EV compensation - just a trick?

I find my K10D under-exposes. I think this is a common 'complaint' and possibly based on trying to emulate film or specifically slide behaviour? is this true?
I am going to have to compensate with the EV dial.
Does anyone know if this just amplifies the signal or if it actually changes the settings so the sensor gets a longer exposure?
My camera shop man tells me it is better to be dark but my understanding is, as long as you don't blow the highlights there's more data in the light end so you should process down, not up?
I have tried metering all sorts of ways.
Otherwise really chuffed with the camera, it's blooming' lovely to use.

If the indicated exposure was 1/125 sec at f8 on Av setting, for example, then dialling in -1EV compensation would give you 1/250 sec at f8. You can see this for yourself if you look at the camera readout.

As regards exposure, like slides, over-exposure kills an image, hence the advice to under-expose if anything. But it's also true that the lighter tones have more information. The real answer is to meter accurately and some digital users would IMHO benefit enormously from trying a slide film or two. They might be shocked at how bad their metering was and learn to improve it. This would reap tremendous benefits when using digital.

My preference is to avoid blown out highlights but to give an accurate exposure. If anything, though, I would definitely under-expose. You can pull detail out of shadows but you can't out of blown out areas.

Thanks John,
Clearly a very pragmatic aproach.
I can't remember where I saw the stuff about keeping to the light end of the histogram but it was only intended as a technique for eeking out the last vestiges of info, so I can see your real-world aproach is better 95% of the time.
I spent many happy years with a P30 and slide film, I must go thru them one day and see how many were badly exposed. I suspect I am in for a shock

of course you guys are right..
blown highlights....bad.
getting midtones closer to the right third is better for midtones and shadow detial.

a true conflict.

there's only one answer for a camera maker....
err on the side of caution and underexpose.

for amatuers that equates to many savable shots that can be recovered in computer or more likely by the photofinisher.

for the advanced shooter, it means careful metering and or more advanced tools in computer.

either way it was the right choice.

The latter

I still find my Gossen light meter in incident mode works wonders.

Kim

The K10D frequently underexposes, normally I dial-in between +0.5 & +1EV for a "spot-on" exposure - when shooting RAW it's possible to recover slightly blown highlights. Personally I prefer this in order to keep noise levels down if shooting high(ish) iso

simon