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06-14-2009, 04:55 AM   #1
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Upset with my new K20D

I have a K100d, K10d and just received my K20D the other day. I am shocked to see how my new K20D underexposes everything. Shots that I can normally get with my K10 or K100 come out dark and unusable with my new K20D. The same shots are metered completely differently. In fact If i use the same exposure settings on the K20 as I do the K10, The k20 photos are much more underexposed on the K20. I have done some reading and see this is a common complaint. The work around seems to be compensate the exposure anywhere from 1/3 to a full stop depending on the lens. I still have firmware 1.1 and I'm not sure an upgrade would resolve this. I really only picked up the K20 because it dropped down the nice price of $659 at B&H but come on, I'm really disappointed and shocked people find this acceptable. Anyone have any advice? Any in site is really appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

06-14-2009, 05:10 AM   #2
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Sorry to hear you're having ttrouble. Interestingly, I had just the opposite experience with my K20, which exposes "to the right" of my K10. I shoot RAW, and find that I typically have to do less exposure adjustment with the K20 than I do with my K10. Of course, we don't know which of our cameras is the outlier, but maybe it would be worth trying another sample; as you probably know, B&H is pretty good about returns.

Jer
06-14-2009, 05:18 AM   #3
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Hard to explain, but it would be good to know if you're shooting RAW or JPEG, what metering mode you've been using and whether there are any blown highlights in the images that may skew the metering off. Try posting some examples, particularly of reasonably even-lit images, without PP to see what the issue is.
06-14-2009, 05:47 AM   #4
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OK

Ok here is an example. I really had to slow it down with the K20 to get what I wanted. Same settings on the K10 was blown out.

Obviously not a big deal for taking a photo of my messy kitchen but if people were in the room... I'd have blur.



06-14-2009, 06:18 AM   #5
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A few things need to be considered... though please excuse me if they're obvious:

Spot metering depends on what you lock focus on and what is being metered.
Are the AE-L lock with AF lock settings the same on the K10D and the K20D?
If not, results will be different if recomposing the shot.
If the K20D locked on the centre of this image, the exposure is correct for the cabinet glass - reflection was not clipped. The K10D overexposed the metered area (assuming it was spot metered on the same point).

I'll stress that a better example to illustrate the point would be a subject that is evenly lit. This will make the under/over-exposure more obvious and reproducible.

Multi-segment metering is better to use in general to get an evenly spread histogram. As long as lighting contrast is not too strong, the cams should have no problems metering the subject adequately.
06-14-2009, 06:24 AM   #6
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I still dont think I should have to slow it down to 1/15th to get a decent shot. God forbid if the toaster oven moved.
06-14-2009, 06:31 AM   #7
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ISO the same?
If you want to be able to hand-hold, the ISO can simply be increased.


Last edited by Ash; 06-14-2009 at 06:49 AM.
06-14-2009, 06:34 AM   #8
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Iso 400 on both.
06-14-2009, 06:42 AM   #9
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It's more useful to us if you post JPEGs that have their full EXIF data. That way we can look at all the parameters available.

BTW, the second picture is preferable to the first because the highlights aren't blown out.
06-14-2009, 06:47 AM   #10
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Yes. I agree the second is more natural and would be the desired shot but I dont think is should have to be dropped to 1/15 to get it.
06-14-2009, 06:51 AM   #11
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I don't quite understand what the issue is now...
Is it that you think your K20D is underexposing (and from this example, it clearly isn't), or is it that you think it needs 'more light' to get the same exposure?

What Tv did your K10D need to get the same shot?
06-14-2009, 06:53 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by pcfranchina Quote
Yes. I agree the second is more natural and would be the desired shot but I dont think is should have to be dropped to 1/15 to get it.
What does that mean?

Shutter speed is determined by what exposure mode you are using.

Aperture, Shutter speed and ISO can all be adjusted by the camera depending on the program mode selected.

If you don't want the camera to adjust shutter speed, then use a different program mode.
06-14-2009, 07:23 AM   #13
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Both cameras set in Manual. Same Iso, Same shutter speed, Same F-stop, same lens (Sigma DG 24-60 2.8) should produce the same if not a better results in my opinion.
06-14-2009, 07:56 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by pcfranchina Quote
Both cameras set in Manual. Same Iso, Same shutter speed, Same F-stop, same lens (Sigma DG 24-60 2.8) should produce the same if not a better results in my opinion.
You got a better result. You got a picture without blown highlights. I can't follow what your complaint is. Are you upset with the photo, or the fact that the cameras indicate slightly different exposures?
06-14-2009, 07:59 AM   #15
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I agree but think 1/15 is too slow of a shutter speed to get me the better shot.
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