Does the 1DIV underexpose images?

[shutterdown]

I've got a friend who shoots with the MkIV (portraiture, in studio, and outdoors, with either a strobe or on-camera flash).

He claims his images are consistently underexposed by 1/2 to 2/3 stops.

That seems odd to me.

I have my doubts. I asked him how he's metering it, and he uses the default "evaluative." He is using a light meter, too, but he still says he's getting underexposed shots.

HDNitehawk, you use this camera. Is this true?

[HDNitehawk]

Not on my copy. Maybe it is true on his.

Edit; Depending on how he is setting up his lighting, his underexposure may be related more to it than the camera. With ambient lighting and no flash mine works fine. It seems that most of the time that I use the flash I end up going manual and not ETTL and I chimp in the exposure I want. But the 1D IV with flash performs no different than my 5D II or any other body I have owned in this regard.

[Dr Croubie]

So it's underexposing compared to the lightmeter?
Try getting him to shoot a grey-card, not a grey-card in the scene but one that fills the entire image frame and check the metering. Also, try the difference between viewfinder and live-view metering, live-view tends to be more accurate (especially with tilt/shift/lensbabies)

[Joel Eade]

I think evaluative metering is supposed to take in the entire scene so if there are any bright areas in the BG your main subject will be underexposed. You just have to learn to compensate. Some folks like to use spot or multi-spot metering so the main subject(s) will be exposed correctly. My 1DMKIV exposes correctly.

[shutterdown]

I think evaluative metering is supposed to take in the entire scene so if there are any bright areas in the BG your main subject will be underexposed. You just have to learn to compensate. Some folks like to use spot or multi-spot metering so the main subject(s) will be exposed correctly. My 1DMKIV exposes correctly.

I suggested the metering and believe it is as you say, where he's got a brighter spot in the background. He uses one of those photovision panels, too. Oddly, he also uses a 5DII on occasion, and says that is underexposing, too.

Gotta be the way he's metering....

[neuroanatomist]

On the 1-series, there's an AE microadjustment C.Fn - your friend should make sure that's off.

[andnowimbroke]

I thought most cameras varied a little between models. Light meters are different too and have compensation stuff hidden in the menu somewhere.

[Richard Lane]

My MKIV eposes very well too!

Here's a shot with the MKIV and EF 24-70mm f/2.8L Aperture Priority, 0 EV, Evaluative Metering, Straight out of the Camera.

I think this is a good representation of the metering of the MKIV, since it includes a decent dynamic range, including from bottom to top; the wood boardwalk, white house, dry sand, wet sand, breaking white water, blue water, sky and clouds.
I think the exposure looks pretty good on my monitor, and it looks even better in the Flickr lightbox.


@24mm, f/8, 1/500sec, ISO 100


CQ0H5038 by RL One Photography, on Flickr

The camera seems to have chosen the "Sunny 16 Rule" which works for me!

Rich

[Richard Lane]

I'm having a hard time posting directly from Flickr.

Never mind, I figured it out!

Thanks!!