Comments on: EV Compensation Explained

By: arslan

arslan — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:26:57 +0000

Thanks for such an informative writing. Infact i thought my simple Pentax Optio S7 has been damaged since for quite few months all the pictures shot were too bright. Even resetting and reinstalling firmware didnot help to resolve the issue. All other possible options of changing AF, sensitivity etc didnot work. Finally, underexposing EV resolved my problem, and i dont need to buy a new camera.

Thanks buddy once again

By: Gary Miller

Gary Miller — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 20:24:47 +0000

Thanks for the useful information. I have read/heard many other people talk about the exposure compensation button, but I like the fact that you give very practical, concrete examples of when and how to use it. It is the application part that so many people forget to explain.

By: jason rosenberg

jason rosenberg — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 03:06:53 +0000

Thanks so much for the EV primer. It was clear and with enough examples.
I’m looking forward to learning more from your website and just signed up.
jason rosenberg

By: Faith

Faith — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 18:33:19 +0000

Appreciate the article. If I’m understanding it correctly, it is indeed a workaround to avoid manual aperture/shutter adjustments — aka, a crutch.

It would seem to me that this is another example of relying on a shortcut instead of learning the fundamentals of photography. Even on a digital camera, a solid understanding of aperture/depth of field and shutter speed is worth more than getting dependent on a button in manual mode. The reality is that if you’re gonna be a serious photographer, you’ve got to be comfortable in manual mode — believe me, you won’t regret it. And shooting manual is as fast or faster than figuring out whether the automatic settings work, once you get the hang of it.

By: akc

akc — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 18:04:41 +0000

Thanks !
This was really helpful. Though i did know the EV and the use this article was very helpful in bringing out the ease of use it can get while using P, Av, Tv modes; which i have otherwise been missing using the Manual mode.
Also, sharing the situations where using EV adjustment is helpful made a lot of sense.
Thanks once again!

By: Gisele

Gisele — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:03:46 +0000

I absolutely LOVE this site and I cannot get enough of it…. Soooo helpful !!

By: Federico Sendel

Federico Sendel — Fri, 28 May 2010 20:06:55 +0000

I’ll check it out. Thanks a lot! This is a doubt I’ve had for a long time and I finally get it.

By: different jason

different jason — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:45:26 +0000

federico: exactly right on both counts, yes.

If you’re on full manual mode and look at the light meter, and it says one stop overexposed – that’s exactly the same exposure value as if you were on aperture/shutter priority with +1 compensation.

If you’re feeling ambitious, I’d recommend having a look at http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm – even if you don’t absorb it well enough first time to practice the technique it describes, it should help you towards thinking in the right way.

By: Federico Sendel

Federico Sendel — Fri, 28 May 2010 13:25:36 +0000

Ok different jason, thanks. That was quite helpful. I guess then changing shutter speed or aperture will only change the exposure if I’m in full Manual mode, right?. And then I guess that when using full Manual you can’t use exposure compensation.

By: different jason

different jason — Fri, 28 May 2010 06:18:50 +0000

Federico: changing the shutter speed (in shutter priority mode) or the aperture (in aperture priority mode) doesn’t change the exposure at all. Each change you make, the camera makes the opposite change in the other control to compensate.

The best way to understand it is just to get your camera out, point it at differently lit things and look at what the camera’s telling you.

Shoot some pictures in full manual – adjust both the shutter speed and aperture until the light meter is showing in the middle.

Remember what the automatic exposure modes (and the light meter in manual mode) are doing for you. If you take a picture without compensation the average brightness of your picture will be middle grey, whether you’re taking a picture of a snowy field or a black night sky.

Just play and it’ll become clear