# Exposure compensation in camera.. do you use it?



## cellomaster27 (Sep 29, 2015)

This may be a very bad question.. but I would like to know if you guys use exposure comp. in camera. I only use the usual manual settings.. shutter speed, aperture, and iso. I may bump up the exposure in post a bit.. but would it be better to use the exposure comp in camera or post? or does it matter. I guess I really don't understand how it works in the first place. Explanation is much appreciated. Thank you!


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 29, 2015)

Definitely, when in a situation where the camera exposure system needs tweaking, and manual exposure is not practical (most of the time for me), exposure compensation is quick and easy.


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## jarrodeu (Sep 29, 2015)

I use it for fast moving subjects which are backlit. Can be very handy.
Like this






Jarrod


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## 3kramd5 (Sep 29, 2015)

Historically no. Now that I have a camera with a workable auto-ISO, I may explore it (however currently I have EC dial disabled on that camera and haven't used auto-ISO much).


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## FTb-n (Sep 29, 2015)

It depends upon what you mean by exposure compensation -- fully manual or in-camera via menu setting.

If you mean manually selecting shutter speed, aperture, and ISO to deviate from your meter, then yes. I often Expose To The Right (a.k.a. ETTR) and over-expose the image. When shooting a subject against sand or snow (or ice at a rink), over-exposing the image is necessary to properly expose the subject. (Of course, this could be a semantics thing. If the subject is properly exposed, then the image could be said to be "correct" and your meter would reflect this if you were using it in spot mode. But, I digress.)

I often shoot sports in poorly lit gyms with high ISO. In this case, it's best to over-expose a bit (maybe 2/3 stop), then correct it in post. This will help ensure that most pixels are "energized" which reduces high ISO noise. It also records more detail in the shadows. Just be careful about blowing out the highlights. It helps to have your LCD set to "blink" the blown highlights.

I'm not a fan of auto exposure and typically live in manual mode. But, with the 1Dx, I will occasionally use auto ISO, then bump it's "exposure compensation" menu setting up or down as needed based on the background. I think the 1Dx is the only Canon DSLR that offers this form of exposure compensation for manual mode. (Anyone know if the 7D2 offers this?)


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## privatebydesign (Sep 30, 2015)

I don't understand how anybody who is keen on photography couldn't use exposure compensation. Even shooting M mode we are still using the cameras meter and choosing to go a different route, which is essentially the same thing as using an auto mode and EC.

EC is the backbone of optimising your exposure, achieving optimal exposure is the very foundation of good photography.


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## takesome1 (Sep 30, 2015)

When not shooting in manual it seems I use it all the time. I stop to chimp a picture and its turned dark or bright for no reason. I check the settings and find out I accidentally turned the compensation up or down. You think I would learn but it happens.

But I do use it on purpose occasionally when the camera struggles.


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## Northstar (Sep 30, 2015)

cellomaster27 said:


> This may be a very bad question.. but I would like to know if you guys use exposure comp. in camera. I only use the usual manual settings.. shutter speed, aperture, and iso. I may bump up the exposure in post a bit.. but would it be better to use the exposure comp in camera or post? or does it matter. I guess I really don't understand how it works in the first place. Explanation is much appreciated. Thank you!



Cello...good question. If I understand your question correctly, you are asking about the EC setting in the menu?? If so, let me try to help...

The Exposure compensation (EC) is commonly used when you're shooting in manual mode but using auto ISO. Auto ISO and EC work together. You adjust the EC setting in the menu, and the auto ISO will bump up or reduce the exposure by the amount you've indicated in the EC setting in the menu.

Auto ISO is very nice to use when you have quickly changing light conditions when shooting in manual. While in auto ISO, if I want to overexpose all my shots by 1/4 stop, then I go to my menu settings and set the EC settings to +1/4 stop. 

And "yes" it's better to get the proper exposure to begin with rather than bumping the exposure in post processing. 

I frequently use EC with auto ISO because I shoot sports in changing light conditions, and I like to "shoot to the right" as FTB wrote. (So I can get more light under helmets)

One other thing about EC, I tend to leave it on +1/4 all the time (+1/2 for football or hockey helmets) because I feel like my 1dx underexposed by that much all the time. 

Good luck,
North


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## candc (Sep 30, 2015)

You have a limited amount of dr that the camera can capture so if your scene has a lot of dr you need to compensate. Birds can be a problem that way. Bald eagles are a good example. If its bright or the bird is against a darker background then its best to underexposed -1 or -2. Otherwise the white head will get "blown out" and not have any details. 

Blown out highlights are just about impossible to fix and make natural looking so I use -ec quite a bit.


