6D II Exposure Compensation / AEB Problem

[Escalante101]

New 6D, Mark II.  When I open the the Expo.com//AEB Setting and push "Set" when the second menu appears the +/- key and "+" arrow markers are grayed out.  When I turn the dial behind the shutter button, only the "second" set of vertical lines appear.  I have the Canon 24-105mm F4L IS USM lens attached to the camera.  Every Canon or other video tutorial I watch as well as the Users Manual for this camera shows two sets of vertical lines and the   I hope this makes sense, and I hope someone has a logical answer to this problem. Thank you.

[Escalante101]

I think I found the answer.  It has to do with the "Mode" setting.  I had the camera set in "Manual" Mode, and the upper set of vertical lines would not appear.  However, if I put the camera into Av (Aperture Priority) the upper set of lines will appear.  Therefore, the answer to the problem lies within the camera's Mode settings.  This took a long time to try to figure this one out on my own.  I tried a different lens, no lens, searched the Internet until I was ready to drop.  Lots of time, but I am relieved to have finally figured this one out.

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

There is a simple explanation, and an even simpler fix.  Set your ISO to Auto in Manual exposure mode.

https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/General-Camera-Discussion/I-Use-Exposure-Priority-Mode/m-p/263800...

AEC is disabled because of your shooting mode.  You are using M mode, with a manually set ISO value.  In this exposure mode, everything is set manually.  The camera is not adjusting exposure, so AEC becomes meaningless.  If you want exposure compensation, manually dial it in and measure Ev on the metering scale in the viewfinder.

It is all about the Exposure Triangle.  You can set the camera to automatically control exposure by controlling different legs of the ET.  You able to set the camera to control the ET by adjusting all three legs, any two legs, any one leg, or none of the legs.

The camera has exposure mode settings that allow you to prioritize Aperture, Av mode, or Shutter Speed, Tv mode.  The ISO value is not really a physical property of the ET.  It simulates the properties of the film used in film cameras.  Typically, once you loaded a roll of film with a given ISO speed, you were not changing rolls of film to get different ISO speeds in the middle of a roll.  

You used up all of your shots on the roll at the fixed ISO speed of the film.  Cameras were given the ability to allow photographers to set a fixed aperture, and it would adjust your shutter speed, and vice versa.  You could also dial in AEC at the same time.  There were no other automatic adjustments available.  

This behavior carried over into digital cameras, which were given Av and Tv exposure priority modes, as well as fully automatic and fully manual modes.  As the ISO range of DLSRs began to expand, manufacturers began giving DSLRs an automatic ISO exposure setting.  Many photographers have found ISO Auto exposure mode very useful when using Manual exposure mode.  

In M mode, you can prioritize both aperture and shutter speed, but now you need to adjust ISO to get the proper exposure.  Manufactures have added the ability to set ISO to Auto in Manual mode.  Many DSLRs allow you to set AEC in Manual mode, but only when ISO is set to Auto.  The 6D2 is one of them.

[Escalante101]

Thanks!

[Waddizzle]

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@Escalante101 wrote:
Thanks!

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You are welcome!

Most people do not realize that their camera can operate in this mode, which I think of and call Exposure Priority.  I suggest that you program the [SET] button for AEC, so that when you press and hold it, you can use the Main Wheel to dial in AEC.  

I have found this camera exposure mode to be VERY useful for action photography, most especially for BIF, birds-in-flight.  I typically use Evaluative Metering mode for all of my action photography.  My goal is to expose the subject, and I will correct the background in post with a mask.

[Escalante101]

I have a subscription to Adobe Photography Suite, Lightroom / Bridge / Photoshop.  I recently participated in a group night shoot of a moonrise over the spire of a local church.  We set the shutter speed / aperture, and the only thing we changed was the ISO.  Thanks for the helpful tips.

[Waddizzle]

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@Escalante101 wrote:

I have a subscription to Adobe Photography Suite, Lightroom / Bridge / Photoshop.  I recently participated in a group night shoot of a moonrise over the spire of a local church.  We set the shutter speed / aperture, and the only thing we changed was the ISO.  Thanks for the helpful tips.

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For that, I would not let the camera set the exposure.  It will most likely be fooled by the Moon’s bright reflection of sunlight.  I would take a set of bracketed exposures, and hopefully be able to combine them into a single HDR image.  

Do a web search for “Looney 11 Rule.”, which is a rule of thumb for setting exposure for shots of the Moon.  Use that as a starting point.

[Fil93]

 Hi there!

I have an EOS 6D and was having the same sort of problem with the difference that I had already my ISO set on auto.

 The issue I get is that with the dial next to the screen, the exposure compensation bar won't move, but if I move the other dial (closer to the shutter button), it makes a bracket; I've been trying to go through this from several peopole I know who use Canon but none have been able to give me an answer.

[Waddizzle]

Are you looking at the viewfinder display or the Quick Menu display on the rear LCD?