[Lambic]

I bought a K-70 in the spring. It's capability in low light is remarkable, at least relative to my old K10D, but it's almost too good.

I tend to use aperture priority with ISO used to bring the shutter speed up to something manageable when the light is low. The problem I'm having is that the metering is nudging me to settings that result in the shot looking like it was not taken at the time of day when it actually was. Dusk moves to full light, night shots turn into these surreal images that look like I used an enormous overhead flash. To get around this, I've been switching to manual or stepping down the aperture a step or two. This seems like a time consuming trial-and-error approach. Are there any good alternatives?

[HoutHans]

I use the same approach, manual mode and experimenting. Having done that quite a few times, I find that I can get pretty decent exposure just flying by the seat of my pants. Practice makes perfect, so just try it sometimes and you'll quickly develop a feeling for this.

[robiles]

I also use AV, and dial in EV compensation depending on the time of day, and weather. Fir example during the day when cloudy, i dial in -0.7 ev, to preserve details in the highlights. At night i dial in about -2.0 ev, take a test shot and then adjust accordingly.

I have set the front wheel to change ev compensation, while de back wheel controls aperture. I am not sure how that works out on the k-70 as i have the K3, but it is worth a try.

edit: i always set iso manually, as i always try to use the lowest value possible that allows for a fast enough shutter speed to avoid camera shake

[Vmax911]

I also use exposure compensation. Hold down the +/- button, scroll the wheel back a few clicks and done. Never have to change modes, just have to remember to put it back.

[K1N8]

I also use AV, and dial in EV compensation depending on the time of day, and weather. Fir example during the day when cloudy, i dial in -0.7 ev, to preserve details in the highlights. At night i dial in about -2.0 ev, take a test shot and then adjust accordingly.

Second that method, plus live view gives a fair preview of the EV compensation.

[robiles]

Second that method, plus live view gives a fair preview of the EV compensation.

What setings do you use with live view? The results i get while using live view are not always what the screen shows, especially using an nd filter. It is more guess work than anything.

[kiwi_jono]

I use Manual or Bulb mode at night. Bulb when going for long exposures.

I used to Hyper Av but really, in my experience, the needed exposure offset is a bit to variable (the meter loses accuracy the darker it gets and also depends on light distribution of the scene) - so might as well be in M as you can often guess about the right exposure straight away,

[Just1MoreDave]

There are many many ways to get the photo you want. It's more about which one you like best. Negative exposure compensation with Av is good because it's close to what you're already doing. You have to remember to readjust the exposure compensation back up for normal conditions. There is a page of settings probably called Memory which tells the camera what to remember when you turn it off. I like to uncheck Ev Comp so it's reset to zero on my next session.

If you find something that works very well, use one of the User settings to remember that. Next time it gets dark, just switch to that User mode.

You might experiment with one of the scene modes designed for night. Sometimes those work OK and sometimes they come with restrictions you don't want.

[CarlJF]

Like others said, playing with exposure compensation is the way to go. In Av mode, you can even set the front wheel to adjust EC, which makes it quick and easy. For a nightime shot to look like night, a -2 setting is a good starting point.

You can also combine this with auto bracketing to rapidly get three shots from -3 to -1. One of them should be about like you’re looking for.

[MossyRocks]

For a nightime shot to look like night, a -2 setting is a good starting point.

I was going to suggest the same thing and that is about where I start and may do a 5 shot bracket with a step of .7 if not too sure where I should be. Either that or I find something I want really bright and meter off of that with spot metering and let everything else be dark.

[ChristianRock]

I also use an EV adjustment of -1 or -2 usually starting with -1 as often times it's enough to at least make it look like night, as you said.

[pschlute]

The problem I'm having is that the metering is nudging me to settings that result in the shot looking like it was not taken at the time of day when it actually was

That is how meters work. The camera is trying to get you an image that represents 18% gray.

[tokyoscape]

Me too, most of the time I EV -0.7 to -0.3 then AV or TAV depend on what i want to capture.

sometime use spot meter and EV 0. Just meter at the highlight.

Or if the light won't change much, just do manual and adjust iso or shutter speed 0.5 - 1 stop as see fit. Just take time to make sure I have the right exposure in the first couple of shots and keep the settings.

[mikesbike]

It will also be trial and error using exposure comp, by just checking results on your screen once taken, which is ok for a few quick shots. But for more shooting, Manual mode is best. Just use spot metering to read the lighting in a mid-tone area of the available light in the scene to get a starting point and adjust from there. This will be a light gray or other lighter color the brightest light is shining upon. Use the green button to do this quickly, then hit AE-L to preserve the exposure value, then adjust your aperture where you want it and the shutter speed will follow along. This is the exclusive Pentax Hyper Manual Control System. You could also do the same to adjust shutter speed and the aperture will follow along.

Spot metering is much faster and more efficient than with other camera systems.

Eventually, after some experience in doing it, just eyeballing a low light scene will give you a good idea for a starting point in Manual Mode. Spot metering in Manual Mode is still a most valuable tool for most accuracy in tricky lighting.

[interested_observer]

I shoot with a friend who has a K-70, which is his first camera (picked it up in April, 6 months ago) other than his smart phone. We shoot Milky Way landscapes, so essentially the same problem you are having for our landscape shots (without astrotracing).

I shoot with a K1 with a DA 15-30/f2.8. He is shooting with his K70 and my borrowed Sigma 18-35/f1.8. Essentially, we have found them very similar. The K1 has about 1 to 1.5 stop advantage over the crop sensor K70.

• Photographic Dynamic Range versus ISO Setting

However, the K70 with the Acceleration Chip picks up 1.5 stops, starting at ISO 600. What the K1 give up with a slower aperture (f2.8) lens the K70 picks up with a faster aperture (f1.8). So, what we have found shooting together over the last 6 months, is that the kits are pretty equal in terms of overall results.

The K70, with its Sony sensor is also ISO invariant. Which means that you can shoot, capture the light and then make your adjustments in post essentially loosing nothing. Actually, you can gain by shooting at lower ISOs which tends to limit the noise, while capturing better color (star color), and then boost in post. Now that does not mean that you will capture no sensor noise. Note - actually we have found that the K70 also has the same white dot problem as the K1 has.

Shooting off tripods, we crank up the ISO to whatever (51200) and shoot say a 2 to 5 second frame to check framing, levelness, etc. then lower it to ~800 for the rest of the shooting. For the landscape segments, a 1 to 2second exposure (sometimes 4 seconds) or several 2 second exposures stacked, yields some pretty nice results.

In post processing, you can then adjust your exposures to keep the sense of night, while bringing out some of the shadow detail (well in the dark of night, everything is in the "shadows"). But, the key is - with the sensor being ISO invariant, you have the latitude of adjusting the exposure in post to provide the overall sense that you are looking for.

Here is a shot at midnight (3 frames stitched). Actually this is a test shot, that I'm using to help me process a 27 frame stitch of exactly the same view. I'm trying to get the lighting right. This was shot at 15mm with the large stitch shot at 30mm which captures about 4x more light.

Here is shot - 18 frames stitched - that I want to reshoot again - trying to get the headlights to light up the canyon at night.

There is a lot of trial and error while you are shooting out in the field, but with some reasonable post processing you can get the overall look you desire. It's not like shooting during the day with a light meter, where you can meter the scene and expose for perfection. This is more hit and miss, getting a feeling for the location, and the overall darkness that you are dealing with.