topic Re: Canon 6D Underexposing? in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Canon 6D Underexposing?

jtwaters — Sun, 08 May 2016 18:30:58 GMT

I am new to the 6D and learning how it use it. I have had it about 4 months and many of the landscape images look like they are underexposing. I can correct some of the problem with Digital Photo Professional 4 but the images don't look natural after the correction. I don't have this problem with my son's T3i or my old T5i. My settings / setup are as follows.

Lens - Canon 24-105mm f/4 L IS (About 4 years old)
Camera is set to Program AE, White Balance - AWB, Picture Style - Natural, Auto Lighting Optimizer - Standard, AF Operation - AI Focus, Drive Mode - Continuous Shooting, Metering Mode - Evaluative Metering, Highlight Tome Priority - Off, RAW and ISO 400.

Changing Picture Style, White Balance and Metering Mode don't make a difference. Why are my images coming out about ~1/2 step too dark? If I try to compensate by increasing the AEB Setting many parts of the images are over exposed.

Jim

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

jrhoffman75 — Sun, 08 May 2016 19:07:37 GMT

If you are shooting landscapes I recommend Standard Picture Style, turn ALO off, One Shot AF.

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

cicopo — Sun, 08 May 2016 19:08:44 GMT

You can try different metering modes to see which works best for specific scenes & play with Exposure Compensation for fine tuning.

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

cicopo — Sun, 08 May 2016 19:11:17 GMT

I rarely use DPP but Picture Style set in camera shouldn't affect the CR2 file. You try the different Picture Styles in DPP & see which works best (if I remember right).

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

ebiggs1 — Sun, 08 May 2016 19:13:38 GMT

First question, has it always done this or did it just start underexposing? If it was a recent change, reset the 6D to Canon defaults in the menu. You may have accidentally set an exposure compensation.

Second does it act this way with all your lenses? And in all circumstances or just one or a few?

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

jrhoffman75 — Sun, 08 May 2016 19:14:24 GMT

Picture Style setting is read by DPP and will be what shows when a CR2 file is opened in DPP. Different Styles can be selected in DPP.

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

jtwaters — Sun, 08 May 2016 19:49:07 GMT

Yes - I am using landscape and ALO is set to Standard. Let me try your settings and I will get back to you. Thx.

Jim

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

jtwaters — Sun, 08 May 2016 19:50:27 GMT

Thanks. I am switching to Lightroom.

Jim

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

jtwaters — Sun, 08 May 2016 19:53:39 GMT

When I got the camera the first thing I did was to upgrade the FW to 1.1.6. From what I recall it always did this. Let me try to do a factory reset and try the other recommendations.

Jim

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

Waddizzle — Sun, 08 May 2016 19:59:07 GMT

@jrhoffman75 wrote:
If you are shooting landscapes I recommend Standard Picture Style, turn ALO off, One Shot AF.

So, do I. To that I would add use just the center point to focus. Your metering will be done at the center point now. Clear all of the AEB settings back to zero, too. Save our images as RAW, not JPEG, too.

How far are the pictures being underexposed? Some scenarios, such scenes with high amounts of contrast, large differences between light and dark areas, can cause the exposure to be thrown off in some parts of the photos. Light leaking into the viewfinder when the shutter is activated can throw off the exposure, too. The camera assumes your eye is at the viewfinder, which blocks light from entering.

What does the histogram show you for these pictures? Do you know how to read histograms? The height of the curve shows you how many pixels. How far the curve is located to the left, or the right, shows pixeks as being underexposed [towards the left] to overexposed [towards the right].

I use a 6D, and I used to get shots that were occasionally underexposed, or overexposed, for mysterious reasons I never could figure out. However, it never happened to every shot. Furthermore, the less I relied on the camera to set ISO, shutter speed, and/or aperture, the less it occurred. I almost always shot in "M" mode now, and had completely forgotten about the under/over exposure mysteries until I read this thread.

It seemed to make no difference which lens I used. I also own a Rebel T5, and had experienced the occasional bad exposure with that camera, also. That camera used EF-S lenses. However, those issues have receded into the past. The only significant difference is that I now shoot almost always in "M" mode now.

I have always had the latest firmware version in the camera. I purchased my camera a year ago, and it was alread up to date. But, you should check your firmware version, anyway. Yours may have sitting on a shelf for a while.

If you can, post a picture showing an example of the issue.

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

jrhoffman75 — Sun, 08 May 2016 19:57:51 GMT

How do the images look on the camera LCD?

The LCD shows a JPEG image processed with all the in-camera settings. It's basically a simple DPP.

Lightroom will read and process the RAW files but will ignore Canon specific features such as Picture Styles and ALO.

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

jtwaters — Sun, 08 May 2016 20:16:16 GMT

I use Center Point Focusing, shoot in RAW and AEB is set to zero. Are you saying that if I use ‘Center Point Focusing’ I am only doing metering on that point and not the entire image? My histograms are usually shifted to the right in DPP4. Not sure why. I am using FW 1.1.6.

Jim

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

jtwaters — Sun, 08 May 2016 20:19:48 GMT

The images on the LCD look a little dark too. Would it be better if I spend the time learning Lightroom or DPP4?

Jim

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

jrhoffman75 — Sun, 08 May 2016 20:33:36 GMT

If you already own Lightroom then I would recommend you adopt it as your processing software. It is far more flexible than DPP.

Do a camera reset and take some "snapshot" photos using AUTO outside in good light of your home. If they don't come out well the camera probably needs service.

Landscape photos can "fool" the camera if there is a lot of bright sky. The camera basically assumes that the overall image is average brightness. If there is a lot of bright sky the camera exposure will be biased by the bright sky, so the areas you care about, which most likely won't be the sky, will be dark.

Re: Canon 6D Underexposing?

diverhank — Sun, 08 May 2016 21:03:43 GMT

Depending on the light level in you picture - say too much of the sky with bright light, the metering will underexpose the shot. This is fairly common and is also easily fixed.

P, Tv and Av modes allow you to do a quick exposure compensation by dialing it up a half or a stop and your problem is solved.

When I shoot landscapes, I'd always use M mode and on tripod. Sound harder than it really is because I also use Live View with exposure simulation turned on. I'd set ISO to 100, Av to f/11 and dial the speed in until it looks perfect on the LCD (which I calibrate to show correct exposure). Exposure is nailed every time and it's the easiest thing to do. You don't need to use P mode with very little control...