Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
09-07-2017, 06:23 AM   #1
Pentaxian
timw4mail's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Driving a Mirage
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 1,670
Do you underexpose by default?

With the impressive dynamic range of the Pentax DSLRs I own, I set the Exposure to be at -1EV by default. I find this helpful because it's way easier to pull details out of shadows than to get them back from overexposed highlights.

One consideration with this is that different lenses from different brands tend to over, or underexpose in different ways.

Do you have a negative exposure by default?

09-07-2017, 06:27 AM   #2
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
luftfluss's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: NJ
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 11,595
Yup. Nearly all my shooting is outdoors and sometimes in harsh light, so I usually have EV set to between -0.5 to -1.5, depending on the body/lens combo.
09-07-2017, 06:45 AM   #3
Moderator
Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
Sandy Hancock's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 11,254
Except in very unusual circumstances, yes.
A blown highlight is lost forever. In the Pentax world, almost any shadow is at least partially recoverable.
09-07-2017, 07:03 AM - 1 Like   #4
Pentaxian
LennyBloke's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Worcestershire, UK
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 676
Yep - depending on conditions it's usually -1 or -1.5 EV !

Just because my Wife's highlighted hair can return to natural colour doesn't mean you can recover detail from a Pentax highlight

09-07-2017, 07:04 AM   #5
amateur dirt farmer
Loyal Site Supporter
pepperberry farm's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: probably out in a field somewhere...
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 41,257
yes..
09-07-2017, 07:08 AM   #6
Pentaxian




Join Date: Nov 2011
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 4,309
QuoteOriginally posted by LennyBloke Quote
Just because my Wife's highlighted hair can return to natural colour doesn't mean you can recover detail from a Pentax highlight
OK, but better not get into a discussion of shadow detail here!
09-07-2017, 07:18 AM - 2 Likes   #7
Pentaxian
normhead's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Near Algonquin Park
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 40,442
My default is a bit higher than most. -.7 EV, but I do find that is necessary on all my cameras, Pentax, Sigma, Nikon it's the same. Like many, I prefer black shadows to blown highlights. The negative space created by a black shadow is to my mind much more pleasing than a blown highlight.

On sunsets I often go as far as -3 EV.

09-07-2017, 07:31 AM   #8
Veteran Member
johnmflores's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Somerville, NJ
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 5,361
I usually shoot M with center-weighted metering. Still, I typically aim to underexpose by up to a stop and often more depending upon conditions. I chimp and review histograms obsessively.
09-07-2017, 07:40 AM   #9
Moderator
Loyal Site Supporter




Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 1,777
Same. I default to -1.0
09-07-2017, 07:44 AM - 1 Like   #10
Pentaxian
LaHo's Avatar

Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Greater Copenhagen Area
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 428
QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
My default is a bit higher than most. -.7 EV, but I do find that is necessary on all my cameras, Pentax, Sigma, Nikon it's the same. Like many, I prefer black shadows to blown highlights. The negative space created by a black shadow is to my mind much more pleasing than a blown highlight.

On sunsets I often go as far as -3 EV.
Absolutely agree on -.7 EV. I have my K-5 and K-3 set to under-expose by .7 EV almost by default. It's much easier to correct a small amount of under-exposure, but over-exposure of e.g. blonde hair or a shiny forehead can ruin an otherwise good shot beyond repair.
09-07-2017, 07:51 AM   #11
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
ffking's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Old South Wales
Posts: 6,029
It depends a bit on the type of photography, I suppose - for landscape on a tripod, I use the histogram on manual, which is a sort of shot by shot decision making - but if you 'expose to the right' but avoid clipping, you'll usually 'underexpose' scenes with bright highlights and 'overexpose' less contrasty and darker scenes. for walkabout stuff, I usually rely on the meter and accept the results. You wouldn't normally want to shoot dark subjects against a bright background (many BIF) with a minus EV, either
09-07-2017, 07:58 AM - 1 Like   #12
Pentaxian
normhead's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Near Algonquin Park
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 40,442
QuoteOriginally posted by johnmflores Quote
I usually shoot M with center-weighted metering. Still, I typically aim to underexpose by up to a stop and often more depending upon conditions. I chimp and review histograms obsessively.
The histogram IMHO is the biggest advantage to digital photography. No one cares what the "correct" exposure is according to the meter. We only care about what the correct exposure is for the scene we are shooting right now and the way we want the final image to look.
09-07-2017, 07:58 AM   #13
Pentaxian
timw4mail's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Driving a Mirage
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 1,670
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by ffking Quote
It depends a bit on the type of photography, I suppose - for landscape on a tripod, I use the histogram on manual, which is a sort of shot by shot decision making - but if you 'expose to the right' but avoid clipping, you'll usually 'underexpose' scenes with bright highlights and 'overexpose' less contrasty and darker scenes. for walkabout stuff, I usually rely on the meter and accept the results. You wouldn't normally want to shoot dark subjects against a bright background (many BIF) with a minus EV, either
You mean a backlit subject? I would think underexposing could be useful there as well, giving you the option to have a silhouette or the dark object exposed correctly when you do post-processing.

I never cease to be amazed at how much you can bring out the shadows in post with RAW files.

But if you over-expose, sometimes the jpeg engine gets the best result
09-07-2017, 07:59 AM   #14
Veteran Member
joergens.mi's Avatar

Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 408
typically -.7, for all my pentax cameras
I would be lucky if i could program this via a Menuitem as my default.
09-07-2017, 08:00 AM   #15
Pentaxian
timw4mail's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Driving a Mirage
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 1,670
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by joergens.mi Quote
typically -.7, for all my pentax cameras
I would be lucky if i could program this via a Menuitem as my default.
At least with the K-1, you can save the EV setting on the user modes
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, default, dslr, exposure, photography, underexpose
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Your vehicle: what do you have, why do you like it, and what do you not like? Auzzie-Phoenix General Talk 2978 1 Day Ago 01:01 AM
why do pentax bodies always underexpose shaolen Pentax DSLR Discussion 15 10-11-2014 01:55 PM
K3 new metering system -tend to underexpose? Sleepy Pentax K-3 & K-3 II 21 10-09-2014 02:27 PM
Should my Vivitar Series 1 underexpose, and by how much? (explained) Pentaxman645 Troubleshooting and Beginner Help 4 08-30-2011 04:38 AM
Does the K-x have a tendency to underexpose? jct us101 Pentax DSLR Discussion 17 06-22-2010 05:05 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:12 PM. | 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