[agatchell]

I have a K50. I have only recently started using Manual mode regularly. I noticed that, whenever I shoot Manual, the camera defaults to -5 EV compensation. The screen on the back will show 0 EV compensation, but, if I hold the shutter release to lock focus, it goes right to -5. If I see it in -5 and adjust it to 0, then take the shot, it goes back to -5 and severely underexposes the shot. This does not happen in Bulb or TAV or any other mode; only in Manual. I have tried multiple lenses (one old repaired 50-135, one very new 300) and the camera did the same with both. Have you had this problem? How do you fix it? I can't find any menu options that address this problem.

Andy

[Larrymc]

I have a K50. I have only recently started using Manual mode regularly. I noticed that, whenever I shoot Manual, the camera defaults to -5 EV compensation. The screen on the back will show 0 EV compensation, but, if I hold the shutter release to lock focus, it goes right to -5. If I see it in -5 and adjust it to 0, then take the shot, it goes back to -5 and severely underexposes the shot. This does not happen in Bulb or TAV or any other mode; only in Manual. I have tried multiple lenses (one old repaired 50-135, one very new 300) and the camera did the same with both. Have you had this problem? How do you fix it? I can't find any menu options that address this problem.

Andy

I've loaned my K-50 to my daughter along with the manual but on my K-3 under camera icon (record)/ menu 4 /Memory make sure the check mark is not in EV compensation. My K-3 will hold what ever you set the EV compensation to in manual mode if that box ix checked.

Page 217 of the K-50 manual explains that checking this box retains the EV comp in memory when the camera is turned off.

Hope this helped

Larry

[jhankins]

I think what you're seeing isn't that the EC is set to -5. In M mode, the EV bar on the display and in the viewfinder will show you how much over or underexposed your photo is going to be when the camera is metering. When you press the EC button to set it, the bar displays the setting and let's you change it, then when you half-press the shutter release to focus, the camera meters and the EV bar changes to display what the camera thinks the exposure will be. You can test by opening up the aperture or slowing down the shutter speed. Assuming there's enough light, you should see the EV bar indicating less and less underexposure until it gets to 0. When I get home I'll check my K-50 and verify.

[mattb123]

I think what you're seeing isn't that the EC is set to -5. In M mode, the EV bar on the display and in the viewfinder will show you how much over or underexposed your photo is going to be when the camera is metering. When you press the EC button to set it, the bar displays the setting and let's you change it, then when you half-press the shutter release to focus, the camera meters and the EV bar changes to display what the camera thinks the exposure will be. You can test by opening up the aperture or slowing down the shutter speed. Assuming there's enough light, you should see the EV bar indicating less and less underexposure until it gets to 0. When I get home I'll check my K-50 and verify.

Yeah, this. There is no EV compensation in full manual mode. That is just the meter reading.

[Larrymc]

Yeah, this. There is no EV compensation in full manual mode. That is just the meter reading.

EV Comp in Manual mode biases the meter so if you dial in the manual settings to to show balance it in essence does the same as applying EV compensation in the auto modes. I have a hard time understanding why anyone would ever use want to use EV compensation in manual mode.

My answer was intended to hopefully solve the problem that the OP had, I think it may require a full reset though.

Larry

[photoptimist]

Yeah, this. There is no EV compensation in full manual mode. That is just the meter reading.

That depends on the model. For the K-10D, it's true there's no EV compensation in full manual mode. But for both the K-5 and K-1, there is. I don't know how the K-50 handles it.

On the K-5, it's a bit confusing because there's only a subtle difference in the exposure bar-graph. For a M-mode meter reading, you get a line of several bars showing over or under exposure. If you hold down the ±EV button and change that, the same bar-graph is used but it only shows a single bar for the setting value. The exposure bar-graph switches from showing the ±EV setting to showing the meter reading (adjusted by ±EV) when you half-press the shutter.

The best way to think about EV compensation is that your setting is tweaking the exposure meter reading which is then either used to set the exposure in any of the auto modes or is shown in the display in M model.

[jhankins]

From K-50 manual:

Capture Mode (p. 20)

EV bar scale
Displays the EV compensation values or difference between the
appropriate and current exposure values in a mode. (p.90, p.92)

Table on page 89 indicates that you can change EV comp in M mode.

Then, on p. 90:

In M mode, the difference from the proper
exposure is displayed in a bar scale while
the shutter speed or aperture value is
adjusted. The exposure value blinks red
when the difference from the proper
exposure is ±3.0 or larger.

[agatchell]

Thanks. Now, it all makes sense. I first noticed the problem at a model shoot at my camera club. I had a series of shots come out completely black and thought that had something to do with it. Eventually, someone (a pro) explained that had nothing to do with it. I just had messed up and not fired the flashes. I eventually fixed that problem, but couldn't solve this. It makes sense that the camera would read -5 in that situation because the settings were for use with 2 large softboxes. Composing without those would naturally cause the camera to underexpose.