D50 - Exp Comp in Manual Mode?

[Rurouni]

Hi, posting this for some friends who just got D50s.

The D50 manual says that in manual mode you can activate exp compensation, but when I hit the exp comp button and move the dial it alters the aperture instead.

In other modes like A, P, S no prob activating exp comp. So I'm just wondering, must you activate some additional custom function to enjoy exp comp in manual mode, or you'll just have to vary the shutter/ap manually? I'm not sure if its the way the camera has been programmed or its just that there is a sequence of buttons that I don't know I have to press

Thanks!

I'm not totally familiar with the D50 or it's manual. However, if you are shooting in M mode, you control both Aperture and Shutter Speed to achieve either a correct exposure or alternatively, an under-exposed or over-exposed shot. Exposure compensation is somthing that is easy to achieve in M mode. However, it does take an understanding of exposure and not a reliance on a feature of the camera.

[tltan]

hmmz, for the D70s, there is no such problem. Because 2 dials are used individually for aperture and shuttle speed in manual mode. by pressing the +/- and rotating the main command dial, exp compensation can be adjusted. Probably, due to only one dial, it is used for both shuttle speed and aperture and u need to set the exposure in the menu? not sure. Maybe those with D50 would comment.

[tec]

I dun think there is an additional control for exposure in M mode on my D50. Controlling exposure in this mode just need to make changes to aperture and shutter. You can determine the expected exposure thru the viewfinder where there is the EV indicator.

I tot it is sumthing like exposure = aperture x shutter?

so various combi of aperture and shutter determines ur exposure,
and thus a particular exposure can be achieved by varying the aperture and shutter right?

at least thats how i understand it in simple terms.

For P mode, the exposure can be set via the EV button and the dial will give you various combi of aperture and shutter settings based on your EV.

[melnjes]

Originally Posted by Rurouni Hi, posting this for some friends who just got D50s. The D50 manual says that in manual mode you can activate exp compensation, but when I hit the exp comp button and move the dial it alters the aperture instead. In other modes like A, P, S no prob activating exp comp. So I'm just wondering, must you activate some additional custom function to enjoy exp comp in manual mode, or you'll just have to vary the shutter/ap manually? I'm not sure if its the way the camera has been programmed or its just that there is a sequence of buttons that I don't know I have to press Thanks!

Can I know what the D50 manual actually says? In the D70 manual

Quote: Exposure compensation is available in modes P, S, and A (in mode M, only the exposure information in the electronic analog exposure display is affected; shutter speed and aperture do not change).

You shouldn't need to do exposure-compensation in manual mode. That is what manual mode is for - you have full control of the shutter speed and aperture and don't want the system to overwrite your control.

[Rurouni]

Originally Posted by melnjes Can I know what the D50 manual actually says? In the D70 manual You shouldn't need to do exposure-compensation in manual mode. That is what manual mode is for - you have full control of the shutter speed and aperture and don't want the system to overwrite your control.

That's what puzzles me. In manual mode I can adjust my shutter/ap to what I want and create over and under exposure as I please. But if I have the option to still compensate + - like was said in the d70 manual

"in mode M, only the
exposure information in the electronic analog exposure display is affected;
shutter speed and aperture do not change"

then that would be good as well.

E.g. - If I set 125 F11 manual mode. I don't want to affect my depth of field nor shutter, so I just +- on the exposure comp. Do correct me if I'm mistaken here.

[vkashi]

Originally Posted by Rurouni E.g. - If I set 125 F11 manual mode. I don't want to affect my depth of field nor shutter, so I just +- on the exposure comp. Do correct me if I'm mistaken here.

i have the D50 and yes, you cannot dial in exposure compensation in manual mode. i always thought that it is redundant. now, your description puzzles me . does the d70/s allow you to dial in exposure compensation without changing the aperture or shutter speed and does it still work? how is that possible?

[melnjes]

Originally Posted by Rurouni E.g. - If I set 125 F11 manual mode. I don't want to affect my depth of field nor shutter, so I just +- on the exposure comp. Do correct me if I'm mistaken here.

E.g. you have already set 1/30s and f/5.6 in M mode and the electronic analog display tells u you are already 1/2 stop under. If you + another 1/2 stop in the exposure comp, the electronic analog display will now tell you that you are 1 stop under. The camera continues to leave it to you to adjust aperture and shutter speed accordingly - it does not touch these settings for you in M mode.

[tec]

Originally Posted by melnjes E.g. you have already set 1/30s and f/5.6 in M mode and the electronic analog display tells u you are already 1/2 stop under. If you + another 1/2 stop in the exposure comp, the electronic analog display will now tell you that you are 1 stop under.

From my current understanding, you will not be able to do + another 1/2 stop to the EV once u are in M mode.

[vkashi]

Originally Posted by melnjes E.g. you have already set 1/30s and f/5.6 in M mode and the electronic analog display tells u you are already 1/2 stop under. If you + another 1/2 stop in the exposure comp, the electronic analog display will now tell you that you are 1 stop under. The camera continues to leave it to you to adjust aperture and shutter speed accordingly - it does not touch these settings for you in M mode.

does that mean that on the D70s if a correctly exposed value is f8,1/8sec i can simply underexpose by 4 stops to get f8,1/120 and then apply +4EV in exposure compensation to get correct exposure!! this will become a new workaround for low light photography.

