Join me on Patreon for the best Alpha Support and Guidance. A single $10 Membership fee includes access to my 500-page camera-specific eBooks, member-only Q&A Forums + Over twenty 1-hour member-only seminars + cameras settings files & access to the Raw files from the lens and camera reviews (there is no contract or commitment beyond the first month). www.patreon.com/markgaler
After spending hours and days watching random videos on this subject, I finally found one that was clear, concise and easy to understand. What's most helpful is the camera settings displayed in the video. I can follow what Mark is saying with my camera and put it into practice. These videos are worth my time. I look forward to watching more of Mark's tutorials.
I used this yesterday morning, when the strong early light washed out a subject sitting on a branch with a very dark background. Worked like a charm! I just have to remember it's there. ;)
A big thumbs up from me! I didn't know about the Live View Display settings on my camera. My camera had the settings turned OFF. Now I can understand why exposure compensations didn't respond to my input. It did respond - I just couldn't see it until after I took the picture. Thank goodness I found this video! 👍
Still going back to these courses and this is the best source of information for any amateur using Sony cameras. Way much better than any full-time course. The amount od Knowledge and the way how it is presented ( along with all pdfs) is outstanding.thank you!
I like your comparison with 'a course'. I like to think that each video I create is a lecture. I wrote 30 course books for Focal press from 1990 to 2010 that were adopted by hundreds of college courses and some of these videos would have the been the slide deck that I would have prepared for my own lectures that I delivered over a 14 year period at RMIT University. Since I left I have carried on preparing lectures to give away for free - a small donation or paid membership helps pay the coffee bills.
Thanks Mark. I've exposure compensation has always confused me, particularly as I didn't see the point when shooting in RAW. But this is the BEST video I have seen on Exposure compensation and I have learned more in this video than all of the others combined!
I'm so glad to have found your channel. Very well structured videos with easy and clear explanations of all the things you can set up in your camera and how to use your camera to get better results. Thank you so much for putting your time into this and even offering all your tutorials for free!
I know you've heard this before, but I have to repeat what a great channel you have.! I have been a Sony shooter for a long time, but I always learn something new or a reminder to helps me produce consistency good images. All the best!
Hi Mark great video and your comment is so true about live view being set to off. I could not work out why my histogram did not move when I adjusted the exposure compensation dial. Now it works so this is a great help to me.
I don’t know if you started your channel before Gerald or vice-versa but between you two I get over half the knowledge I need. Gerald to show me what the camera can do and you to show me how to use it. This is incredibly valuable information, even for photographers already familiar with the subject matter. Thank you!!
Your info is top shop!!! Btw you posted this video twice on your channel... Not that it matters. You're making digi photography accessable for me, with the light room tips on top
Me to ! thank you very much! for this video After spending hours and days watching random videos on this subject, I finally found one that was clear, concise and easy to understand
Mark this helped me a lot. I haven't used exposure compensation a lot, but I will be now. Your channel is excellent, informative, and very helpful. Cheers 📸
I'm just learning my Sony a7RIV and have been shooting egrets plus white and gray pelicans and had the most issues with those guys. On the other end, I shot a coot my least favorite bird. His body was black but his white beak got washed out. On my next outing, I'll have another tool in my belt to get the shot right, well done THANKS!
Nice... Love my A7iii and the multiple ways I can control exposure on the run. Thanks for all you do for us. I do turn setting effect off when using macro with flash
sir your knowledge is amazing and thanks to youtube, now i can say its a a big learning platform, i never used exposure compensation dial yet, and now i think it is a big thing, thank you again for explaining this
Really interesting with some great pointers to try. Thank you so much for these videos - its great that you’re sharing the details but it’s the fact that you explain the reason behind making setting choices that really helps me to understand what’s going on and because of this, gives me the confidence to go and try them out. Very inspiring stuff - many thanks!
Mark, great series of videos for the Alpha cameras! This one especially helped me with exposure compensation. Question - when adjusting the exposure, what is actually changing in the Exposure Triangle? Thx
That depends what Shoot Mode you have set and whether this ISO is set o Auto or a specific ISO, e.g. if you are in Aperture priority with the ISO set to 100 the only thing the camera can change is the shutter speed.
What is the definition of zero on the exposure compensation scale? What is the algorithm by which the camera determines what zero is? Very useful videos for my a6100. Thank you.
Zero is 'Meter as Read' using the algorithms determined by the metering option you have chosen. Zone V is the average tone the meter is trying to average the tones that are present within the metering area.
Would you recommend +1 in the settings when using direct flash, or would you suggest something else (for wedding and editorial photoshoots)? By the way, excellent video, it was very helpful!
I usually start at -1.00 for fill flash but you have to apply the same approach to flash comp. as you would with exposure comp when using flash as the primary light source. e.g., groom in dark suit -1.00, Bride in white dress +1.00, but that also depends on some of the exposure settings you have set on your camera, e.g., 'Face priority in Multi-Metering'. I offer full guidance on my Patreon.com/markgaler support channel.
Watching in 2021, having stepped from a6000 and A6600, to A7ii. The A7ii histogram preview does not match actual shot histogram especially in manual mode and it has been driving me mad. Not experienced this with either of the cropped sensor models. This might just be the key to understanding what is going on 😊.
The histogram is a preview of the Jpeg or the embedded Jpeg in the Raw file. Watch my Zebras 109+ for Raw Shooters if you want a clearer idea of Raw exposure.
why do you have to use the exposure compensation dial to lower the exposure, why not increase the shutter speed until the image looks correct in the viewfinder?