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## risc32 (Sep 30, 2015)

It looks to me like some of you are confusing auto exposure with the "auto iso" setting. 
Me? I never use it, exposure compensation that is. If something is backlit I'll either go manual or more often than not I'll just change the metering . So for that above plane shot, which is awesome BTW, I would just click over to the metering pattern that looks like this ().
also it looks like some here might call every adjustment an exposure compensation, but that term has come to have a specific meaning, and manually bumping your exposure around isn't it. Most of the time I never even look at the meter, so I'm not sure what that means I'm doing. But then again I already know some here find handheld meters useful so who knows.


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## Zeidora (Sep 30, 2015)

Use it VERY frequently, particularly with flash, which is a different setting than with ambient light. It might be the most frequent adjustment do after focus and f-stop. Thereafter it might be custom white balance.
I go manual once in a while, but then rather to ensure consistent exposures in a series.
Re metering, I mostly use center weighted, because then I know how exposure correction works, unlike matrix, which is a crap shot. Spot metering is very rare. If I need accurate metering, I'd rather go incident with external meter (Sekonik 558L), and then full manual mode. I rather use that for LF, not with SLR.
Auto-iso: never. 98% set to 100.


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## cellomaster27 (Sep 30, 2015)

Northstar said:


> cellomaster27 said:
> 
> 
> > This may be a very bad question.. but I would like to know if you guys use exposure comp. in camera. I only use the usual manual settings.. shutter speed, aperture, and iso. I may bump up the exposure in post a bit.. but would it be better to use the exposure comp in camera or post? or does it matter. I guess I really don't understand how it works in the first place. Explanation is much appreciated. Thank you!
> ...



Okay, this is making alot more sense. And everyone else's comments. Thank you!! Nice pic jarrod.

Last thing that I forgot.. what is the "limit" if any to using this feature? I'm guessing that the higher or lower you go.. +/- 3 is not good? but +/- 1 or 2 is okay? This is just allowing the sensor to be more sensitive to the light? Maybe too much will introduce noise just like pulling up exposure in post? Embarrassing but better know now then never~ ;D


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## rpt (Sep 30, 2015)

Not so much EC in camera but I regularly use EC on the flash. I usually do that when I put a light diffuser on the flash head.


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## scottkinfw (Sep 30, 2015)

Looking at my 5DIII (pdf, pg 171) manual, ec can only be used in P/TV/AV, not in manual. Am I mistaken?

In manual, if you don't like what you see, adjust one of the variables- iso, shutter speed, aperture.

sek


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## jhpeterson (Sep 30, 2015)

takesome1 said:


> When not shooting in manual it seems I use it all the time.


While I probably use the manual setting for 90+% of my serious photography, I'll often turn to aperture or shutter-priority for both the casual and hurried shot. Then, I'll use exposure compensation pretty regularly.
I'll have to say, the speed dial on the back makes this almost effortless. This is definitely one function Canon has done right.


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## retroreflection (Sep 30, 2015)

The only "limit" is blowing the highlights, unless you need to sacrifice some of them as well.
The difference between the scene min, scene max, average metered spot, and your artistic vision determines how much compensation needs to be applied.


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## FTb-n (Sep 30, 2015)

scottkinfw said:


> Looking at my 5DIII (pdf, pg 171) manual, ec can only be used in P/TV/AV, not in manual. Am I mistaken?
> 
> In manual, if you don't like what you see, adjust one of the variables- iso, shutter speed, aperture.
> 
> sek


You are correct. The 5D3 does not offer EC in Manual mode when using Auto ISO. The 1Dx does. I never thought EC was needed in M mode until I got my 1Dx. It is handy. 

I don't often use Auto exposure, but when I do, Auto ISO in M is the only AE mode that I like. Because the 1Dx offers EC in Manual, I explore Auto ISO more often with then 1Dx than with the 5D3. With the 1Dx, it is easy to "manually" control the exposure by bumping the EC up or down as needed. Like Northstar noted, EC is handy when shooting sports in changing light -- such as outdoor sports on partly cloudy days.


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## Roo (Sep 30, 2015)

I use EC regularly when shooting sports. For ice hockey, I'll add +1 because of the predominantly white background while for a sport like cricket takeoff -2/3 as the dark backgrounds causes the detail in the whites to blow out.


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## Ian_of_glos (Sep 30, 2015)

Roo said:


> I use EC regularly when shooting sports. For ice hockey, I'll add +1 because of the predominantly white background while for a sport like cricket takeoff -2/3 as the dark backgrounds causes the detail in the whites to blow out.


Interesting to see that you have come to exactly the same conclusion as I have for shooting sport. The sport I shoot most is rugby union and I find that -2/3 is just about right. Sometimes, if one of the teams is wearing white for example, I might reduce that to -1/3, but I always under expose to some extent.


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## Maximilian (Sep 30, 2015)

I use EC in several cases, a lot of them already mentioned, e.g.
- snow/ice needs overexposure
- evening/night/event/concert needs underexposure to keep the light mood

I always use it when I don't have the time to optimize the exposure in manual or when I don't want/have time to spend in PP. 