[Zerstorer]

Originally Posted by vkashi does that mean that on the D70s if a correctly exposed value is f8,1/8sec i can simply underexpose by 4 stops to get f8,1/120 and then apply +4EV in exposure compensation to get correct exposure!! this will become a new workaround for low light photography.

No. You can't gain anything free out of it.

The EV compensation just biases the meter display accordingly in manual mode unless you are using Auto-Iso.

[melnjes]

Originally Posted by tec From my current understanding, you will not be able to do + another 1/2 stop to the EV once u are in M mode.

Read my posts carefully - the camera still leaves it to you to set the aperture and shutter speed yourself. It never ever touches these settings in M mode, otherwise it defeats the purpose of manual mode. Touching EV in M mode only tells the camera analog display how much more or less to bias its reading.

[melnjes]

Why do we use the electronic analog display in M mode?

Let's say I go to this place and use M mode to shoot. I look at the lighting conditions and decide "hmm maybe I can use this shutter speed and this aperture". I am not using flash.

How do I know whether this combination is correct and that I'm not under- or over-exposing my picture?

Two ways:
(i) Dummy's method - shoot and review the picture, then adjust accordingly. This is the way many of us will use in the era of digital photography, but it's good to know the other method.
(ii) Use the electronic analog display (essentially your camera meter) to tell you whether you are over or under. Now, on top of this, if you use "EV" to further bias the camera meter, the electronic analog display will adjust accordingly. I already gave an example earlier.

Not sure how I can explain this any better. Next better player??

[jsbn]

There's a 3rd method....

"Use the Force"

When u shoot in Manual Mode more often and start to see The Light (literally), u'll find urself enjoying using Manual Mode more!

[tec]

Originally Posted by melnjes Now, on top of this, if you use "EV" to further bias the camera meter, the electronic analog display will adjust accordingly. I already gave an example earlier.

Are you referring to D50? Hmm, is there such a function?
I can't seemed to find this function on mine. Or is this only available on the D70s?

[vkashi]

Originally Posted by melnjes (ii) Use the electronic analog display (essentially your camera meter) to tell you whether you are over or under. Now, on top of this, if you use "EV" to further bias the camera meter, the electronic analog display will adjust accordingly. I already gave an example earlier.

i totally understand that in manual mode, the EV compensation will not automatically change either aperture or shutter- thats the whole idea of manual mode. what wanted to convey was that if you further use EV compensation in manual mode, the meter might show that you are correctly exposing but you will in fact be under or over exposing because of the EV compensation. so in short, there isnt much advantage of using EV compensation in manual mode. might as well set it to 0 and under or over expose as per one's needs.

even i hope my explanations are clear

[nightwolf75]

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glos...nsation_01.htm

[tucker]

Originally Posted by jsbn There's a 3rd method.... "Use the Force" When u shoot in Manual Mode more often and start to see The Light (literally), u'll find urself enjoying using Manual Mode more!

nonsense...

EV in manual. is a matter of personal preference.
speaking of which. how well do you trust your camera's metering system? and how well do you think ya can pick the right spot to meter from?
generally slides & B&W user tend to under expose and overexpose respectively.
so EV in manual mode. suposingly saves the hassle of 'delibrately' adjusting the exposure.

not that it's useless.

so likewise in digital. set varies from sets. some set tend to be generally under, others higher. and personal preference, some pple like to under, somepple like to over.

personally, I hardly shoot manual these days. when AV or S works just as find as good as I like it.

[melnjes]

Originally Posted by vkashi i totally understand that in manual mode, the EV compensation will not automatically change either aperture or shutter- thats the whole idea of manual mode. what wanted to convey was that if you further use EV compensation in manual mode, the meter might show that you are correctly exposing but you will in fact be under or over exposing because of the EV compensation. so in short, there isnt much advantage of using EV compensation in manual mode. might as well set it to 0 and under or over expose as per one's needs.

I don't use the EV dial in manual mode, but can imagine when it would be used. If for example, you always +0.3 in aperture or shutter priority to offset the camera's tendency to under-exposure, you might want to adjust the meter likewise in manual mode as well. Of course as you've pointed out, you don't really need it as you can always adjust mentally yourself, just that different folks have different preferences

Originally Posted by tec Are you referring to D50? Hmm, is there such a function? I can't seemed to find this function on mine. Or is this only available on the D70s?

If you can help to check what the D50 manual says, we should be able to help you.

[Rurouni]

Originally Posted by melnjes I don't use the EV dial in manual mode, but can imagine when it would be used. If for example, you always +0.3 in aperture or shutter priority to offset the camera's tendency to under-exposure, you might want to adjust the meter likewise in manual mode as well. Of course as you've pointed out, you don't really need it as you can always adjust mentally yourself, just that different folks have different preferences If you can help to check what the D50 manual says, we should be able to help you.

Mel, that's exactly where I was coming from, the D50 manual (during the brief time I read it) does seem to say you can do that (I speed read it so may be mistaken maybe a D50 user can clarify?), but for some reason I can't figure out how Thanks for the explanation, that was certainly clear enough

Anyways am asking for some friends who are new to photography, very likely they will be using A or P modes mostly, but its always good to know your SLR and its functions well. I use M mode myself, but tt's cus I'm still sticking my AIS lenses onto my D70