Hi Mark, I have to do a lot of photography of fairly small insects and mammals... Upto about 150mm long, or flowers in grassland, both give the constraint of being either very close to the subject or needing distance, so could be wide or telephoto, but the limiting factor is the min focus distance... Macro lenses are not always appropriate. I'd love to see your take on managing close focus, e.g best lenses... I gather the 100-400 is excellent for small mammals (too expensive for me)
Hey Paul! I recently bought macro close up filters, they are really useful, I also reckon you learn about focus stacking, that could help a lot. Hope it was useful :)
@@gergelyszep1075 thanks. Mammals and reptiles usually move too fast for focus stacking in my type of photography, I need a lens that will almost fill the frame with a 150mm stoat yet allow me to be at least 1-2m away. 70-200mm is too short, but the 200-600 mfd is too long at about 3m. I suspect the 100-400 mm is the best with its 900mm mfd. I also use 16-35 for environmental flower pictures, but want a bit more separation than my f4 can give... The f2.8 is really expensive and heavy and generally unnecessary for me... Maybe a short prime would work, I have an a-mount 35mm I could try adapting
Love your channel! Thank you for sharing your experience. I recently started using a Sony a6400 with a Sony 35mm 1.8 OSS lens. But I'm not getting super sharp images. I shoot in RAW + JPG Fine. I've shot in auto-mode and in manual-mode. I've noticed that the camera is requiring a very high ISO for proper exposure. For example, in doors or good light, it's at about 1600-2000 ISO. AP and SS are normal. Is there some other setting I am unaware of? High ISO could be why the images aren't super sharp.
The E 35mm F1.8 is a very early lens design from Sony. More recent lenses are much sharper than this lens. The FE 35mm F1.8 is, for instance, much sharper. Bounce flash indoors from a white ceiling to bring ISO down or use a tripod and Timer delay or Remote. You can also suppress noise using Denoise in Lightroom. I can provided additional support and guidance from my Alpha Support channel Patreon.com/markgaler.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Thank you. Would the Sigma 30mm 1.4 be a better lens? I'm working with an APS-C sensor, so I'm trying to avoid full-frame lenses unless I do not understand this right and they CAN be used. Not sure.
So, I also have a Sigma 16mm 1.4, and I put it on my Sony a6400, and it's still making the ISO really high when I take photos in high light. Around 1600-2000. Is this normal? I would think 100-200 is for indoors well lit. @@AlphaCreativeSkills
Sounds like you need to explore flash or high ISO noise reduction. I offer further support on my Patreon.com/markgaler support channel. RUclips is not really the place I can provide personal mentoring. I don't have RUclips notifications switched on and mostly miss comments beyond the first one.
Do you recommend to expose for the highlights even when the subject of the photo is clearly the people and exposing for the highlights renders them underexposed ? I'm sure we can recover the shadows on their faces in post , but wouldn't their skin look much better if we expose for them ( even at the risk of clipping some of the highlights in the sky for example ). I was under the expression that the camera captures much more data in the mid tones / high lights ( heard it in some channel from an experienced photographer - I can look him up later - forgot his name ) , so if we really want to get the best results for skin and the people we should always expose for them - do you disagree ?
Expose to the Right (ETTR) results in better quality shadows but after 40 years of selling images to magazines I rarely, if ever, can sell them an image with clipped highlights. Shooting strongly backlit subjects can be managed by fill flash or just changing your own vantage point to the subject. The Sony sensors are also pretty amazing with shadow recovery.
Hi Mark, I have came back to this video again as I encountered a very gloomy day (dark cloud and not much light) with subject (rock) and background (sea and sand) as a whole look rather greyish. Under such a situation, will exposure compensation help and, should we dial it up (+) or down (-)?
For dominant dark tones you use a negative compensation and for dominant light tones you use a positive compensation - this does not have nothing to do with level of illumination, just whether the tones are darker or lighter than average, e.g, the tones of a snow scene are lighter than average.
Mark, as usual, another excellent video. Still struggle with backlit subjects e.g people at beach with backs to very bright sunlight! Any tips on how I can view histogram on my gen 1 A7R? Many thanks.
I haven't used an A7R for 5 or 6 years so can't recall exactly what feature it has. You should be able to press the Display key to cycle through displays (one should include the histogram) and if you hit the Display button a few times when reviewing an image that should also show you a histogram view of the image that you are reviewing.
Hello Mark, thanks for another great vídeo! If you don't mind, I have a question... I noticed in your portraits, you always have the WB on Shade B1.5G0.75 and I wonder if it is to avoid the very yellow warm tones on the skin tones? I have my camera on Priority set in AWB on White and on Auto WB B.075M0.5 but I could never get nice skin tones. Was it the way you found for better skin tones?? Thank you so much!
As a raw shooter the white balance is only a reference (it can be changed to anything else in post). I profile the sensor on my cameras and use a high quality calibrated and profiled monitor so colour is never an issue.
Thank you for such informative and helpful. Ideas again. Which metering mode do you recommend? I feel that my A7C tends to over exposes with very high contrast.
Hello Mr Mark , great video as always ! ... i have a question , for some reason whenever i go to manual mode on my camera the exposure compensation drops to -2 and i cant change it , i don't know what is the problem , could you please help me out My camera is the sony a6400
Minus 2 is now indicating you need to raise your exposure manually using the aperture, shutter speed or ISO. There is no Exposure Compensation in Manual Mode. Compensation is for Auto Exposure.
Mark, what is your take on that star (*) metering mode? Does ETTR metering, as you know. I like it because it protects the dynamic range, even though I most likely have to put the exposure right in post (which may be the exact reason why you don’t like it…)
It has a tendency to underexpose - especially when specular highlights are in the frame (reflections of the light source of reflective surfaces). It can be useful for stage performances so long as there are no low stage lights within the framing.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills I agree with your observations. And yet, I still use it more often than not, especially in very difficult lighting conditions like you mentioned. (And I can’t help but wonder why you chose stage performances as an example - I’ll look myself up online: I’m bound to find a few of those with my name vaguely associated with them ;-). And here’s another one I like to use: center-weighted. That’s what I would have used on your black and white duck. BTW: seeing the effect of the metering mode in real time in the EVF (or on the monitor) is one of those benefits of mirrorless that I’ve come to appreciate - having shot mostly with DSLRs in the past. It almost completely eliminates the need for chimping. Thanks for your response.
