Originally posted by GUB It is about using the liveview. If it is by design (and not just some setting somewhere in my one) your K-1 will not auto brighten. So if you want to critical focus in a macro setting that is going to need a flash your live view stays dark as. (on "A"). But if you use the aperture ring you can see what you are doing. Try it with your FA 50.
I went through this some years ago looking at the live view exposure.
It uses the metering mode for the live view image, even if you are using a manual exposure mode for your shot.
So basically if you put it on spot metering, and put the moon in the centre of the frame, it will correctly expose the live view image.
Kinda makes sense, but threw me for a long while. Envisioned it like the live view was a view of the scene exposed so you could see it, and not an indication of what your current exposure settings would produce.
There's nothing about it being a DSLR that means the live view has to be done this way. I really like what Olympus? was doing, where you would see the final image as it was being 'painted' during long exposure shots for example.