Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
02-15-2012, 06:41 PM   #1
Veteran Member
reivax's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: California
Posts: 826
Underexposure Issues with Kr?

Lately, I've been having some underexposure issues with my Kr. Has anyone else had these? If you have, any tips on fixing? I've tried different lenses with different metering modes and keep finding the same results. I've also tried the lenses with and without the hoods. No real difference. Still underexposed.

02-15-2012, 07:41 PM   #2
Pentaxian
calsan's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Perth, Australia
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,543
Hi reivax
I think you need to post an example photo...
If your photo is of a white cat sleeping in the snow - that may be an example of what would cause an underexposure.
02-15-2012, 07:59 PM   #3
Veteran Member
lurchlarson's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Oregon, USA
Photos: Albums
Posts: 681
Also, what is your metering set on? I tend to use center weight and that fixes a lot of it for me. Then again I'm using a k200d and that generation of DSLRs tended to underexpose by 2/3 a stop all the time.
02-15-2012, 08:03 PM   #4
Veteran Member
reivax's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: California
Posts: 826
Original Poster
Not the best example. I actually deleted a lot of the pictures because they were underexposed. This was taken on a sunny day at about 4 pm in California. A lot of the other pictures I took were a lot worse and the colors looked really washed out with the same lens that I used to take this picture.



02-15-2012, 08:05 PM   #5
Veteran Member
reivax's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: California
Posts: 826
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by lurchlarson Quote
Also, what is your metering set on? I tend to use center weight and that fixes a lot of it for me. Then again I'm using a k200d and that generation of DSLRs tended to underexpose by 2/3 a stop all the time.
I used center weight metering on the Kr.
02-15-2012, 08:58 PM   #6
Veteran Member




Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1,889
What lens was that taken with? The aperture used isn't in the EXIF, so I'm assuming it's a M series or earlier. Are you sure the lens is functioning properly for stop down metering? You should be shooting in M mode and using the green button to meter when using manual lenses. Av (which this was shot in) is frequently off by a stop or two with manual lenses, so underexposed shots like this aren't a surprise.
02-15-2012, 09:18 PM   #7
Veteran Member
reivax's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: California
Posts: 826
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by Philoslothical Quote
What lens was that taken with? The aperture used isn't in the EXIF, so I'm assuming it's a M series or earlier. Are you sure the lens is functioning properly for stop down metering? You should be shooting in M mode and using the green button to meter when using manual lenses. Av (which this was shot in) is frequently off by a stop or two with manual lenses, so underexposed shots like this aren't a surprise.
It's actually an m42 lens. Still learning how to use this particular lens. However, I have a tendency to get underexposed shots no matter if it's a DA, FA, or F series. They aren't always underexposed, but I do seem to get a lot more that what I'm assuming would be considered normal. I just don't know if I might have some setting wrong on my Kr, or this is just a standard issue with Kr's.

02-15-2012, 09:22 PM   #8
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
mattt's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Niagara
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,905
for stop down metered photos, i always chimp and reshoot if necessary. The metering on my K300 F4 can shoot a little dark, but I'm usually in the ball park. A little bit of post usually fixes it up fine.

Last edited by mattt; 01-07-2016 at 05:34 PM.
02-15-2012, 09:28 PM   #9
Veteran Member




Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1,889
Hard to say. I went through a phase of this with mine, early on, but it must have been my (lack of) technique as I get much better results now, with a lot of room left for improvement of course.

The suggestion of using M mode and green button with manual lenses, including m42 lenses, is important. It's the proper way to use them. Some people insist on using Av, but they also frequently have to use EV compensation to counter its inaccuracy. That seems like a lot of unnecessarily missed shots and chimping to me, when the green button isn't inconvenient in the first place (IMO).

Regarding your newer lenses, it's harder to say what's going wrong. I take it you're shooting raw? What other settings do you use?
02-15-2012, 09:29 PM   #10
Veteran Member
reivax's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: California
Posts: 826
Original Poster
Not sure why the EXIF data didn't upload, but this one was taken with my DA 55-300. This is one of the worst cases. This was actually taken at about 6 pm in the summer, but it doesn't start to get dark in the summers until about 8 pm. Shot F-11, 1/500 ISO 400.

02-15-2012, 09:31 PM   #11
Veteran Member
reivax's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: California
Posts: 826
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by mattt Quote
for stop down metered photos, i always chimp and reshoot if necessary. The metering on my K300 F4 can shoot a little dark, but I'm usually in the ball park. A little bit of post usually fixes it up fine.
Some post definitely helps the picture, but I'm hoping I won't have to do too much of that. When I "fixed" the exposure, lightroom added 1.65 to the exposure. That's a lot, isn't it?
02-15-2012, 09:40 PM   #12
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
mattt's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Niagara
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,905
When you chimp, cheat with the histogram (cycle info button while on photo review). 1.65 for green button metering is not that far off from my experience with K mount lenses. As for metering being off with your more modern lenses, consider what you are pointing the lens at... reflection of that water is bright light, and your camera will under expose so that its 18% grey / middle grey. Matrix would likely have done a better job metering there. Normally shooting center weight myself, I do on occasion come across situations like this, but then, I often bracket my shots - a very good habit to be in when you consider electrons are free, and deleting extra frames is easy.
02-16-2012, 01:36 AM   #13
Pentaxian
calsan's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Perth, Australia
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 1,543
Matt's right, the water is correctly exposed so you need to be aware of the brightness or lack thereof of the subject relative to the background of the sky and water.

Option A (automatic)
This is a case of where you may wish to use the AE-L button to set the exposure on the houses rather than the bright water.
Basically, aim at the house over the road and click the AE-L button (assuming you don't have it set to auto focus mode instead)
Recompose the photo.
The water will now look really bright and the cars and houses will be exposed correctly.

Option B (guess work)
The way I would do it is to just dial in +1 exposure...
02-16-2012, 07:13 AM   #14
Veteran Member
reivax's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: California
Posts: 826
Original Poster
So you guys feel that it's normal to get this kind of inconsistency with the camera's exposure readings? If it is, I can learn to work around it, I just want to make sure there isn't something wrong with my camera.
02-16-2012, 07:54 AM   #15
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
mattt's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Niagara
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,905
I wouldn't call it inconsistancy - its performing as expected - exposing for a value of 18% is what it is designed to do. Notice the bottom left side of these screen captures.... the Histogram tells the story here. Camera is performing admirably.

I hope you dont mind, but it is the most direct way to explain what is going on and confirm that the camera is working correctly.

Last edited by mattt; 01-07-2016 at 05:34 PM.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
camera, issues, k-r, kr, lenses, pentax k-r, underexposure
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
K-r underexposure vs. k-7/k-5 jackero27 Pentax K-r 17 05-17-2011 05:13 PM
Underexposure rmarkus Pentax Medium Format 16 05-16-2011 10:16 PM
Underexposure? spidey Pentax K-r 8 03-27-2011 01:10 PM
Another Underexposure...please help PentaxKX-2011 Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 16 01-19-2011 12:27 PM
Pentax K7 and underexposure ulrich Pentax DSLR Discussion 13 05-13-2010 03:15 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:31 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top