2

I have a canon DSLR and even in Manual mode or with proper settings, I have to bump aperture, shutter speeed AND ISO to get photos to be even CLOSE to the right exposure. Currently have my ISO set to 1600 just to get a decent photo in natural light with Aperture at 4.5 and SS at 1/60. I shouldn't have to shoot like this and can't even THINK about shooting the low-light portraits that I love. Someone please help. There is no one in town that will repair on site and I don't want to send it out for something that could be simple, just never thought of!

Emily Kuligowski
  • 21
  • 1
  • 4
    When you say natural light are you talking about direct sunlight? Overcast outside? Indoors? – lijat Oct 22 '18 at 18:58
  • 1
    What is "natural light"? Direct sunlight on concrete or other high-albedo substance? Moon light coming through a window in a cellar? What is the light meter on your camera telling you? – twalberg Oct 22 '18 at 19:00
  • 1
    Also what lens are you using? Have you tested more than one lens? – lijat Oct 22 '18 at 19:01
  • I only have one lens for this camera, unfortunately. It's the only digital and canon I use, everything else is Nikon film. Natural light meaning dayilght, no clouds, indoors, indirect. My Light meter is basically telling me that these settings will STILL give me an underexposed shot.

    The lens is just the standard 18-55mm that came with the camera.

     – Emily Kuligowski Oct 22 '18 at 19:04
  • 4
    In my experience, 1/60 f/4.5 ISO 1600 seems pretty reasonable for typical indoor (assuming residential) lighting (incandescent, florescent, halogen, LED, etc.). – twalberg Oct 22 '18 at 19:08
  • Emily Kuligowski if you remove the lens and hold one of your nikon lenses roughly in the right place in front of the camera, do the issue persist? Dont wory about perfekt focus just look at the overall exposure. – lijat Oct 22 '18 at 19:08
  • I never had this issue before, it was purchased in 09. Could it just be "that time" for a new one? – Emily Kuligowski Oct 22 '18 at 19:08
  • @lijat trying that lens trick.... – Emily Kuligowski Oct 22 '18 at 19:14
  • 2
    Can you post an example image? What metering mode is your camera in? – mattdm Oct 22 '18 at 19:14
  • I currently can't upload :( I really just wanted it fixed to test for settings for shooting with 400 speed film. Metering is in evaluative. I've never messed with the metering settings. I was trained with film so digital is still fairly foreign for me. – Emily Kuligowski Oct 22 '18 at 19:25
  • Could you please check if you have exposure compensation set? It sounds like it could have been knocked to -3 somehow. For the same ISO and aperture, what shutter speed does your Nikon tell you to set? – carloandaya Oct 22 '18 at 19:25
  • @lijat the lens trick gave me the same results. – Emily Kuligowski Oct 22 '18 at 19:25
  • If you want to post the example on imgur or somewhere we can upload it for you. Or I think if just one more person upvotes this question you'll be able to upload. – mattdm Oct 22 '18 at 19:26
  • @carloandaya it had me bring it all the way down to 1/30 which isn't ideal for photographing people. checked, exposure comp is at 0. I brought it down to 800iso and still can't shoot faster than 1/50 – Emily Kuligowski Oct 22 '18 at 19:26
  • @mattdm it's more so I don't have a computer capable of uploading. – Emily Kuligowski Oct 22 '18 at 19:27
  • 2
    So, the metering suggests 1/30th, ISO 1600, and aperture f/4.5? Is that photo exposed correctly? – mattdm Oct 22 '18 at 19:27
  • 6
    Does Why is my camera metering indoor scenes as darker than I expect, forcing me to use a high ISO? help? – mattdm Oct 22 '18 at 19:28
  • Have you shot the same scene under the same lighting conditions in the past with significantly different settings? How did they look? How did your images this time look? Are you saying the same settings in the same light is now giving you much darker photos? Or are you just overestimating how much light your current scene has compared to scenes you previously shot? – Michael C Oct 23 '18 at 02:16

0 Answers0