[longerboats]

It seems that my k200d overexposes things quite a bit. Any ideas on how to remedy this?

[k100d]

pentaxes usually underexpose. any examples?

[Marc Sabatella]

It seems that my k200d overexposes things quite a bit. Any ideas on how to remedy this?

That is indeed a rare complaint. Samples would help - with EXIF intact. But first thing, I'd check your metering mode. Multi-segment will always be the most conservative; it's practically blown-highlight-proof. Center-weighted tends to produce decent-looking exposures overall, but provides no guarantees against blown highlights. With spot metering, expouses should be all over the map unless you know exactly what you are doing (eg, metering off a gray card, or off particular subjects and then applying standard sorts of compensation factors).

Might also help if you describe your basic process - what lens you are using, what exposure mode you are in, whether you focus / meter and then recompose or always point straight at your subject, whether you have the option set to link AE-L and AF point, etc.

[PascalSijen]

It seems that my k200d overexposes things quite a bit. Any ideas on how to remedy this?

This is actually the opposite of what I have found in the short time I have had the camera. I actually think the default jpg's look a little over saturated and underexposed. But overall, the RAW image files look much better. This is also what many reviewers have said. So, I also would love to see some examples of overexposed images.

Cheers!

[egordon99]

Make sure you're not spot metering on a dark object.

[Yale Quan]

I have a K200D and I'm having to fight the underexposure problem. I've only been able to get my K200D to overexpose if I'm activly trying to overexpose the image...or if I left my flash on and forgot about it.

I'd be interested to know what lens and what setting's you're using.

-Yale

[Marc Sabatella]

I've said this many times before, but it bears repeating:

The common complaint about the camera underexposing is really just a case of not understanding what the metering is trying to achieve and why, and how to this understanding to achieve the exposure you want.

It is true that the "correct" exposure - one in which the average value is a little darker than an 18% gray card, or even darker if that's what ios necessary to avoid blowing out highlights - is often darker than you might subjectively *want* for the scene. For instance, a shot of pure white object *should* come out a medium gray, not white. A scene in which you are shooting a person in front of the sky *should* come out with detail still visible in the sky, and the only way to do that without artificially compressing the contrast in the scene is too render your subject far darker than you would normally want. On the other hand, a picture of a black object, or a subejct in front of a *dark* background, should come out too light, for exactly the same reasons.

Once you understand this, then you will be able to predict how much exposure compensation to apply in any given sene to get the exposure you want.

That said, a quick-and-dirty change you can do that has a decent chance of making you happier is to switch from multi-segment to center-weighted metering. That way, the camera is less able to try to protect bright highlights. In the case of a person with the sky in th background, you'll get a somewhat blown out sky but a more pleasing exposure on the person, without having to apply exposure compensation or do PP.

The next question is usually, "but why did my cheap P&S camera do better". And the answer is, because it either wasn't concerned about protecting highlights (msot P&S cameras blow them out regularly), or else they do heavy-handed processing in-camera to artificially reduce the contrast levels so you don't end up with your subjects being too dark when shot against bright backgrounds. A DSLR generally assumes that *if* you want that effect, you'll want to apply it yourself in PP, so they default to giving you the image that best allows for that sort of pP - one in which there *is* still detail in the background, meaning the foreground will indeed be dark.

[Lowell Goudge]

for all those who think they have exposure issues, do a couple of simple tests.

Point at a uniformly lit concrete wall or paved surface.

let the camera meter the surface, and take a shot.


measure the histogram grey scale value (it should be about 110).

If it is within +/-10 of this then the metering is correct.

To check that you have the correct dynamic range (set contrast to neutral) and take a series of shots in manual,

Start by setting the lens to its middle apature, and then meter correctly with that apature (i.e. set shutter speed) then without changing shutter speed, change only the apature in either 1/2 or 1/3 stop increments. Each fullstop should be a grey scale value of about 45 between a grey scale range of 25 and 230

these tests will confirm the lens and camera are working as they should.