Canon 6D Underexposing?

[jtwaters]

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

[jrhoffman75 · Accepted solution]

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. 

[jrhoffman75]

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

[jtwaters]

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

[Waddizzle]

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@jrhoffman75 wrote:

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

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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. 

[jtwaters]

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

[cicopo]

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

[cicopo]

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).

[jrhoffman75]

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. 

[jtwaters]

Thanks.  I am switching to Lightroom.

Jim

[ebiggs1]

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?