satureyes Posted February 5, 2011 Share #1 Posted February 5, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hey all. This may be a really dumb question but it's late and Ive been working hard. Just got my M9 and very excited. I just was wondering... When the back dial is set for exp comp it doesn't reflect in the exposure meter within the viewfinder- it shows you the EV but will not affect the meter reading. The reason I ask is that it seems like a slightly more ergonomic way to change the exposure to get the little red dot lit up.. Or am i thinking too much like a DSLR user? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 5, 2011 Posted February 5, 2011 Hi satureyes, Take a look here Exposure compensation. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
lars_bergquist Posted February 5, 2011 Share #2 Posted February 5, 2011 You set compensation by the SET menu on the rear screen, and yes, you are rewarded only by a blinking infernal little dot. Personally, I never use exposure compensation, First, because if I must guess the last third of exposure, then I can damn well guess the rest too. It's simply too haphazard. Second, because it is too awkward and slow. When I know that automatic exposure won't handle the situation, I immediately switch over to manual just by a first finger movement of the shutter dial, and take a precise reading of the appropriate part of the subject – or I use the manual display to set one half or one stop compensation, just as if the camera had been a M6. This is way faster and more professional than the harebrained compensation feature, and you can do it without removing your eye from the finder. The old man from the Age of the Lunasix Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satureyes Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted February 5, 2011 I'm a bit confuddled now- What do you mean by switching to manual exposure? Isn't it always manual exposure (unless you use 'A') Also- you can set exposure comp to be activated by the rotating ring around the arrow keys- which to me makes more sense to fine correct exposure. My question was more about the viewfinder exposure meter nit representing the 'compensated' exposure but just shows the amount of compensation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted February 5, 2011 Share #4 Posted February 5, 2011 Why would you set exposure compensation if you are exposing manually? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satureyes Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share #5 Posted February 5, 2011 Still confused- when can you expose automatically? In 'A' mode? I just thought that it would be more ergonomic to adjust exposure from the ring whikstyou are holding the camera up to ones face.. I think I'm still way down on the M9 learning curve- and being particularly thick this morning! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelagia Posted February 5, 2011 Share #6 Posted February 5, 2011 I just thought that it would be more ergonomic to adjust exposure from the ring whikstyou are holding the camera up to ones face. You can do it. See the "Exp. comp. setup" in the menu. There are 3 different options to set the compensation, two of them use the setting ring. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satureyes Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted February 5, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi - yes I know it can be done - I was just checking if when it IS done - the compensated exposure is not shown in the viewfinder - just the amount of exp comp applied - thats all I am trying to figure out! The viewfinder 'arrows and dot' give no indication how over or under the exposure is - just whether it's 'spot on' with the absence of a needle meter then i was hoping to use the exposure comp to fine tune the exposure once the aperture and shutter speed have been set. Am I not making sense? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted February 5, 2011 Share #8 Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) I wouldn't bother. You will forget you have done it and end up with the next 20 shots under or over exposed..... When in 'A' (which is most of the time) I just meter on an area thats suitably lighter/darker and comparable to what I want to be exposed properly, lock exposure by part depressing the shutter then re-compose/focus and shoot. Most of the time the metering in Auto works fine......but...... If you use any very wide angle lenses for landscapes you will have to get used to doing this anyway as the leica metering includes too much sky and most of your pics will be underexposed.... Menu settable exposure compensation is generally a menace and has caused me more trouble than it is worth..... maybe ok for static studio work but for out and about it is a disaster waiting to happen...... Although if it re-set to zero every time you switched the camera off it would be less of an issue..... Of course if you are a 'real' photographer you have everything set on manual and work with the little winky red lights .... but as a simple ex Nikon soul who has spent most of his life on 'A' I resort to chimping and guessology....... Edited February 5, 2011 by thighslapper Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satureyes Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted February 5, 2011 Actually - I haven't been using 'A' at all - I thought I MAY do just to see what shutter speeds the camera is picking at different ISO's and as they are in the viewfinder I thought it be a good way to make a little memory map of the M9's relationship between the shutter and ISO - and how low I can go before judders creep in I'm fascinated about the meter lock - I dont seem to be able to get it right - I know the shutter release is stepped - but i dont seem to be able to get it. I either dont press it hard enough or press it too hard and fire the shutter. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted February 5, 2011 Share #10 Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) Still confused- when can you expose automatically? In 'A' mode? I just thought that it would be more ergonomic to adjust exposure from the ring whikstyou are holding the camera up to ones face.. I think I'm still way down on the M9 learning curve- and being particularly thick this morning! Yes, if you switch to M from many "consumer-grade" cameras, you start pretty well at the foot of the learning curve. But worry not, learning is pretty straightforward. What you must learn first however is general basics. Let's start there. There's an aperture ring on the lens. You can see that it regulates the size of the "hole" that lets light into the camera during the exposure. Very much simplified, f-stops (the marked numbers) are fractions. "2" meaning "1:2" means the focal length of the lens, divided by the diameter of the "hole". So you can see that 1:4 is actually a smaller hole than 1:2. The duration of the exposure (quaintly called "shutter speed" in English) must be adjusted to the size of the aperture. Smaller aperture, longer exposure. The shutter speed dial has a red A, for "automatic exposure". When you use that, the camera measures the light that falls through the lens (and thus though the aperture hole) and adjusts the shutter speed accordingly. Let's say that you have set aperture 1:2 (f:2) and the finder display says 2000, meaning 1/2000th of a second – speeds are fractions too. Closing the aperture from 2 to 2.8 does exactly halve the area of the "hole", so you need double the exposure time. And the camera consequently doubles the exposure time/halves the shutter speed from 1/2000 to 1/1000. Now is this ridiculous kid stuff – or would it be worthwhile if i would continue? Nowadays you can buy quite a complex camera without learning anything all about basic stuff like f-stops and speeds, and you can even take pictures with it if you set everything to automatic. But in that case you know nothing, and are helpless if "auto everything" is not enough. Learning the ropes can lead to a good deal of personal satisfaction. So, if you think I should continue, just tell me. If you don't, then I'll know that I am a stuffy and nosy old know-all and leave you alone. The old man from the Manual Age (hell, few of us even had an axposure meter!) Edited February 5, 2011 by lars_bergquist 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satureyes Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share #11 Posted February 5, 2011 Good lord- that's very back to basics. I think that if someone doesn't know about f stops the really shouldnt be looking at rangefinders- let alone spending lots of money on Leica kit! I think the thread has gone off a tangent. I was just asking about how exposure comp in the M9 was reflected in the viewfinder and the exposure meter! