6D Light Meter Issues

[Kaweeka]

When taking a picture in low light situations the meter gives a reading 3 stops under exposed; point it towards a bright scene and all is well . . .  It does not matter what metering mode I'm using.

i tried clearing all the camera settings, tried a different lens, and still the problem exists.  Have I missed something or is it time to visit the service center?

thanks!

[jrhoffman75]

That measn that even with all the adjustments the camera is applying (shutter speed, aperture and ISO) the scene is still too dark.

Point it to a bright light and the camera can get a proper exposure.

All is well with the camera.

[Kaweeka]

Should have added that I also tried shooting the scenes @ ISO 1600 and the issue still exists.  Just a couple of days ago I was shooting pictures of the dogs using just the light from a lamp and all was well.  Mystifying!

[TTMartin]

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@Kaweeka wrote:

@Should have added that I also tried shooting the scenes @ ISO 1600 and the issue still exists.  Just a couple of days ago I was shooting pictures of the dogs using just the light from a lamp and all was well.  Mystifying!

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ISO 1600 is not high at all for a digital camera.

Your camera sounds like it is working perfectly normal.

I would suggest you watch some YouTube videos on basic photo concepts. Adorama TV on YouTube is a good place to start. I highly recommend the Digital Photography One on One series.

[Kaweeka]

The indoor scene is well lit.  I can get a decent picture at 1/80 F4 with 3 stops of exposure adjustment.  Seems if all were well the meter should get much closed to a correct exposure.  I shoot everything from sports (both outside and in the gym) to long exposure landscapes (volcano at night) so I've played around with many different lighting situations.  There is an issue with either something I set inadvertently or with the camera I'm just at a loss what it might be.

[Kaweeka]

Just adding one more thing . . .  If I shoot using Live View the exposure is spot on (1/160 F2.8) but through the viewfinder it takes a picture at 1/2500 F2.8.  Much appreciate the help!

[jrhoffman75]

Do you still need to add in three stops of compensation if you are shooting outdorrs in daylight?

Are you getting underexposed images if you use AUTO or AUTO+ mode (depending on what your camera has)?

You can go into Menu and clear all custom settings and clear all camera settings.

[Kaweeka]

Daylight is fine (sitting in my living room rotating the chair to shoot out the window and back to shoot into the room which is back lit).  And what throws me off more is in Live View the exposure is fine.

Have the same issue in A+ and P.  I also  reset all the camera settings back to default as you described (twice for good measure).  I'm off to read more about Live View since I do not use it a lot but was doing some full moon experimenting.  Makes me wonder if I set something wrong in this process.  Makes no sense but what the heck!

[Kaweeka]

Did more reading, found nothing, and then thought what do you do before calling tech support?  Reboot!  But there is no way to remove the batteries that maintain memory . . .  However, what I should have done first is just remove the big battery.  Doing so fixed the issue!  Sorry to waste your folks time!!

[TTMartin]

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@Kaweeka wrote:

Did more reading, found nothing, and then thought what do you do before calling tech support?  Reboot!  But there is no way to remove the batteries that maintain memory . . .  However, what I should have done first is just remove the big battery.  Doing so fixed the issue!  Sorry to waste your folks time!!

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Sounds like you got exposure compensation dialed into the camera. The 'light meter' was actually showing exposure compensation. So you might want to read up on the exposure compensation section of the manual so it doesn't happen again accidentally.