I have a really important question that would change A LOT for me. I saw a video of the Alpha 6600 which i own myself. In the video someone tested the AFC tracking and recorded his camera monitor. I saw that his exposure compensation rapidly changed while the bird was in flight. So i have two questions or more like 3. Is it possible to change the exposure compensation to automatic? For the second question if first have to talk about the problem that im having. I made specific settings for M1 and M2 on my a6600 where i changed shutter speed etc. For bird in flight situations. Everytime when i change to M1 or M2 it always shows me all my settings i set for that Mode on a black background and i cant see the live view. So if i have just a really short time to photograph a bird in flight in the settings first show i always miss it because i have to press the shutter button so it goes away. Is There a setting which disables that? And now i come to my third question: when i use exposure compensation and i press the button for it, it always shows me the line from -2 to +2 which is kinda annoying because then i cant track my subject while setting the exposure compensation. Is there some kind of setting which disables it so i can instantly change the exposure compensation without the camera showing it to me? Please help me this would change a lot!!! Thanks
Surely shooting for the hightlights runs the risk of introducing much more noise into the shadows when having to lift them in PP, should you not expose correctly for the main subject and then correct the Sky/ background in PP ?
What is clipped stays clipped and that, I found after 40 years of pro photography is the biggest sin. Can you imagine clipping the bride’s dress so we can only guess the fabric (hessian or silk)
@@AlphaCreativeSkills In that example the bride would be the main subject hence you would expose for the whites in the dress , in the example in the video 95% of what makes the image is buildings hence I would expose for that and risk clipping the small patch of white in the sky but its just a different way of looking at it and I certainly do not have your expertise and experience .
In Auto ISO mode is there a way for the EVF or display to continuous show the ISO the camera has selected, rather than "ISO Auto", or is it only available by partial depression of the shoot button?
Only with partial depression of the shutter release. You can, however, set an ISO range you are happy with for ISO Auto instead of using Sony's defaults. The only downside of this is that you may then underexpose your image in low ambient light or have the shutter speed sink so slow that you encounter camera shake when working in Aperture Priority.
I use a Sony A7RIII for real estate interiors and landscapes. I have recently noticed a change in the images I can't relate to any changes I've made on the camera. When shooting 5 image brackets at F13 or any stop the camera just rips off the bracket faster than ever before, images are darker than usual now, viewfinder goes darker when facing bright windows, increases in image noise on dark surfaces. I have no idea what I did to make this happen. Help me please! Thanks, Mike
Start by Initializing the camera in the Setup menu to remove any setting you may have inadvertently engaged- solving individual customer camera setup issues is something I offer on my Patreon.com/markgaler support channel
Thank for the tutorial, this makes so much more sense now. One question though, would a ND filter compensate for overexposure just as good as the exposure compensation dial? Or is there a reason why you would prefer to use Exposure Compensation instead of a filter?
If you go to Menu > Custom Operation 1 > Custom Key > Rear you will see the Down Button is NOT a custom key you can configure. The défaut function for this key, however, is Exposure Compensation in the P, A, S & M exposure modes. I recommend going to Setup7 > Setting Reset > Camera Settings Reset to see if that solves your problem. You can down a fully illustrated eBook for this camera from my Alpha support channel > Patreon.com/markgaler.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills For some reason, on my camera the exposure compensation is set for the down button as default in the P, A & S modes only. In manual mode the button just switches the Av and Tv. I will try to reset the settings. Thanks for your tips!
@@AlphaCreativeSkills I just reset the camera settings but it didn't solve my problem. On my Alpha 6700 the default function for the down key is Exposure Compensation in all modes (P, A, S, M). Maybe there is a reason this function cannot be set in manual mode on the RX100VII?
There is no exposure compensation possible when in full manual mode (including manual ISO) - you can only adjust exposure using Aperture, shutter or ISO
@@AlphaCreativeSkills It is possible, I just tried it in manual mode. You can set it using Fn -> +/- in ISO Auto mode. What bothers me is that I cannot set it in manual mode using the wheel down button.
I have noticed that on a really bright day using aperture priority set at f1.8 the SS will default to 8000 but the photo comes out dark but the histogram shows no clipping
There may be other camera settings that you have modified that may result in the underexposure you are seeing, such as choice of metering Mode or Exposure Compensation. Highlight Clipping is seldom seen in images that are underexposed.
@AlphaCreativeSkills thanks for your reply. I used matrix metering and exposure was zero. I switched to manual immediately and chose SS of 4000 again with f1.8 and it was obviously brighter with nothing overexposed so seems odd that in aperture priority it chose SS of 8000 and came out dark. Not a big deal because I can use exposure compensation to brighten but I'm always keen to learn and progress. Only had my a7r5 for a week and don't remember this happening on my a74.
What I don't understand is that doesn't using the exposure compensation dial simply change one of the other settings (SS, ISO, Aperture), depending on what mode you are shooting? In that case, why not simply change the specific setting yourself?
You would need to be in fully Manual Exposure mode to make the change you are suggesting. So your question is really 'do I want to photograph in an Auto Exposure Mode or Fully manual with manual ISO?'
Once your aperture and shutter speed are nonnegotiable you recommend increasing ISO to brighten. But doing that decreases dynamic range. Wouldn’t it be better to shoot raw and brighten in post?
You rarely need the 14+ dynamic range of a Sony Sensor at ISO 100. I cut my career using transparency film that had just 7 stops. The times I do use ISO 100 the camera is on a tripod shooting backlit landscapes where the Shutter Speed can be used to compensate. There is currently some pretty poor advice circulating RUclips at the moment advising to underexposure in capture and fix in post. Underexpose with the Setting Effect on in a Mirrorless camera and you won’t be able to see your subject on the Monitor or Finder (it will be too dark to even focus). Switch the Setting Effect off and you may have just stayed with a DSLR and have to guess the amount of compensation required or be constantly reviewing the last image you captured. Keep the ISO low and abandon any attempts to shoot wildlife or sports.
The metering system does not control exposure if you have not set ISO Auto in Manual, so you have to manually adjust aperture, shutter speed or ISO if the image appears too dark or too bright.