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlatkob Posted February 5, 2011 Share #12 Posted February 5, 2011 I'm fascinated about the meter lock - I dont seem to be able to get it right - I know the shutter release is stepped - but i dont seem to be able to get it. I either dont press it hard enough or press it too hard and fire the shutter. Perhaps you have the shutter release (Advance on the menu) set to Soft or Soft & Discrete. I believe meter lock via the shutter release button only works if the shutter release is set to Standard or Discrete. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted February 5, 2011 Share #13 Posted February 5, 2011 I think the thread has gone off a tangent. I was just asking about how exposure comp in the M9 was reflected in the viewfinder and the exposure meter! Thats the problem It isn't You just have to remember you have done it ..... unlike most DSLR's there isn't a display somewhere that shows you have set it to remind you...... if you remember to look that is.... Which is why I never use it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satureyes Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share #14 Posted February 5, 2011 Well that's answered then! All the shutter settings are default- Once I lock the exposure- and I recompose- will the (or should the) exposure meter lock also or will it still move around? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted February 5, 2011 Share #15 Posted February 5, 2011 I can't say I've ever bothered to look, but from memory I think you get a single fixed red dot to indicate exposure is locked - in which case all the other red winky lights should stay off..... or at least static.... I have to say I have very little need to use anything other than Aperture Priority Auto mode.... and off centre metering, locking and recomposing becomes second nature and fairly instinctive after a while .... you get to know the situations where the centre weighted metering on the M9 is going to give spurious results. I always had my D700 set to spot metering and did exactly the same anyway.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satureyes Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share #16 Posted February 5, 2011 hmm.. i dont get the static - I get winky all the way Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted February 5, 2011 Share #17 Posted February 5, 2011 Satureyes, I understand your question. Here is what should be happening. First, let me make sure you are set up the way I am. In the menu I have "Standard or Discrete" set in one menu and "Set. ring& rel. but." set a second menu. First, I depress the shutter button (SB) to, but not past the first indent and turn the dial. I see the exposure compensation in the finder change as I rotate the dial. When I release the SB I see the shutter speed and the lower dot flashes. The shutter will fire at the speed shown with the set exposure compensation applied. Next, I depress the SB past the first indent. This takes more pressure and you feel it click past the first indent. Now the top red LED turns on solid and the bottom button continues to flash. As long as I hold the SB past this indent the top light stays solid and the exposure stays locked and the shutter speed readout doesn't change. Lastly, I can continue to press the SB further and the picture will be taken with exposure compensation and the shutter speed I held before I recomposed. I hope this is what you are looking for. Maybe, you are not moving the SB far enough to get past that first indent (some may call this the second). Rick 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
satureyes Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share #18 Posted February 5, 2011 Ahh - you're talking about 'A' mode.. i'm being even more basic and saying - in regular exposure lock - in full manual - does the dot in the centre (the big dot not the little ones in 'a' mode) lock or does it still continue to meter even though you have the SB partially pressed? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted February 5, 2011 Share #19 Posted February 5, 2011 Satureyes, I understand your question. Here is what should be happening. First, let me make sure you are set up the way I am. In the menu I have "Standard or Discrete" set in one menu and "Set. ring& rel. but." set a second menu. First, I depress the shutter button (SB) to, but not past the first indent and turn the dial. I see the exposure compensation in the finder change as I rotate the dial. When I release the SB I see the shutter speed and the lower dot flashes. The shutter will fire at the speed shown with the set exposure compensation applied. Next, I depress the SB past the first indent. This takes more pressure and you feel it click past the first indent. Now the top red LED turns on solid and the bottom button continues to flash. As long as I hold the SB past this indent the top light stays solid and the exposure stays locked and the shutter speed readout doesn't change. Lastly, I can continue to press the SB further and the picture will be taken with exposure compensation and the shutter speed I held before I recomposed. I hope this is what you are looking for. Maybe, you are not moving the SB far enough to get past that first indent (some may call this the second). Rick Rick, Thanks. By I rotate the dial you mean the dial in the back of the camera, next to the screen, right? Best, K-H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted February 5, 2011 Share #20 Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) In manual the exposure is by definition locked already..... so fiddling with the shutter button does nothing.... apart from switch on the metering but depressing it a bit.... You have already set the aperture and speed ...... what goes on with the lights in the viewfinder is irrelevant when you wave it about and prod the shutter button..... In Auto when you lock exposure by half depressing the shutter you just get a fixed display of the shutter speed at that setting..... As with all new toys ...... after a few hours playing it helps to read the manual.....! You have to remember that you are stepping back in time here to circa Nikon F3 days (when I were a lad) to a metering method that is pretty basic in terms of display ........ but it works ..... It will take you a day to discover the way this camera works and a lifetime to exploit its full potential...... (Leica - are you listening ???? wouldn't that sound good on the front of a brochure ???....) Edited February 5, 2011 by thighslapper Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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