Exposure Compensation (1 Viewer)

Thanks for all the replies. Am I missing something here? I seems to be the only one not getting the function to work. As mentioned previously, when I shoot with the setting at +5 EV, 0 & -5EV, the pics came back exactly the same with no noticeable exposure differences.

Does the camera need any adjustments to the settings? Shooting in "Manual" mode?
Focus trap and metering still ok but not under dim light.


Fernando,

You mentioned the nine focus points of the D90 also worked? D300s has 51 points, how do I adjust the settings to activate and work? I am currently using the centre point to focus so composition of 1/3 is not really possible.

Apologise for the novice questions.

tbc.

You’re shooting in manual mode? Compensation is just used in P, A or S modes. In manual mode you control everything yourself, exposure compensation is overridden by witch setting you have (ISO, SS and aperture).

In the D90 you just press the “joystick” in the back (big round button at the right of the screen) to select witch AF sensor to use, if the button bellow is not in the L (locked) position.
I never used a D300 but it shouldn’t be much different, that same big round button will allow you to select witch AF sensor you want to use, as long as the sensors are not locked (the L setting in the same button). I don’t know if you can select any of the 51 points individually though, or just some of them.
I’m also curious to know how the D300 works in that regard, like you said using the central point is not so good if you want to use a thirds composition. I want to go for a D300 or D7000 for that reason alone, having crossed AF sensors on the thirds of the frame is a welcome addition.

Thanks Fernando, I'll try it over the weekend on other modes except "Manual". So does your other AF points work with the AF confirm chip besides the centre one?

Recently I was shooting a pair of owls on the same branch but was sitting apart. I could only get either the left or right owl in the centre AF point. Another raptor was within full frame shot with 1.4X TC on and my aim was to get the eyes sharp but the centre AF point was on its chest so I switched to manual focus and took the shot. That was kind of inconvenience.

tbc

All of them work, but in the D90 the other sensors aren’t as effective as the central point. I’d imagine that is because on the D90 the centre is the only crossed sensor.

In the TL804 it works like this:
- Without the TC (F/6) the central point is flawless under any kind of light. The side sensors work well most of the times, but if the light starts to get to dim or the subject has little contrast it fails occasionally.
- With the 1.4x TC (F/8.4) the central point still works fine, failing only when the light gets really low or there’s very little contrast on the subject, the side sensors work only in strong daylight.
- With the 2x TC I disconnect AF and focus manually, central point works in very strong daylight but most of the times the camera wont fire, causing me to miss shots I wouldn’t miss otherwise, so I just switch it off. And the side sensors are completely blind at these apertures.

Yup, in those situations you have to switch to MF. Sometimes you can get by with focusing and recomposing, if DOF allows for that. Actually focusing and recomposing is a situation that is helped by the curvature on the scope, unlike on a curvature corrected lens. But in most situations of this kind I just use MF, it’s faster and it just works better, at least for me.

Tried out this morning in "Shutter" priority and the EV did work. But not the other AF points. It was inconsistent and most times didn't work even under noon sunlight. Guess have to make do with the centre AFpoint and switch to manual mode for composition.

tbc

Hmm...that's a shame, I was hoping for the others to work too.

I guess that's good news for me though, I wont have the urge to spend money on another body The D90 will do fine if I don't get any improvement there.

Thanks for the info.

Managed to get a sunny session in so posting some examples of the Sigma 500 vs ED80,

As for the focus points, I found that the center 9 points work pretty well, with a TC only the center is most acheivable, the outer 8 only in good light, contrast

Dont forget with the D7K, metering is acheivable without a AF confirm chip by using the 'non cpu lens' function - if conditions are good rangefinder focus works too (albeit center point only)

Thanks for the comparison Still I was hoping for a few crops of static subjects with the same framing and light, just to see how they would compare at the exact same settings and at full size.

The light on these shots is a bit different, the right shot (ED80 I assume) is darker and with less contrast, the shades are also much more diffused so I think a cloud had been passing by at the moment. The sigma shot appears very sharp at this size, but how is it at 100% compared to the ED80?

You're putting the D7000/300 back on my mind, if the other AF sensors work it would be a definite plus for me.
Yup, I know I wouldn't need the chip for the metering, but I still wouldn't get trap focus without it or would I? I never tried that but I think I can't. Also all my MF lenses are chipped so it's not a big factor for me.

The left shot is the ED80, the right the Sigma 500mm. Although it was sunny, the feeders are in partial shade and yes, clouds were passing over. I may do a more 'scientific' test later on and give the AF points a real workout.

Uupppsss!!!...yes I meant the left is the ED80 I guess I should read my replies better before I post them|:$|