are additional photos of D850 aperture mode. If the scene is not dark, it is either normal or over exposure as compared to D610, which is normal in all situations. How do you account for this D850 Aperture priority mode behavior? Thank you very much.

Thank you for the reply. I highly doubt that the lens makes a difference. The 24-70mm f2.8 was working fine with D610. I will do it as a last resort. Thank you.

Thank you for the reply. Then, am I stuck with this possibly defective camera after spending $3K?

Thank you for the reply. As you said, I will probably not tweak the exposure metering as in B7 menu. I will just try to find out if there is any consistency in the exposure. I spent over $3k, and I think I may have a defective one. Thank you.

Thank you for the reply. But if I fine tune the metering, I think it also applies to manual mode too. I experimented and I think exp comp in B7 menu is also applied in manual mode. So, I think I can fine tune it. I have to find out more to be sure. Thank you.

Thank you for the reply. I think the metering is not working correct. If the scene is brighter than the sunny sky, then the histogram is somewhere in the middle or to the right, being over exposed. In addition sometimes, in manual mode, the metering is at zero, but after I take a photo, the histogram is to the right not at the center. I will upload some photos showing this.

Thank you for the reply. Do you think the service by Nikon will make it worse? I live in Los Angeles area, and there is a service center here.

Thank you for the reply. If somehow there is easy solution, I will just bracket the photo when using Aperture mode. I normally use manual mode when taking photos.

Thank you for the reply. Why would the lens make a difference. Both are Nikon lenses. 85mm is D lens, and the other is 24-70mm f2.8G.

Thank you very much for the reply. It is more or less .7 to 1 stop underexposure. Can I ask why the focal length matters? I thought it does not make any difference.

If I use Aperture priority mode, it seems that if the scene is not bright, it under exposes by 1 stop or so in all metering mode. I took the photo of the sunny sky using aperture priority mode in matrix metering, and the histogram is not near the middle but to the left. I took the same sunny sky right after with D610 with the same setting, and its histogram is near the middle. Is this normal behavior of D850 or is my d850 in need of service, or am I misunderstanding Aperture mode? I checked that bracketing, exp compensation, and Active D lighting are not on. I attached d850 and d610 photos of the LCD screen for your view. Thank you very much.

<p>Shun, thank you very much for additional help.<br> I will make sure that I buy II, not III TC.<br> Thank you.</p>

<p>Kent, Mike, Shun, and Andrew, thank you all for the overwhelming replies.<br> I have been researching on your suggestions and the f4 nikon 300mm lens with 1.4x tc, and I am leaning toward that route with the 300mm lens & 1.4 tc. I am going watch the ebay for 1.4 tc and f4 300mm lens to save money.<br> Thank you.</p>

<p>Shun, thank you for the reply.<br> Then do you think the f4 300m with 1.4x TC setup is better than the 80-400mm Nikon and 150-500mm Sigma lens as far as the image quality goes at f5.6 stop with Nikon and f6.3 with Sigma at focal length 400mm or more? </p> <p>Thank you.</p>

<p>Shun and Bob, thank you very much for the reply.</p> <p>If you recommend f4 300mm lens with the TC, then I have to think all over again. I never thought of that route. <br> But if you use the TC, will it not reduce the f stop by 1 or more? So, if you have f4 300mm with the tc, it is not f4 anymore. I do not know the exact possible f stop, but then is it not almost the same as Nikon 400mm at f5.6 from Nikon 80-400mm? <br> If you recommend using the TC, then I would also consider f2.8 70-200G VR II lens with 2x TC. Do you think this is also a viable option? I do not have the f2.8 70-200 lens yet.</p> <p>Thank you.</p>

<p>I have Nikon D610 and D7000. I am considering Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM and the used Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Autofocus VR.<br> The Sigma lens is currently $769 and Nikon secondhand one is about $600 or above. <br> I am not interested in sports, and I will primarily use nature and indoor performance photography.<br> I already have Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR, and I am mostly interested in 300-400mm range photo quality.<br> Lots of people say Nikon lens has soft quality image at 400mm and Sigma at above 400mm.<br> Which one would you recommend? Thank you very much.</p>