meyesme
New member
Well, the reason I am even on this thread in the first place is that that failed miserably for me, since the EVF did not indeed show anything remotely resembling the amount of underexposure that was set.
Confused about exposure compensation on Z8
- Thread starter Matt N
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Cameron T
Well-known member
I'm not sure how it can fail miserably if you have the option enabled to show the effects of your settings.
Remind me what camera?
meyesme
New member
Cameron T
Well-known member
My z9 allows me to see the changes just fine.
meyesme
New member
I did no have the option enabled because I find it to be the opposite of helpful most of the time. I made the mistake of assuming that the viewfinder actually tells me how I have set the camera.
Cameron T
Well-known member
Well...yeah, if you don't have the option enabled to see the effects of your settings, you're not going to see the effects of your settings. I'm not sure what you expected to happen here?
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Or....just press the exp comp button and the amount of adjustment shows in the viewfinder.
Cameron T
Well-known member
Also an option, but it doesn't show what the final image will look like, just the amount of comp dialed. Different core problems.
meyesme
New member
Actually, what y'all haven't mentioned, and what really was my main mistake was failing to look at the histogram. As for pushing the exp button, since I assumed that the scale was already telling me that, I had no reason to do so. I was photographing things that were not static, so rushed.
THAT is the reason you set the camera to WYSIWYG - What you see is in the viewfinder is what you get! Custom setting d8
Cameron T
Well-known member
I agree. I've had my z9 (and prior to that, my z7) set that way day one. I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't, except in extreme circumstances (astro, etc).
meyesme
New member
Actually, I just checked my camera, and I do and did have it set to show effects of settings [always]. I guess it was the other setting that I tried and did not like. Maybe the reason the show effects option did not help me is because I have it set to max brightness.
I suggest you focus on understanding the new camera. If you don't have the following book, I suggest you get it - and READ it. I guarantee you will benefit from it.
This is just a matter of remembering what you've set, which I don't think is really all that demanding an expectation.
More generally, I think there are two sorts of information the camera can provide: information that you want to be monitoring at a nearly full time basis, and information that you only need to check when it is necessary for whatever reason. I think that as it is camera UIs already provide a TON of information and it's not generally feasible to monitor all of it at all times. Let me preface this by saying that 10+ years ago I used to play a lot of Starcraft II, a game which displays a lot of different pieces of information around the edge of the screen very similarly to a camera display and which to play well requires checking all of this information hundreds of times per minute in addition to keeping an eye on what is happening in the main part of the display. In some ways this is not too dissimilar from what it's like to keep an eye on all the camera info and the scene in the middle of all of it. Now I CAN (or at least could 10 years ago) keep track of all that information, but it is exhausting, and as I get older it gets harder to keep tabs on all the info all the time (I haven't played the game in years but I think the decrease in speed with this sort of thing is probably obvious).
My point is that I probably could keep track of all the info being discussed here on an EVF all the time, but I really don't want to and I am sure my ability to do so would decrease a time goes on. As such I break the information down into the stuff I need to keep constant track of and the stuff I need to be able to set and just remember rather than needing to keep looking at. Something like "how far from the exposure I set is the actual exposure" is something I need to keep looking at in real time as it changes constantly based on the sun, the clouds, the wind, the direction I'm facing, etc. What I set exposure compensation to is something I can remember and don't need to constantly be looking at. If for some reason I forget it or want to double check it I can press the button and see what I set it at, but as information displayed on the screen at all time I'd say it would contribute to information overload. I just don't need to see something I have already set all the time and would rather use my attention to keep track of things which might change "on their own" like the lighting in the scene.
Make sure Starlight View is disabled as that will inhibit WYSIWYG exposure in the EVF.