topic Re: Can anybody help with my camera in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Canon EOS R10 - Shutter Priority Issues

Ethan120607 — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 21:47:46 GMT

Hi, I am new to the Canon R10 and I like taking pictures of birds. I recently switched my settings to shutter priority and now everything in the camera is super dark. Just went on a 5 mile hike and got home and all my pictures and totally trashed. I checked my ISO and it is on auto. If anyone could help me that would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

shadowsports — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 23:12:22 GMT

Greetings,

Tv shutter priority can be good for BIF, but could get you in trouble on a bright sunny day.

We're the birds flying or stationary?

Do you have any examples you can post? You can use a hosted service such as Google Drive , Dropbox, or One Drive...This way we can see what you captured and offer some suggestions.

Post some examples and we'll try to help.

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

Ethan120607 — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 23:13:49 GMT

It was a bright sunny day but I was in the woods. I did have my ISO on some of the time to brighten it but I think it really did a toll on my pictures. Is there a way to brighten your camera without sacrificing quality?

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

Tronhard — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 23:35:36 GMT

Hi Ethan and welcome to the forum:
I am not sure of your overall experience as a photographer, but you might find this of some assistance:
Canon R10 Tutorial Training Video Overview Users Guide Set Up - Part 1 - Made for Beginners - YouTube
to find specifics on exposure, click on More... below the video and a table of contents will appear.

On a more general basis the following video covers the range of metering and exposure options:

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

shadowsports — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 00:30:14 GMT

Hi Gents,

Bright sunny day, shooting under a canopy. What lens(ws) were you using? Some RAW images would really be helpful so we can evaluate.

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

Ethan120607 — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 00:39:25 GMT

Here are some pictures. Shutter speed is 1/2000 and ISO is at the max. Shot by a 400 mm lens.

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

Tronhard — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 00:47:41 GMT

Hi Ethan:
Thanks for posting the photos. It would also be helpful to know the aperture settings as well. That said, and given that you are shooting in a dim environment, the exposure does not seem that far off to me. Remember, while it may have been sunny outside the wooded area, you are actually shooting in a rather dim, shaded environment.
Looking at the first image, that seems consistent. The second two images are rather back-lit, that is the light is brighter behind the birds than in front of them. In that case, you want to increase the exposure above that which the camera has metered. In the Av and Tv modes that is usually done using the exposure compensation control -refer to your manual for that.

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

Ethan120607 — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 00:49:46 GMT

Thank you, I will start researching that

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

Tronhard — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 00:56:20 GMT

If you check out the Advanced User Guide, c006.pdf (start.canon) you use the Quick Control Dial to set the exposure compensation. That is the dial on the top, back end of the camera. Looking through the viewfinder, when you turn the wheel, you should see the exposure meter at the base of the EVF display move left (less exposure) or right (more exposure) as you turn the dial. Also, the image will actually get darker or brighter as you do so.
Once you have taken your photo, remember to reset the dial back to neutral (0 on that mark) before you take other shots.

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

Ethan120607 — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 01:00:37 GMT

Thank you so much for your help. I also think not have ISO on auto also really grained up my photos. The video was helpful but my camera doesn’t seem to be automatically changing the exposure. I think I need to learn more about the shutter priority setting.

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

Tronhard — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 01:04:21 GMT

Basically shutter priority will attempt to create a correctly exposed image (according to what the camera meters) when you set a shutter speed. The camera will then use an algorithm that seeks to change the ISO and aperture give give the correct exposure. Setting ISO in Auto is a good idea, but you can also add a limit to that and set it to not set an ISO above a maximum value, such as 3200. In that case, when the max ISO is reached, the camera will try to get the correct exposure changing the aperture, unless it is impossible to do so for the lighting conditions, in which case the setting will display in flashing mode in your EVF.

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

Tronhard — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 01:18:15 GMT

Further to that, in your case you set a shutter speed of 1/2000 sec, which was probably too fast considering the birds were not on the wing. You could have shot much slower than that and thus given the camera much more latitude to adjust aperture and ISO to the conditions.
TBH, I am a wildlife shooter and very rarely use Tv. I prefer Av or manual - but usually the former, so that I can control what is in focus. I set ISO at auto with a max value of 3200 or 6400, depending on the camera and the lens.

I also do not use evaluative metering (the default) - for me it is ok for landscapes but not for wildlife or situations with a lot of contrasting areas: I use both spot metering locked in the centre, so I can select the correct exposure point precisely, and I assign that to the * button on the back of the camera. I also use Back Button Focus (see: video) also centre locked. That way, I just set my exposure, lock it with one button, focus on say the eye of my subject and lock that, recompose and shoot.

All of the images below were taken in Av mode and the methods alluded to.
Rifleman R6, RF100-500 @ 400mm, f/5.6, 1/100sec, ISO-1600 Male Korimako (Bellbird): 500mm, f/7.1, 1/200 sec, ISO-6400 Hihi: 500mm, f/7.1, 1/200 sec, ISO-6400 R6MkII, EF 100-400@ 400mm, f/8, 1/400sec, ISO-6400

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

shadowsports — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 01:25:30 GMT

Greetings Ethan,

May I suggest this. You do not need to shoot at 1/2000 for stationary birds... Try 1/250 - 1/400. Set the AF to a single focus point. Is the lens an EF400mm f5.6?

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

Ethan120607 — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 01:36:25 GMT

Thank you so much to all your help. Yes I always use spot in the woods, getting between all those branches can be tricky. I was using 2000 shutter speed for shore birds. I will take your advice though to turn it down in certain environments.

Re: Can anybody help with my camera

Tronhard — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 01:41:39 GMT

The key with shutter speed is you need to go fast only if the birds are actually moving: even then, unless they are particularly swift, you could likely get away with 1/1000 sec. For birds relatively static or just perching, as your images seem to be, you can get away with shots much, much slower, as my good colleague Rick suggested. If you check out my sample images, they were shot at between 1/100 and 1/400sec.