I really would love the 5D3 having EC in Manual mode 
But that'll come with the 5D4. But I don't know if i will/want to buy that one.


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## tonyespofoto (Sep 30, 2015)

I use Exposure Compensation often, usually with sports. I often use a +1 for ice hockey, for example, because of the near white background. For football, especially in late afternoon backlit situations, I will use Highlight Tone Priority, which is a kind of Exposure Compensation. For shooting events, I will often set a +1/3 or +2/3 Exposure Compensation along with a flash exposure. The object here is to acquire the best Raw file possible. You want files from any event to be as nearly alike as possible so as to limit the time necessary for good Lightroom or ACR processing. If your exposures are all over the lot, you will need to spend a long time making them look consistent. If you are shooting Jpegs, you are in even more trouble. At least with Canon, I have found the most consistent flash exposures are those in which the flash contributes at least 1/3 stop more exposure than the available light. I almost always bounce the light off the ceiling and try to achieve an exposure in which the flash exposure, even if is the dominant light source, appears completely non-existent. I try to make it look as if the available light is the only light and it is a very flattering light (no raccoon eyes, etc). This is actually seldom the case, but properly balancing the flash exposure with the available light can make a silk purse out of the usual sow's ear of available light. A combination of Flash Exposure Compensation and Exposure Compensation plus gelling the flash is often necessary.


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## 3kramd5 (Sep 30, 2015)

privatebydesign said:


> I don't understand how anybody who is keen on photography couldn't use exposure compensation. Even shooting M mode we are still using the cameras meter and choosing to go a different route, which is essentially the same thing as using an auto mode and EC.
> 
> EC is the backbone of optimising your exposure, achieving optimal exposure is the very foundation of good photography.



I shoot based on the meter. I have a finger and a thumb and can adjust any of the three key exposure settings with ease. I don't understand the advantage of EC unless the camera is allowed to choose one of those settings, and don't agree with the final statement at all, since there could have been no good photography prior to EC were it true.


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## JohanCruyff (Sep 30, 2015)

Even though I know that Photography Holy Rules strictly forbid to take pictures from 11.00 AM to 5.00 PM, sometimes I disobey and - in strong/harsh light conditions - I often abandon M in favour of AV and sometimes underexpose.
I've read that other brands (whose blasphemous name cannot be pronounced in this forum) allow a more sophisticated EC... or was it a better AutoISO? :-\


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## weixing (Sep 30, 2015)

Hi,
I shoot wildlife and always use Exp. Comp. even in manual mode (7D2 can perform Exp. Comp. in manual mode with auto ISO), because it's fast... wildlife don't wait for you and every seconds saved count.

Have a nice day.


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## TexPhoto (Oct 5, 2015)

You are always better off getting the exposure correct in camera than fixing it later in post. if you achieve that via exposure compensation, or manual, is more a mater of personal preference. 

Three Photographers shot the same photo of an Aardvark:
Photographer 1: shot in Auto and his camera selected 1/125 and F4.0 and ISO 200.
Photographer 2: shot in Tv at 1/125 and ISO 200 and his camera selected and F4.0.
Photographer 3: shot in M and selected 1/125 and F4.0 and ISO 200 all while watching the camera's meter.
So who is the better Photographer?
My guess is the Aardvark who got a selfie with the three photographers on his iPhone.

I use Exposure compensation and typically shoot in Av. I think the image is more important than the settings.


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## privatebydesign (Oct 5, 2015)

TexPhoto said:


> You are always better off getting the exposure correct in camera than fixing it later in post. if you achieve that via exposure compensation, or manual, is more a mater of personal preference.
> 
> Three Photographers shot the same photo of an Aardvark:
> Photographer 1: shot in Auto and his camera selected 1/125 and F4.0 and ISO 200.
> ...



Yes, but if the Aardvark is in the shade hiding under some dead brush:
Photographer 1: shot in Auto and his camera selected 1/125 and F4.0 and ISO 200. And he put EV comp at -1 and got 1/100 and F5.0 and ISO 200.
Photographer 2: shot in Tv at 1/125 and ISO 200 and his camera selected and F4.0.And he put EV comp at -1 and so got 1/125 and ISO 200 and F5.6
Photographer 3: shot in M and selected 1/125 and F4.0 and ISO 200 all while watching the camera's meter. And if he had EV comp in manual, put EV comp at -1 and so got 1/125 and ISO 100 and F4.0. If he didn't have EV comp in manual he either moved the SS to 1/250, he closed the aperture to f5.6, or he moved the ISO to 100 (or any combination of the three that got him 1 stop less exposure), but he still, effectively, applied EV compensation, ie, he changed the exposure value from the metered value to one he thought would be more appropriate.


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