Mark can you tell me why the Sony prices have gone through the roof in Australia, the price for a Sony a7iii fluctuate between $500- $800 and will they come down once China starts making them
The Australian dollar was very weak a few months back and the economic prospects looked very dire - trade wars between USA and China, Australia upsetting the Chinese resulting in tariffs for Australian goods imported into China, zero International tourism, sending all the International students back home, very poor investment in renewables, massive bush fires etc. Sony adjust prices each year (not every weak) so worked on the current exchange rate at the time and the likely predictions that it would get even worse for the remainder of the year. With the Australian dollar recovering in recent weeks only time will tell if the prices will get readjusted or whether we will have to live with them until next year.
Raw has better dynamic range, bit depth, colour gamut and allows you to choose the optimum white balance in post without compromising the quality of the file.
Has anyone ever had much luck with the metering for highlight mode? If you are trying to expose for the highlights, it looks like a great idea. But I have always found it underexposes by at least a stop.
You can fine tune each metering mode and I set Highlights brighter. It also makes monumental mistakes if the scene includes specular highlights within the frame. Most of the time Multi is the most reliable.
A dark background will cause the camera to overexpose. use a negative exposure compensation with a dark background and a positive exposure compensation with a bright background.
When changing the Exposure Comp, does not the camera just change one of the exposure triangle settings (ISO, Aperture, or Shutter speed) to compensate?
Exposure compensation will change one of the three exposure controls but exposure will increase or decrease from the meter as read exposure. If you adjust aperture or shutter when in Program , Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority exposure is held constant by one or two of the other settings being adjusted.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills ok, got it but seems like a technical point I am not familiar with. "exposure will increase or decrease from the meter as read exposure". I will look into this further, thanks.
The meter averages brightness values to ‘guess’ an appropriate exposure. If the brightness values are not average the camera’s meter will often make a mistake. A camera pointed at a snow scene will invariably underexpose the scene to render the snow a mid gray rather than white. My eBooks have a section on exposure compensation with illustrated examples.
Thanks Mark, I enjoyed the video, maybe spot metering is useful in static situations like church interiors, spot metering for the painted glass on the windows, and it's always possibile to exposure-compensate from there.....
protip i actually hate the dial and i wish on the a7 III it could be disabled. apparently the a7 IV allows for custom dials so it wont be an issue but it ALWAYS moves when i put it in my bag lol. however as long as its at zero u can set a custom button to set the exposure comp without messing with the dial lol that dial is pretty much the worst feature of the the a7 III though. good info tho i might try to start using it more!
Not only can you change the function of the dial on the A7IV but you can also lock the dial so that it does no move when taking it in and out of the camera bag. The dials also lock on the A9II, A7RIV, and A1 - pretty much all the full frame cameras released after the A7III
@@AlphaCreativeSkills I hate EC dial in A7 III because I need to use at least 2 times more force than on rear dial to change position and dealing with it is very tiring and not accurate for me (texture of dial is less comfortable then on rear dial and I need to make big move to EC by 1 stop and usually to correct burn out sky I need to -1 or -2EV). Do you know if is possible to use rare dial or multi selector during half press shutter button for exposure correction? I can't use any custom buttons / dial during half press shutter button but this would be a very nice feature to change functions of some buttons and dial when I first half press shutter button (like using ctrl/cmd buttons with combinations of other key on computer keyboard).
Is your EC dial turns with similar force like rear dial? I need to use at least 2 times more force to turn it and is almost impossible to turn it during put camera into bag.
Join me on Patreon for the best Alpha Support and Guidance. A single $10 Membership fee includes access to my 500-page camera-specific eBooks, member-only Q&A Forums + Over twenty 1-hour member-only seminars + cameras settings files & access to the Raw files from the lens and camera reviews (there is no contract or commitment beyond the first month). www.patreon.com/markgaler
After spending hours and days watching random videos on this subject, I finally found one that was clear, concise and easy to understand. What's most helpful is the camera settings displayed in the video. I can follow what Mark is saying with my camera and put it into practice. These videos are worth my time. I look forward to watching more of Mark's tutorials.
My man! All the pertinent info without the fluff. I will be checking out the remainder of your videos.
Brilliant! Your videos should be required watching for anyone buying a Sony Alpha!! 👍🏻
Wow, thanks!
I used this yesterday morning, when the strong early light washed out a subject sitting on a branch with a very dark background. Worked like a charm! I just have to remember it's there. ;)
5th time to re-watch this tutorial
Since first day you release it
Wow
Thanks a lot
Happy to help!
A big thumbs up from me! I didn't know about the Live View Display settings on my camera. My camera had the settings turned OFF. Now I can understand why exposure compensations didn't respond to my input. It did respond - I just couldn't see it until after I took the picture. Thank goodness I found this video! 👍
Thanks for the positive feedback - glad I could help
superb tutorial as always Mark. You're always the best! Dont ever stop. Love your channel. thaks for all you do for the Sony Alpha community
I totally agree 100%👍 Mark is simply the best!
Im gonna be spending a lot of time here when i get my a7 iii
Still going back to these courses and this is the best source of information for any amateur using Sony cameras. Way much better than any full-time course. The amount od Knowledge and the way how it is presented ( along with all pdfs) is outstanding.thank you!
I like your comparison with 'a course'. I like to think that each video I create is a lecture. I wrote 30 course books for Focal press from 1990 to 2010 that were adopted by hundreds of college courses and some of these videos would have the been the slide deck that I would have prepared for my own lectures that I delivered over a 14 year period at RMIT University. Since I left I have carried on preparing lectures to give away for free - a small donation or paid membership helps pay the coffee bills.
Thanks Mark. I've exposure compensation has always confused me, particularly as I didn't see the point when shooting in RAW. But this is the BEST video I have seen on Exposure compensation and I have learned more in this video than all of the others combined!
I'm so glad to have found your channel. Very well structured videos with easy and clear explanations of all the things you can set up in your camera and how to use your camera to get better results. Thank you so much for putting your time into this and even offering all your tutorials for free!
