EOS M50 Pics Are Too Dark

[Far-Out-Dude]

First off let me say I am not a noob at this, I understand the settings and I have read the manual. It is also doing this with all lenses and the camera was just repair by Canon not long ago and has not been used much as I had foot surgery in Sept. foot got infected and I almost lost the foot so I have not been out photographing much.

Now for some reasons lately in Manual mode my pictures are turned out very dark unless I go all the way down to 4" which is much to slow for what I am trying to shoot and it is of course causing a blurred effect. I would normally take this picture at 1200 FPS when not on a tripod but when I try to do that the picture is jet black. Settings for this are as follows.  Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens 400mm f5.6 1/200 ISO 100 No flash. I had lighting set for an overcast day. I am hoping it is just something I am forgetting because I have not been shooting much and not a problem with the lens.

Oh I put it in Aperture mode and the pictures are bright enough but it is setting ISO to 6400 every time. I have tried to reset the camera but it does not seem to be resetting as BBF is still on after I have reset the camera. I had lens brace against window of truck though not entirely steady as I could not reach the pool noodle I normally put on window and only had it on the light camera skin. Thank you for any help given.

One thing I realized I forgot to mention when I was laying in bed is if I push the shutter button halfway down everything will get brighter for just a second and then look dark again in the screen and the viewfinder.

[rs-eos]

The Sunny Sixteen rule states that you can be at f/16, 1/100 s and ISO 100 on a sunny day.  Or f/11 or f/8 on slightly overcast to overcast days.

So being overcast, opening up to f/5.6, but then using a faster shutter of 1/200s should produce a relatively good exposure.  Same exposure as when using f/8, 1/100 s for overcast days.

Do you happen to have an ND (neutral density) filter attached to your lens?

[Far-Out-Dude]

Quite literally double checked the filter after I posted this, just the Canon Protect Filter. I have always been taught that when handheld or on not the best stabilizing platform to use three times the millimeter in speed to overcome handshake. I was on the car window but it was not the most steady so I had gone ahead and tried 1/1200 (Which I have always used in the past when handheld with this lens in the past) but it was much to dark so I lowered it to the settings shown. Thank you for the reply, I do appreciate it as well as any further help.

[ebiggs1]

" I understand the settings and I have read the manual. "

First there are two places to reset the camera. I suspect you are missing the second place which clear all custom settings. I would encourage you to do that right now, first. Second, you sample is simply underexposed. Here's what we do to test whether the camera is faulty or you have set it incorrectly. Do both resets, clear all settings and then do clear all custom settings. Now set P mode. Fix ISO 200. One Shor AF and just the center focus point. Daylight WB. Large jpeg file.

Mount a fairly normal FL lens, not the 100-400mm, and set the AF/MF switch to AF. Do these instructions step by step to not miss one. Now on a nice sunny day go outside and take a few dozen shots of random subjects. A park, trees, buildings, people, whatever. If the photos come out normal there is nothing wrong with your gear. 

[ebiggs1]

" I have always been taught that when handheld or on not the best stabilizing platform to use three times the millimeter in speed to overcome handshake."

The generally accepted rule of thumb is the reciprocal of the FL as a standard starting SS. This says, for your 100-400mm zoom, if you are at 100mm then the reciprocal is 1/100 and the SS should be 1/100. And consequentially if the lens is at 400mm the reciprocal is 1/400 or 1/400 SS. Now of course with practice some folks can go well below these suggested settings and some will perhaps need to double them. I, myself, have shot my heavy Sigma 150-600mm Sport lens at well below the suggested SS and had good results. Of course OS or IS helps!

Four times FL is not a rule I have ever heard of so I have no idea where that came from.

[Waddizzle]

“ … I am not a noob at this, I understand the settings and I have read the manual. “

We should never think we are too experienced to learn.  Your under exposure issues should easy to correct.  Shooting in low light conditions can be difficult under poor conditions.  Sometimes the shot just simply cannot be captured in the way we ant, if at all.

[stevet1]

Far-Out-Dude,

Running your camera at 1/1200 will give you dark pictures, unless you compensate for it with another setting.

You said you put your camera in Av mode, but you didn't say what aperture that was, only that your ISO was consistently high at 6400. If you are running your camera at real fast shutter speeds, the camera will set a high ISO to compensate.

Try doing as ebiggs has suggested, and set your shutter speed at 1 divided by whatever focal length you are using at the time (1/100 for 100mm focal length, or 1/400 for 400mm focal length, etc.)

If you are in Tv mode, the camera will set an appropriate aperture.

Try not resting your camera on the window sill. The the jitters, bangs and potholes of the roadway are going to throw everything off.

You can also do as he suggested, and put your camera in P mode for a little while. Go out and take a handful of pictures in various lighting situations. Jot down what settings your camera chose for bright, sunny conditions and for overcast conditions. That might give you a feel for what settings you might choose in the future for yourself in Manual mode.

Steve Thomas

[Far-Out-Dude]

Very sorry about the delay in replying to each of you, life kind of got in the way and then to be honest I laid down for a bit as I have not been feeling well and I was falling asleep sitting in the recliner.

Okay first thing I would like to let you know is that the truck was stopped and I was the only one in it, I would never set any part of my camera on the window if it was moving, it is also resting on the portion that was thickest and was covered by a Lenscoat as not to put any scratches or dings in it. Normally I use what is called a poll noodle but I was able to get to it, it is a much thicker piece of foam that you see many kids swimming with, I split it down the center and put it on the window to help with movement and vibration.

Aperture was set to 5.6 or 4.5 I do not remember which is highest on that lens as they would allow in the most light and even then it would set to 6400 ISO

As to the last part about choosing settings I had never had a problem going 3 times the focal length with speed before, it is just something that started in the last week and again it did not matter what lens I would use while in manual which is what I have been shooting for close to a year now, that is why I am perplexed asto why it is doing this now. I will try the suggestion, I still have a lot to learn and am not so arrogant as to think I know it all.

[Far-Out-Dude]

I know both spots you speak of, they are actually in the same spot one over the other and I tried both but I thank you for letting me know that. If I am missing another please feel free to tell me where please. I went back and double checked the manual before I replied and it showed only those two spots.

I am not quite sure I know what you mean by this line "Mount a fairly normal FL lens" My 100-400 is my only L series lens at this time. My other lenses are as follows. Canon EF-M 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM,  Canon EF-S 18 55 macro 0.25m 0.8ft, Canon EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Lens, I may be trading the 70-300 towards another lens soon. No sunny days this week but Wednesday is partly cloudy and the best day of the week as far as light goes, I will try then. I have reset everything by the way.

[Tronhard]

To me the image is overall under-exposed.  Is it possible you had exposure compensation activated with one or two stops of negative compensation?
It's very hard to gauge the exact settings from a reduced JPG file.  Did you shoot in RAW?  If so, can  you post a link via a dropbox or similar so we can see your exact settings please?