topic Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

CassiLynne20 — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 21:54:25 GMT

I'm still very new to cameras, and I have a Rebel T5. When I get my shutter speed up, my photos are so much darker they're practically black. I know this has something to do with the light getting in, but I don't know how to fix it right in the settings. I've played around with it best I can figure, but don't know how to fix it. Even with a SUPER bright flash, it still looks black at the higher shutter speeds.

Please help.

Thanks!

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

jrhoffman75 — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 22:01:18 GMT

If you are learning put camera in Green Square mode.

Look at the settings the camera selects.

Check some tutorials on YouTube.

If you are going to select your own settings be sure the exposure meter in the viewfinder is in the middle.

Compare setting in Green Square to your setting. Adjust as necessary.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

CassiLynne20 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 00:30:10 GMT

I've tried altering all other settings while it's on the higher shutter speeds, and sometimes it looks *slightly* less dark, but far from acceptable? Even the lightest one seems to be FAR too dark. So.. Leaves me to wonder if it's a faulty camera (I'd bought it used) or if I've just got the settings wrong.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

jrhoffman75 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 01:52:48 GMT

It sounds like you’re shotgunning settings without being sure what you’re doing v

Please put it on Green Square and go outside in daylight and take a picture.

If that doesn’t produce a good image then you may have a defective camera.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

Waddizzle — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 02:19:01 GMT

Take a look at the YouTube videos from Canon's Digital Learning Center.

https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/General-Camera-Discussion/Canon-YouTube-Video-Series/m-p/269237#M7640

The EOS 101 series in the first post is a great introduction to the basics of photography. You will want to watch them more than once. The crucial concepts to understand are " Exposure Triangle " and " Depth of Field ".

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

CassiLynne20 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 02:25:59 GMT

@jrhoffman75 wrote:
It sounds like you’re shotgunning settings without being sure what you’re doing v

Please put it on Green Square and go outside in daylight and take a picture.

If that doesn’t produce a good image then you may have a defective camera.

In GS mode a singular photo comes out just fine. I'm only having the issue when I turn the shutter speed up higher than 400.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

jrhoffman75 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 03:33:03 GMT

What mode are you in when you are adjusting shutter speed?

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

jrhoffman75 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 11:48:09 GMT

Since you are getting proper images in Green Square your camera is functioning properly.

Try this:

1. Put camera in Green Square and take a photo. Check the setings ISO, shutter and aperture.

2. Switch camera to Program (P) mode. The settings should be the same.

GS and P use the same camera logic program. GS just disables a number of things you can chnage to be sure you get a proper image.

3. In "P", rotate the Main Dial next to the shutter button, You will see as one setting is changed (camera is usually setup to change the shutter speed with that dial) the other settings change accordingly to maintain correct exposure. You will also see the pointer in the righthand side of the viewfinder staying at the middle point because the program in the camera works to maintain correct exposure.

4. If you start moving things in Manaul (M) there is no longer a linkage. You can set shutter, perture and ISO anywhere you want independently. Tha's why you need to wtch where the pointer is and adjust appropriately.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

Ray-uk — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 11:05:23 GMT

It sounds as though you need to learn the basics of manual exposure, there are plenty of tutorials online.

Getting the correct exposure in settings other than automatic require a little juggling with the 3 variables, shutter speed, aperture and ISO. It is no good just increasing the shutter speed without adjusting one or both of the other two.

Likewise a flashgun will not necessarily help if you are going to use high shutter speeds unless you use high speed flash which is yet another learning curve.

As others have pointed out if your camera gets it right in Auto (green square) mode then the camera isn't faulty and the problem lies with the user.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

MikeSowsun — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 13:35:56 GMT

Are you using an external flash for all these photos?

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

CassiLynne20 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 15:31:08 GMT

@Ray-uk wrote:
It sounds as though you need to learn the basics of manual exposure, there are plenty of tutorials online.

Getting the correct exposure in settings other than automatic require a little juggling with the 3 variables, shutter speed, aperture and ISO. It is no good just increasing the shutter speed without adjusting one or both of the other two.

Likewise a flashgun will not necessarily help if you are going to use high shutter speeds unless you use high speed flash which is yet another learning curve.

As others have pointed out if your camera gets it right in Auto (green square) mode then the camera isn't faulty and the problem lies with the user.

I did full acknowledge that I'm still learning and that it might be me. I'm simply asking for help on figuring the settings out if it is in fact me. I've tried all of the different combinations of the SS, Aperture, and ISO which is why I wasn't sure if it was in fact a camera issue, but it could just be that I haven't found the right combination yet.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

CassiLynne20 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 15:37:33 GMT

@MikeSowsun wrote:
Are you using an external flash for all these photos?