This channel is pure gold!!!
great tutorial, i was driving mad why my exp compensation isn’t working until i saw “live settings” in your video, thank you so much!
Mark , you are the best, man! The best manual, a sony user will ever need!!!
I know you've heard this before, but I have to repeat what a great channel you have.! I have been a Sony shooter for a long time, but I always learn something new or a reminder to helps me produce consistency good images. All the best!
Hi Mark great video and your comment is so true about live view being set to off. I could not work out why my histogram did not move when I adjusted the exposure compensation dial. Now it works so this is a great help to me.
Thanks for sharing
I don’t know if you started your channel before Gerald or vice-versa but between you two I get over half the knowledge I need. Gerald to show me what the camera can do and you to show me how to use it. This is incredibly valuable information, even for photographers already familiar with the subject matter. Thank you!!
I figure Gerald does the bench-testing for me and I go out and take photos to prove the point.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills If I were Gerald I would be like, “Hey wait a minute here!” 😄
Your info is top shop!!!
Btw you posted this video twice on your channel... Not that it matters. You're making digi photography accessable for me, with the light room tips on top
Me to ! thank you very much! for this video After spending hours and days watching random videos on this subject, I finally found one that was clear, concise and easy to understand
Glad it helped!
@@AlphaCreativeSkills yes thankbu
Mark this helped me a lot. I haven't used exposure compensation a lot, but I will be now. Your channel is excellent, informative, and very helpful. Cheers 📸
Happy to help!
Mark great content and perfect speech speed makes it easy to follow along. Will be reaching out to you
I'm just learning my Sony a7RIV and have been shooting egrets plus white and gray pelicans and had the most issues with those guys. On the other end, I shot a coot my least favorite bird. His body was black but his white beak got washed out. On my next outing, I'll have another tool in my belt to get the shot right, well done THANKS!
Thank you Mark for useful information .I use a7iii.Very happy with results.I love wild life and birding photography.
The best explanation of histogram ever...
Nice... Love my A7iii and the multiple ways I can control exposure on the run. Thanks for all you do for us. I do turn setting effect off when using macro with flash
sir your knowledge is amazing and thanks to youtube, now i can say its a a big learning platform, i never used exposure compensation dial yet, and now i think it is a big thing, thank you again for explaining this
You are most welcome
Great video as always - clear explanations and good example images make it very clear - Thx Mark!
Very good video, as always with Mark!I have been learning so much from him. Thanks again !
Very good and clear tutorial. Please keep doing them.Many thanks
Really interesting with some great pointers to try. Thank you so much for these videos - its great that you’re sharing the details but it’s the fact that you explain the reason behind making setting choices that really helps me to understand what’s going on and because of this, gives me the confidence to go and try them out. Very inspiring stuff - many thanks!
Professional and precise. Thanks Mark.
Great job Mark, I am very grateful as you are share all this great information!
My pleasure!
Mark as always your instructions are excellent since the camera equipment salesman never bother to explain all the details after sale is completed.
Outstanding as usual.
I just found this channel and I'm staying for a long time! Thanks Mark
Thank you, master of telling about photography
As always great tutorials!
Mark, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and talents.
My pleasure!
Awesome tutorial, many thanks.
Thanks Mark. Clearly explained as always. 🤓
My pleasure!
Mark, great series of videos for the Alpha cameras! This one especially helped me with exposure compensation. Question - when adjusting the exposure, what is actually changing in the Exposure Triangle? Thx
That depends what Shoot Mode you have set and whether this ISO is set o Auto or a specific ISO, e.g. if you are in Aperture priority with the ISO set to 100 the only thing the camera can change is the shutter speed.
Thanks Mark, I normally shoot in P Mode with Auto ISO, so I assume then that exposure compensation is changing the ISO?
What is the definition of zero on the exposure compensation scale? What is the algorithm by which the camera determines what zero is?
Very useful videos for my a6100. Thank you.
Zero is 'Meter as Read' using the algorithms determined by the metering option you have chosen. Zone V is the average tone the meter is trying to average the tones that are present within the metering area.
Great video, well explained and to the point! Thanks, Mark!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you Mark, You have been a good help sir.
Muchas gracias desde Monterrey, México.
Thanks
Another awesome movie.
Very informative video sir, thanks
Great tutorial🤜🏼🤛🏼
Would you recommend +1 in the settings when using direct flash, or would you suggest something else (for wedding and editorial photoshoots)? By the way, excellent video, it was very helpful!
I usually start at -1.00 for fill flash but you have to apply the same approach to flash comp. as you would with exposure comp when using flash as the primary light source. e.g., groom in dark suit -1.00, Bride in white dress +1.00, but that also depends on some of the exposure settings you have set on your camera, e.g., 'Face priority in Multi-Metering'. I offer full guidance on my Patreon.com/markgaler support channel.
Thanks Mark very helpful!
Glad it was helpful!
Great as always!
Watching in 2021, having stepped from a6000 and A6600, to A7ii. The A7ii histogram preview does not match actual shot histogram especially in manual mode and it has been driving me mad. Not experienced this with either of the cropped sensor models. This might just be the key to understanding what is going on 😊.
The histogram is a preview of the Jpeg or the embedded Jpeg in the Raw file. Watch my Zebras 109+ for Raw Shooters if you want a clearer idea of Raw exposure.
Thanks for the video. Just 1 question. Does setting the white balance affect the exposure of the camera?
No
thanks fir the tutorial
why do you have to use the exposure compensation dial to lower the exposure, why not increase the shutter speed until the image looks correct in the viewfinder?
If you are in shutter Priority mode and adjust the shutter speed the ISO or aperture will change to ensure the exposure does not change.
