Advice Please

I went out for the first time with my new Kr (My first Slr)
Admittedly it was quite overcast but lots of my pics appeared dark (even using auto mode)
Could anyone give me a quick run thru on how to obtain a correct exposure please ? The pics appeared to look ok in the viewfinder .
Any help / advice would be appreciated

Darren

Can you post one or two pictures with the exif intact?

You said "The pics appeared to look ok in the viewfinder" How are you viewing them now, laptop screen, PC monitor, television? it could be that which needs calibrating, but it could also be one of many things.

Post a couple of them in the Your Photos section and give as much information as possible and we can help you sort it out. You can find out how to post pics at the top of the Your Photos section.

Ok here are two

link

link

I would guess the reflection of teh water has caused the metering to think the shot is brighter than it would appear so has adjusted to take that into account.

When doing shots like this you need to dial in some adjustments to compensate for the camera's metering. This happens with all SLR's. It's just one of those things you will need to learn.

It's just so different to my Panasonic but i guess it's all part of the learning curve

Are you looking at jpegs Darren, or the RAW images? If it's the jpegs, it could be there's a setting on the camera that needs adjusting.

If it's the RAW image, then apart from checking that you haven't got the EV setting at a minus (which I don't think should happen anyway in auto mode) I've no idea.

Of course, looking through the viewfinder won't be any indication of how well exposed the image will be - you need to look at the preview and histogram on the LCD screen.

Hi Darren, there are a number of ways to set up the metering in your camera, so the exposure you get may vary depending on those settings. I'm sure more experienced Pentax users will help with specific camera settings (I have only had my K-5 for a week), but here is a really basic but quick rundown on assessing what exposures you might need when out with your camera (any camera).

1. Choose an ISO value to suit the lighting conditions
Bright light/mid day/summer etc - lower value like 100 ISO
Overcast/cloudy/indoor lights etc (most of our light in UK) - higher value such as ISO400 or ISO800
Dimm lighting/after sunset/dimly lit interiors - high value ISO such as 1600 or higher

2. When metering, a camera judges the exposure based on an average grey value to try to get an equal exposure between shadow & highlight, but will often be fooled by large expanses of dark or light areas. It sounds like your shots were exposing for the highlights in your scenes, so your images are dark in the areas you wanted exposed correctly. An expanse of grey winter sky will do this for instance.

Try to shoot with your camera in 'P' mode, and when taking an exposure use the exposure compensation function of the camera. I don't have a K-r so you will need to check your manual for how it operates, but basically, dialing in towards the + value will allow you to expose for the shadow area (as your original shots are too dark), and as each shot will vary, try taking a few shots of the scene and adjust it half a stop up at a time until you are happy that the exposure is right for your subject and not the predominant lighting..
Keep practising this, and carefully examine the results. As you get more experienced attempt to judge each shot, and expose for the subject. You will soon develop a knack for knowing what to set the exposure for.

There is some really good articles on the net on exposure. Here is a good starting place, on what is known as 'the zone system'

link

Good luck

Hi Darren, welcome to the community! Looking at your pics and also the one you posted on the Gallery I would tend to agree that on the duck shots it's the water that has created the issue. Your Gallery picture had bright sky as the main background and this too can upset the exposure. My best advice would be:

1. Always take a test shot (if you have time) and bracket your exposures whenever possible

2. Use the Histogram to review your test shot and learn to read this correctly (your manual will explain this)

3. For tricky subjects like the duck on the water it may be an idea to set your camera to spot metering

4. Don't be afraid to use your camera's manual mode - most of my pics are shot in manual as it gives ultimate control over exposure and there's no chance of the settings changing when you recompose the scene

Hope this is helpful!

Regards
David

Hi Darren,

On the KR you do most things with the info button to the right of the LCD screen. The posh camera owners on here have seperate buttons for almost everything!

The + or - button is just behind your shutter button and will appear on the bottom left of the main info screen.

The next press of the info screen gives you a grid where you can quick change main settings without having to hunt through menus. The extreme left middle row item is most relevant here as you can toggle multi segment,center weighted and spot metering using the dial wheel next to where your thumb rests.

Use multi segment until used to your camera. If using telephoto for wildlife consider spot or center weighted to concentrate on the creature you want. Set your exposure correction to 1/3 rather than 1/2 stops (the manual will explain but its in C1, number 1 menu) PLUS 2/3 will probably fix your current issue.

Also make sure your LCD brightness isn't giving you false previews. Brightness setting is in the 'spanner' marked menu 2 at the top. The default 0 is usually fine.

I'd stick with Program mode until familiar then consider AV Aperture priority for default use

Hope this helps

Guys . I'll take all of this great advice and keep practicing . A half press with my panasonic in maual mode gave an exposure bar allowing you to adjust to see a correct exposure , is there nothing similar with an slr ?

Not unless I've missed something in the manual!! You can normally only check after you've taken the pic - by looking at the histogram, which is the key to getting the right exposure really. Mind you....it's a good idea... small histogram in viewfinder!

Manual with Live view will give you an exposure bar at the bottom of the lCD preview screen. Adjust with thumb jog dial.

A plus or minus numerical read flashing bottom right is displayed when using optical viewfinder (at first shutter release pressure) which you can adjust using the thumb dial. Very useful when using old manual lenses or manual extension tubes.

The KR is a very clever camera, do persevere.

Darren, in manual mode, the camera is constantly metering for you! Take a look at the exposure bar in the bottom left of your screen and it will indicate whether it thinks you are under or over-exposing. You can then adjust to suit as follows:

1. Change Shutter Speed with the dial

2. Change Aperture by holding down the '+/-' button and using the dial

3. Change ISO sensitivity by pressing the right button next to 'OK'

If you are using an old 'manual' lens (which I suspect you are not), metering is done by pressing the '+/-' button.

If you need any more help don't be afraid to ask.

Regards
David

Hi Darren, any chance you could post one of the duck images with the exif data. We could take a look at your shooting data then, and judge what might be happening?

The image is very dark, maybe up to a couple of stops under-exposed in some areas.
In multi-segment metering, even if the water was bright, the main area of the image is the grass, and no modern camera light meter would be that fooled.
In spot metering, the duck has bright grey plumage which might cause the rest of the image to be darker, but the ducks plumage would be correctly exposed, which it isn't, so it's not that.
In averaged metering, the camera would have definitely not under exposed with a scene with limited EV range, so there must be something else at play here.

hope to be of help