I've tried it with, and without -- Though I'm thinking I'm not a fan of the external flash I have anyways (it came with the camera) because no matter if i'm inside/outside or what I change the exposure to, it's still blindingly bright.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

CassiLynne20 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 15:57:01 GMT

@jrhoffman75 wrote:
Since you are getting proper images in Green Square your camera is functioning properly.

Try this:

1. Put camera in Green Square and take a photo. Check the setings ISO, shutter and aperture.
2. Switch camera to Program (P) mode. The settings should be the same.

GS and P use the same camera logic program. GS just disables a number of things you can chnage to be sure you get a proper image.

3. In "P", rotate the Main Dial next to the shutter button, You will see as one setting is changed (camera is usually setup to change the shutter speed with that dial) the other settings change accordingly to maintain correct exposure. You will also see the pointer in the righthand side of the viewfinder staying at the middle point because the program in the camera works to maintain correct exposure.

4. If you start moving things in Manaul (M) there is no longer a linkage. You can set shutter, perture and ISO anywhere you want independently. Tha's why you need to wtch where the pointer is and adjust appropriately.

With GS and P the shutter is still so slow that it's basically only taking one photo (1/50) and I can't adjust that. So I swap to M and I've tried just about every combination for SS, Aperture, ISO, and Exposure and sometimes they're not as bad, but sometimes it's just flat our black even when pointed directly towards a bright light. That's why I suspected it might be an issue with the camera on the higher shutter speeds.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

jrhoffman75 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 16:05:33 GMT

I don't understand what you mean by "takes only one photo". If you are in One Shot mode the camera will take one photo each time you press shutter button regardless of shutter speed.

If the shutter speed is that low in P it probably means that the lens is wide open and the ISO is at max.

When in P record shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Then dial those in Manual. You should get the same result in GS, P and M.

When you record them report back what they are.

One thing - just to be sure all is set well, go to the Menu and clear all camera settings and custom settings.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

CassiLynne20 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 16:09:00 GMT

@jrhoffman75 wrote:
I don't understand what you mean by "takes only one photo". If you are in One Shot mode the camera will take one photo each time you press shutter button regardless of shutter speed.

If the shutter speed is that low in P it probably means that the lens is wide open and the ISO is at max.

When in P record shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Then dial those in Manual. You should get the same result in GS, P and M.

When you record them report back what they are.

One thing - just to be sure all is set well, go to the Menu and clear all camera settings and custom settings.

I reset the settings and it's working now! I'm not sure what was selected that was making it wonky.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

jrhoffman75 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 16:13:51 GMT

👍

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

ebiggs1 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 16:21:27 GMT

CassiLynne20

Stop for a minute. First lets determine if all is OK. Put the camera in P mode, ISO set to 200, not auto ISO. Lens in AF. Average WB. Go outside on a nice day at a nice park or other nice place and take some shots. If all is well the camera is fine.

If that works let's make "single" adjustments. You can try Av and select a certain aperture, say f8, and let the camera choose the best SS. Then select Tv, let's try 1/200, and let the camera select the proper aperture. Leave the ISO at 200 still on that nice day at the park. Going on, put the camera back in P mode and change the ISO setting. All the while do notice the other settings the camera is making. You will quickly see how things work, I am sure.

Put a small piece of black tape over the "green square" on the mode dial and forget it even exists. If you feel you need an auto setting always use P mode.

You can view all the settings on the LCD when you check your shots.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

CassiLynne20 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 16:52:31 GMT

@ebiggs1 wrote:
CassiLynne20
Stop for a minute. First lets determine if all is OK. Put the camera in P mode, ISO set to 200, not auto ISO. Lens in AF. Average WB. Go outside on a nice day at a nice park or other nice place and take some shots. If all is well the camera is fine.

If that works let's make "single" adjustments. You can try Av and select a certain aperture, say f8, and let the camera choose the best SS. Then select Tv, let's try 1/200, and let the camera select the proper aperture. Leave the ISO at 200 still on that nice day at the park. Going on, put the camera back in P mode and change the ISO setting. All the while do notice the other settings the camera is making. You will quickly see how things work, I am sure.

Put a small piece of black tape over the "green square" on the mode dial and forget it even exists. If you feel you need an auto setting always use P mode.

You can view all the settings on the LCD when you check your shots.

This is what came from that 🙂 Appreciate the suggestions!

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

jrhoffman75 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 17:00:29 GMT

First thing when buying a used camera, or when camera doesn’t seem to be working correctly is a reset of camera settings and clearing all custom functions.

Re: Shutter Speed vs Screen Darkness

ebiggs1 — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 21:18:02 GMT

Okay Kido looks goodbye to go. Now start playing with the settings one at a time