Hi Mark, I have to do a lot of photography of fairly small insects and mammals... Upto about 150mm long, or flowers in grassland, both give the constraint of being either very close to the subject or needing distance, so could be wide or telephoto, but the limiting factor is the min focus distance... Macro lenses are not always appropriate. I'd love to see your take on managing close focus, e.g best lenses... I gather the 100-400 is excellent for small mammals (too expensive for me)
Hey Paul! I recently bought macro close up filters, they are really useful, I also reckon you learn about focus stacking, that could help a lot. Hope it was useful :)
@@gergelyszep1075 thanks. Mammals and reptiles usually move too fast for focus stacking in my type of photography, I need a lens that will almost fill the frame with a 150mm stoat yet allow me to be at least 1-2m away. 70-200mm is too short, but the 200-600 mfd is too long at about 3m. I suspect the 100-400 mm is the best with its 900mm mfd. I also use 16-35 for environmental flower pictures, but want a bit more separation than my f4 can give... The f2.8 is really expensive and heavy and generally unnecessary for me... Maybe a short prime would work, I have an a-mount 35mm I could try adapting
Love your channel! Thank you for sharing your experience. I recently started using a Sony a6400 with a Sony 35mm 1.8 OSS lens. But I'm not getting super sharp images. I shoot in RAW + JPG Fine. I've shot in auto-mode and in manual-mode. I've noticed that the camera is requiring a very high ISO for proper exposure. For example, in doors or good light, it's at about 1600-2000 ISO. AP and SS are normal. Is there some other setting I am unaware of? High ISO could be why the images aren't super sharp.
The E 35mm F1.8 is a very early lens design from Sony. More recent lenses are much sharper than this lens. The FE 35mm F1.8 is, for instance, much sharper. Bounce flash indoors from a white ceiling to bring ISO down or use a tripod and Timer delay or Remote. You can also suppress noise using Denoise in Lightroom. I can provided additional support and guidance from my Alpha Support channel Patreon.com/markgaler.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Thank you. Would the Sigma 30mm 1.4 be a better lens? I'm working with an APS-C sensor, so I'm trying to avoid full-frame lenses unless I do not understand this right and they CAN be used. Not sure.
I have not reviewed the sigma 30mm lens but it is a very popular choice for APS-C owner’s looking for a wide aperture prime.
So, I also have a Sigma 16mm 1.4, and I put it on my Sony a6400, and it's still making the ISO really high when I take photos in high light. Around 1600-2000. Is this normal? I would think 100-200 is for indoors well lit. @@AlphaCreativeSkills
Sounds like you need to explore flash or high ISO noise reduction. I offer further support on my Patreon.com/markgaler support channel. RUclips is not really the place I can provide personal mentoring. I don't have RUclips notifications switched on and mostly miss comments beyond the first one.
Do you recommend to expose for the highlights even when the subject of the photo is clearly the people and exposing for the highlights renders them underexposed ?
I'm sure we can recover the shadows on their faces in post , but wouldn't their skin look much better if we expose for them ( even at the risk of clipping some of the highlights in the sky for example ).
I was under the expression that the camera captures much more data in the mid tones / high lights ( heard it in some channel from an experienced photographer - I can look him up later - forgot his name ) , so if we really want to get the best results for skin and the people we should always expose for them - do you disagree ?
Expose to the Right (ETTR) results in better quality shadows but after 40 years of selling images to magazines I rarely, if ever, can sell them an image with clipped highlights. Shooting strongly backlit subjects can be managed by fill flash or just changing your own vantage point to the subject. The Sony sensors are also pretty amazing with shadow recovery.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Thanks !
Hi Mark,
I have came back to this video again as I encountered a very gloomy day (dark cloud and not much light) with subject (rock) and background (sea and sand) as a whole look rather greyish. Under such a situation, will exposure compensation help and, should we dial it up (+) or down (-)?
For dominant dark tones you use a negative compensation and for dominant light tones you use a positive compensation - this does not have nothing to do with level of illumination, just whether the tones are darker or lighter than average, e.g, the tones of a snow scene are lighter than average.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Thanks for correcting my misconception on this Mark.
Great Thank you !
Mark, as usual, another excellent video.
Still struggle with backlit subjects e.g people at beach with backs to very bright sunlight!
Any tips on how I can view histogram on my gen 1 A7R?
Many thanks.
I haven't used an A7R for 5 or 6 years so can't recall exactly what feature it has. You should be able to press the Display key to cycle through displays (one should include the histogram) and if you hit the Display button a few times when reviewing an image that should also show you a histogram view of the image that you are reviewing.
Hello Mark, thanks for another great vídeo! If you don't mind, I have a question... I noticed in your portraits, you always have the WB on Shade B1.5G0.75 and I wonder if it is to avoid the very yellow warm tones on the skin tones? I have my camera on Priority set in AWB on White and on Auto WB B.075M0.5 but I could never get nice skin tones. Was it the way you found for better skin tones?? Thank you so much!
As a raw shooter the white balance is only a reference (it can be changed to anything else in post). I profile the sensor on my cameras and use a high quality calibrated and profiled monitor so colour is never an issue.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills thank you so much!
Thank you for such informative and helpful. Ideas again. Which metering mode do you recommend? I feel that my A7C tends to over exposes with very high contrast.
I have a metering modes video tutorial on my channel
Hello Mr Mark , great video as always ! ... i have a question , for some reason whenever i go to manual mode on my camera the exposure compensation drops to -2 and i cant change it , i don't know what is the problem , could you please help me out
My camera is the sony a6400
Minus 2 is now indicating you need to raise your exposure manually using the aperture, shutter speed or ISO. There is no Exposure Compensation in Manual Mode. Compensation is for Auto Exposure.
hi, im little bit confused. Does ex.compensation dial work in full manual mode? I mead without auto iso?
You are awesome!
Mark, what is your take on that star (*) metering mode? Does ETTR metering, as you know.
I like it because it protects the dynamic range, even though I most likely have to put the exposure right in post (which may be the exact reason why you don’t like it…)
It has a tendency to underexpose - especially when specular highlights are in the frame (reflections of the light source of reflective surfaces). It can be useful for stage performances so long as there are no low stage lights within the framing.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills I agree with your observations. And yet, I still use it more often than not, especially in very difficult lighting conditions like you mentioned. (And I can’t help but wonder why you chose stage performances as an example - I’ll look myself up online: I’m bound to find a few of those with my name vaguely associated with them ;-).
