D-lux 5 Overexposure

[missmarvell]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Last night, I took out my tripod and my d-lux 5 to shoot light trails. My camera was set in manual mode with aperture f8, shutter speed 10 and ISO 80 but my shots were overly exposed. If I were to reduce my shutter speed, it might've solved my problem BUT I wouldn't have been able to get a proper light trail, no? Any advice guys? I really appreciate it

[farnz]

Since you were in Manual mode your DL5's light meter should have indicated that overexposure would occur before you took the shot. (If you're familiar with the next bit I apologise - I have no knowlegde of your skill level.)

 

With display set to show info (using the Display at bottom left) there is a horizontal line at the bottom of the screen marked from -2 to +2. This is the lightmeter telling you that the settings are going to underexpose, overexpose, or correctly expose by the number on the line with the red bar.

 

Beneath the bar are two two numbers and a dial symbol. The first number is aperture, and in your case would have said "F8" and the next number is shutter speed and in your case would have said "10".

 

To get correct exposure use the thumbwheel to adjust the aperture and shutter speed until the red bar sits over the "0" on the horizontal line. To change between aperture and shutter speed, push the thumbwheel as though it's a button.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------)(----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The other thing to be wary of is the metering mode and whether it's set to spot, centre-weighted or multi metering. If your DL5 was set to spot metering and the spot in the centre of the LCD was aimed at a very dark object then it's likely that your photo would be overexposed by the average brightness of the scene and the light trails. Depending on the concentration of light trails in the centre of your picture you might be better selecting centre-weighted or multi-metering.

 

To change between them use the small Quick Menu button at bottom right, use the sideways arrow keys to navigate to Metering Mode (4th from left) and select the mode of your choice.

 

Pete.

[missmarvell]

I am aware of the light meter and before the shot was taken, it did indicate overexposure but I didn't know how to balance it out since I was already using the largest aperture known to the d-lux 5 and at ISO 80. My camera was also set at multi metering mode. Is there any other way I can prevent overexposures?

[farnz]

I am aware of the light meter and before the shot was taken, it did indicate overexposure but I didn't know how to balance it out since I was already using the largest aperture known to the d-lux 5 and at ISO 80. My camera was also set at multi metering mode. Is there any other way I can prevent overexposures?

Well your shutter speed was set to 10, which is 10 seconds, so you'd need to keep decreasing that until the red bar is sitting over the zero.

 

A good way to check roughly what it should be is to set the DL5 to Aperture priority (A on the mode dial), set the aperture to F8 and see what shutter speed it selects when you half press the shutter release button.

 

Pete.

[missmarvell]

You're right, but the only problem is that if I reduce my shutter speed, I won't be able to achieve a nice light trail. I tried it with shutter speed 3s and this is what I got (refer to the shot below), discontinued trails. Maybe I should try it in shutter priority mode This is the original shot without editing.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[missmarvell]

Just now, I tried shooting on shutter priority mode and received much better results. Here's a sample shot from tonight without editing except for cropping. I hope this helps! And thank you, Pete

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[ho_co]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Dear Miss:

You've discovered the secret! Practice makes perfect, and input helps!

 

Probably the first shots you made for star trails were in the city, where city lights contribute a tremendous amount of light, leading to overexposure.

 

Since I don't have one, I'm not sure how good the D-Lux 5 is for star-trails, but you've got to:

• have a dark sky;
  
• use a low ISO; and
  
• use a suitable shutter speed (determined via experimentation).
  

 

That may not help, since you already seem to be on a good learning curve as it is.

[Fang]

Thanks Guys - great thread - learn some useful info from you guys.

[Gitzo]

Perhaps for this shot you will need to use a strong ND filter to reduce the light by at least 4 stops. This will require the attachment that allows you to screw on filters etc..