dear sifus,
ive been playing with my d40 for arnd 1 month now.
i have never transfer my pics to pc until today....
and guess what???!!!!
most of the pics are underexpose...i dun understand this...
because after clicking the shutter and previewing...it looks fine....
any problem here?
HELP ME PLEASE!!!!

mind post few of the pictures here? u mean the pic look diferent from view screen or from it 1st taken?

look diff from view screen...
on view screen looks exposed correctly...
then on pc...underexposed...=(
y like this?

look at your histogram.... and thts what ev is for..

check ur monitor
or try save the pics and view it from other ppl's monitor

my colleague been taking pictures and keep on complaining his pics are underexposed,
i said kenot be - coz he is using "auto" and most of his shots is in broad day light outdoor

turn out the culprit is the old monitor....

but i can only check the histogram after shooting it...
i have no real time histogram...
anyway thanks for the lead...
btw...ev is the exposure value rite?
so when it is dark we should increase it n vice versa izzit?
i also found out that my pics underexposes when shooting indoor...with flourescent / incandescent lights....
any help to improve exposure?

As for the lighting, have u tried to changed the White Balance setting... or perhaps, go shot RAW and later play around with the WB in your pc ..

i use auto wb....=)...
and yes i shot in raw n played with wb in ps....
i was juz wondering...
is it normal for d40 to show something good on screen in fact it is underexposed?
or i m juz not good?

why do u need real time histogram? after shoot, see the histogram, if under, shoot again lo...

Spot meter off some surface/subject that you think is reasonably illuminated.
Don't use matrix metering.

I think XANDMAN follow the Ken Rockwell instruction. Put EV at -0.7. Maybe that's the reason underexpose.

Use the meter at the viewfinder to check for the under or over expose thingy. Something like bar under the shutter speed and aperture in the viewfinder. I always try to keep in the middle. If more lines to the left, then it is overexpose, if it more to the right, then it's underexpose. So far i use is ok.

This post has been edited by jeffbong: May 11 2007, 03:00 AM

oooo ok i think its the metering....
i set it to matrix....
thx all for the reply...
and thx jeff for explaining the bar thingy....
hahahahaha...i was about to ask what the bar does...but u answered me b4 i could ask!
thx again all! will try to shoot again! =)

Dun forget to post pics ... happy shooting!

will do...once i get it to turn out just right!
hehehe...
btw...
if let's say the exposure bar is to the right...means underexposure...how can i counter the problem?
and also what if it is overexposure? how can i counter it?
thanks!

I dun counter over or under-exposure .. I shoot 1st and see if what my FEELING is telling me against what kinda images I want, not what my LCD is showing me. It's your 1st time comparing your images on the monitor so get your monitor tuned to your camera's LCD first.

Dun let your LCD or your monitor tell you what is right or wrong, after you shoot anything, what does your FEELING tells you?

wwaaaa...ac98...
u sound like yoda! hehehe...anyway thx for the tips...good to get tips from a pro...
btw...how can i calibrate my monitor according to my lcd?
one more thing sifu ac98...
can u explain more of the "feeling"?
thx thx thx!!!

underexposure
- lower shutter speed, i.e. from 1/1000 change to 1/500
- increase aperture size, i.e. from f5.6 change to f3.5
- increase flash power, i.e. from -1EV to 0EV
- increase ISO, i.e. from ISO200 change to ISO400

overexposure
- increase shutter speed
- lower aperture size
- decrease flash power
- decrease ISO

maybe u should also try to understand more of how the camera work...
or have u try reading the Instruction Manual before that comes together wif the camera?

*btw...just my 2cents - refering to ur soon-2-get-gear. 70-300mm and 18-200mm are two lens wif half of the range overlapping, i.e. 70-200mm
why dun u instead replace 18-200mm wif a 18-70mm range lens instead?
also instead of eyeing for the VR, a lens wif large aperture such as f/2.8 would provide u wif a better bokeh on the photos...

if money is no matter to u, of coz i would suggest the following Nikon lens:
- 70-200mm VR f/2.8
- 28-70mm f/2.8

This post has been edited by karwaidotnet: May 11 2007, 07:48 AM

Generally, matching how your LCD and monitor look like in terms of colour and brightness is one hell of a task. I use a Samsung SyncMastr 75DFX by the way. One surefire way is to KNOW that images that are 'just right' according to your eye on the LCD is also 'just right' according to your eye on the monitor ... never too much, never too less. For example ... if it's overexposed on your LCD but just right on your monitor, it's time to brighten down your LCD until it somewhat matches your monitor OR ELSE you will consequently bring back underexposed images back home, understand? It works vice versa.

As for 'feeling' your images ... this will have to wait until you have all your camera settings on your TEN fingers, not FIVE and you can shoot as if the camera is an EXTENSION of your body, no longer a separate entity

karwaidotnet...
thx for the pointers on over n underexposure...
about the lenses...between the 70-300 n 18-200...i'd like to get only one of it...f/2.8 lenses are great but a bit out budget for the time being...=)..
sure will look into it once ive mastered the basics...

ac98...
will try the technique to calibrate my monitor...i guess its the brightness...bcoz i set my monitor brightness to quite low...since i m facing it almost all the time...
as for the 'feeling'...hope ill develop it soon...when i m VERY comfy with my gears....

thx all!!!!

Same as what i had experienced with the D40X
If you set Ev +1.0 the pics will be nicely exposed
but your shutter drop 1/20