And here’s another one I like to use: center-weighted. That’s what I would have used on your black and white duck.
BTW: seeing the effect of the metering mode in real time in the EVF (or on the monitor) is one of those benefits of mirrorless that I’ve come to appreciate - having shot mostly with DSLRs in the past. It almost completely eliminates the need for chimping.
Thanks for your response.
I have a really important question that would change A LOT for me. I saw a video of the Alpha 6600 which i own myself. In the video someone tested the AFC tracking and recorded his camera monitor. I saw that his exposure compensation rapidly changed while the bird was in flight. So i have two questions or more like 3. Is it possible to change the exposure compensation to automatic? For the second question if first have to talk about the problem that im having. I made specific settings for M1 and M2 on my a6600 where i changed shutter speed etc. For bird in flight situations. Everytime when i change to M1 or M2 it always shows me all my settings i set for that Mode on a black background and i cant see the live view. So if i have just a really short time to photograph a bird in flight in the settings first show i always miss it because i have to press the shutter button so it goes away. Is There a setting which disables that? And now i come to my third question: when i use exposure compensation and i press the button for it, it always shows me the line from -2 to +2 which is kinda annoying because then i cant track my subject while setting the exposure compensation. Is there some kind of setting which disables it so i can instantly change the exposure compensation without the camera showing it to me? Please help me this would change a lot!!! Thanks
Gosh so good!
Can the exposure compensation dial be remapped to ISO when in manual.
No
Surely shooting for the hightlights runs the risk of introducing much more noise into the shadows when having to lift them in PP, should you not expose correctly for the main subject and then correct the Sky/ background in PP ?
No
What is clipped stays clipped and that, I found after 40 years of pro photography is the biggest sin. Can you imagine clipping the bride’s dress so we can only guess the fabric (hessian or silk)
@@AlphaCreativeSkills In that example the bride would be the main subject hence you would expose for the whites in the dress , in the example in the video 95% of what makes the image is buildings hence I would expose for that and risk clipping the small patch of white in the sky but its just a different way of looking at it and I certainly do not have your expertise and experience .
In Auto ISO mode is there a way for the EVF or display to continuous show the ISO the camera has selected, rather than "ISO Auto", or is it only available by partial depression of the shoot button?
Only with partial depression of the shutter release. You can, however, set an ISO range you are happy with for ISO Auto instead of using Sony's defaults. The only downside of this is that you may then underexpose your image in low ambient light or have the shutter speed sink so slow that you encounter camera shake when working in Aperture Priority.
I use a Sony A7RIII for real estate interiors and landscapes. I have recently noticed a change in the images I can't relate to any changes I've made on the camera. When shooting 5 image brackets at F13 or any stop the camera just rips off the bracket faster than ever before, images are darker than usual now, viewfinder goes darker when facing bright windows, increases in image noise on dark surfaces. I have no idea what I did to make this happen. Help me please! Thanks, Mike
Start by Initializing the camera in the Setup menu to remove any setting you may have inadvertently engaged- solving individual customer camera setup issues is something I offer on my Patreon.com/markgaler support channel
Awsome video
Thank for the tutorial, this makes so much more sense now. One question though, would a ND filter compensate for overexposure just as good as the exposure compensation dial? Or is there a reason why you would prefer to use Exposure Compensation instead of a filter?
A filter doesn’t compensate exposure it just reduces exposure which is not the same thing at all.
How can I control exposure compensation along with iso, shutter, f stop, all manually on Sony a6400?
Rear Dial and Control wheel
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Right now the camera only lets me change exposure comp. when ISO is on auto.
Is it possible to set both iso & exposure manually?
I have a Sony RX100VII. Any idea how to change the down button of the wheel from "Switch Av/Tv" to exposure compensation?
If you go to Menu > Custom Operation 1 > Custom Key > Rear you will see the Down Button is NOT a custom key you can configure.
The défaut function for this key, however, is Exposure Compensation in the P, A, S & M exposure modes.
I recommend going to Setup7 > Setting Reset > Camera Settings Reset to see if that solves your problem.
You can down a fully illustrated eBook for this camera from my Alpha support channel > Patreon.com/markgaler.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills For some reason, on my camera the exposure compensation is set for the down button as default in the P, A & S modes only. In manual mode the button just switches the Av and Tv. I will try to reset the settings. Thanks for your tips!
@@AlphaCreativeSkills I just reset the camera settings but it didn't solve my problem. On my Alpha 6700 the default function for the down key is Exposure Compensation in all modes (P, A, S, M). Maybe there is a reason this function cannot be set in manual mode on the RX100VII?
There is no exposure compensation possible when in full manual mode (including manual ISO) - you can only adjust exposure using Aperture, shutter or ISO
@@AlphaCreativeSkills It is possible, I just tried it in manual mode. You can set it using Fn -> +/- in ISO Auto mode. What bothers me is that I cannot set it in manual mode using the wheel down button.
Thank you
Great video!!
Glad you enjoyed it
I have noticed that on a really bright day using aperture priority set at f1.8 the SS will default to 8000 but the photo comes out dark but the histogram shows no clipping
There may be other camera settings that you have modified that may result in the underexposure you are seeing, such as choice of metering Mode or Exposure Compensation. Highlight Clipping is seldom seen in images that are underexposed.
@AlphaCreativeSkills thanks for your reply. I used matrix metering and exposure was zero. I switched to manual immediately and chose SS of 4000 again with f1.8 and it was obviously brighter with nothing overexposed so seems odd that in aperture priority it chose SS of 8000 and came out dark. Not a big deal because I can use exposure compensation to brighten but I'm always keen to learn and progress. Only had my a7r5 for a week and don't remember this happening on my a74.
Very interesting , thanks !
Glad you liked it!
Very useful video, thank you! :)
Glad it was helpful!
very helpful video
Thanks for your positive feedback
What I don't understand is that doesn't using the exposure compensation dial simply change one of the other settings (SS, ISO, Aperture), depending on what mode you are shooting? In that case, why not simply change the specific setting yourself?
You would need to be in fully Manual Exposure mode to make the change you are suggesting. So your question is really 'do I want to photograph in an Auto Exposure Mode or Fully manual with manual ISO?'
Excellent
Thanks
Once your aperture and shutter speed are nonnegotiable you recommend increasing ISO to brighten. But doing that decreases dynamic range. Wouldn’t it be better to shoot raw and brighten in post?
You rarely need the 14+ dynamic range of a Sony Sensor at ISO 100. I cut my career using transparency film that had just 7 stops. The times I do use ISO 100 the camera is on a tripod shooting backlit landscapes where the Shutter Speed can be used to compensate. There is currently some pretty poor advice circulating RUclips at the moment advising to underexposure in capture and fix in post. Underexpose with the Setting Effect on in a Mirrorless camera and you won’t be able to see your subject on the Monitor or Finder (it will be too dark to even focus). Switch the Setting Effect off and you may have just stayed with a DSLR and have to guess the amount of compensation required or be constantly reviewing the last image you captured. Keep the ISO low and abandon any attempts to shoot wildlife or sports.
Mark Galer's Alpha Creative Skills Interesting. But do you try to stay away from ISOs over 200 and below 640?
Thank you!
You're welcome!
Great video. Thanks.
Glad you liked it!
Can you still use it, if you are in manual mode and the iso isn't on auto?
The metering system does not control exposure if you have not set ISO Auto in Manual, so you have to manually adjust aperture, shutter speed or ISO if the image appears too dark or too bright.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Thanks Mark appreciate that.
Mark can you tell me why the Sony prices have gone through the roof in Australia, the price for a Sony a7iii fluctuate between $500- $800 and will they come down once China starts making them
The Australian dollar was very weak a few months back and the economic prospects looked very dire - trade wars between USA and China, Australia upsetting the Chinese resulting in tariffs for Australian goods imported into China, zero International tourism, sending all the International students back home, very poor investment in renewables, massive bush fires etc. Sony adjust prices each year (not every weak) so worked on the current exchange rate at the time and the likely predictions that it would get even worse for the remainder of the year. With the Australian dollar recovering in recent weeks only time will tell if the prices will get readjusted or whether we will have to live with them until next year.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Thank you for your reply noted! Dave
For me it doesn’t allow me to move exposure comp now with a pp profile on. Before it did allow me to I’m not sure what I did 😭
You have to be in an Auto Exposure shoot mode to use Exposure Compensation (P, A, S or M with ISO Auto).
good Job
Simple rule guys....
Stormtrooper with dark background +ve exposure compensation.
Darth Vedar with bright background -ve exposure compensation.
Thank you! i learn from you and i subscribe your channel!
I have just moved to RAW. Also from 6400 to a7Iii. Not convinced about RAW yet.
Raw has better dynamic range, bit depth, colour gamut and allows you to choose the optimum white balance in post without compromising the quality of the file.
Has anyone ever had much luck with the metering for highlight mode? If you are trying to expose for the highlights, it looks like a great idea. But I have always found it underexposes by at least a stop.
You can fine tune each metering mode and I set Highlights brighter. It also makes monumental mistakes if the scene includes specular highlights within the frame. Most of the time Multi is the most reliable.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills Thanks. That's useful.
The meter icon on the screen shows 0.0, but why is my face so bright!! Overexposed looking.
A dark background will cause the camera to overexpose. use a negative exposure compensation with a dark background and a positive exposure compensation with a bright background.
When changing the Exposure Comp, does not the camera just change one of the exposure triangle settings (ISO, Aperture, or Shutter speed) to compensate?
Exposure compensation will change one of the three exposure controls but exposure will increase or decrease from the meter as read exposure. If you adjust aperture or shutter when in Program , Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority exposure is held constant by one or two of the other settings being adjusted.
@@AlphaCreativeSkills ok, got it but seems like a technical point I am not familiar with. "exposure will increase or decrease from the meter as read exposure". I will look into this further, thanks.
The meter averages brightness values to ‘guess’ an appropriate exposure. If the brightness values are not average the camera’s meter will often make a mistake. A camera pointed at a snow scene will invariably underexpose the scene to render the snow a mid gray rather than white. My eBooks have a section on exposure compensation with illustrated examples.
Thanks Mark, I enjoyed the video, maybe spot metering is useful in static situations like church interiors, spot metering for the painted glass on the windows, and it's always possibile to exposure-compensate from there.....
Try Highlights metering mode
Hi, I have an older model (a7r ii ) which doesn't have this feature, but I was glad to hear positive things about this camera in you recent video....
protip i actually hate the dial and i wish on the a7 III it could be disabled. apparently the a7 IV allows for custom dials so it wont be an issue but it ALWAYS moves when i put it in my bag lol. however as long as its at zero u can set a custom button to set the exposure comp without messing with the dial lol that dial is pretty much the worst feature of the the a7 III though. good info tho i might try to start using it more!
Not only can you change the function of the dial on the A7IV but you can also lock the dial so that it does no move when taking it in and out of the camera bag. The dials also lock on the A9II, A7RIV, and A1 - pretty much all the full frame cameras released after the A7III
@@AlphaCreativeSkills I hate EC dial in A7 III because I need to use at least 2 times more force than on rear dial to change position and dealing with it is very tiring and not accurate for me (texture of dial is less comfortable then on rear dial and I need to make big move to EC by 1 stop and usually to correct burn out sky I need to -1 or -2EV). Do you know if is possible to use rare dial or multi selector during half press shutter button for exposure correction? I can't use any custom buttons / dial during half press shutter button but this would be a very nice feature to change functions of some buttons and dial when I first half press shutter button (like using ctrl/cmd buttons with combinations of other key on computer keyboard).
Is your EC dial turns with similar force like rear dial? I need to use at least 2 times more force to turn it and is almost impossible to turn it during put camera into bag.