Nikon D90 and overexposure

[Maggie_M]

I'm having a problem with my D90, in aperture priority and shutter priority modes the camera overexposes the shot by one step. I normally shoot in manual mode, but there are times when the other modes, especially aperture priority would be nice to use.
Is there something I'm missing in the settings?
Any help is appreciated!

[Nicole]

Use exposure compensation to help out. If you know it always overexposes by about 1 stop, then set your exposure compensation down a little bit until the photo looks right.

Meanwhile, depending on your metering mode and the kind of scene you're shooting, I do find that sometimes the automatic (semi-automatic) exposure settings tend to overexpose.

[Aegea]

My D90 likes to over-expose too, especially in matrix mode. I usually shoot with -0.7 EV compensation, and still get blown highlights sometimes.

[sk66]

It seems to be a nikon trait. I let my D3 overexpose somewhat most of the time("shooting to the right")...If I know it's going to be way off then I'll use exp. comp or spot metering.

[Shokinen]

DP Reviews mentioned: Nikon D90 Review: 36. Conclusion: Digital Photography Review

Our only real worry about the D90 is the matrix metering, which seems to be so strongly connected to the selected AF point that it allows highlights to clip a bit too often for our liking. There is an option to fine-tune the meter (and assign a different amount of correction to each metering mode), if you find it a consistent problem.


Wow... I just realized I tend to underexpose a bit using the histogram almost all my pictures. Never really paid attention why and when I read this post, I remembered reading something about that. Thanks for the idea Nicole, I guess I will use the compensator a little bit more (especially when the subject is moving). I still like playing with the histogram hehehe.

Keep in mind Maggie this can also be fix via softwares without altering too much quality if you shoot in RAW.

Cheers

[bruceliv]

I have owned the D300, presently the D700 and my wife, the D5000. All these cameras tend to meter overexposed, in the norm of things, by about 2/3 stop. It wouldn't hurt to set default, as mentioned above, a compensation of -0.7, and check the graphs as you go along.

This cannot always be fixed in raw because a blown out highlight cannot be recovered. In digital post-processing, it's easier to bring up shadow detail than recover blown highlights. It's the exact opposite of film photography when most shooters over-exposed slightly to keep shadow detail.

[Phil Holland]

Although they may tend to overexpose, I encourage you to not be overly afraid of exposing to the right. Especially if you shoot raw and can pull back a little detail in post.

Make test prints and see exactly what you get in a final product.

Don't forget the importance of shadow detail.

[Maggie_M]

Thanks for all the replies...
95% of the time I shoot in manual with bracketed exposures (and I do tend to shoot to the right).So the overexposure issue is not a huge problem, but I can see where shooting in AP mode at times would be good and this is where the camera seems to have problems with exposure. Hopefully making some changes to the settings will help!

[r/t]

Please excuse my ignorance, but what does "shooting to the right" mean?

Thank you.

[scootermcq]

Shooting to the right means being slightly heavy on the right side of your historgram, or overexposed. The image quality will be better if you overexpose & correct in post vs under exposing and correcting in post. Less noise and a better picture. Having said that, the best thing is nailing exposure in camera, but as you can see from this thread, not always done. If you have to be one way, err on the right or slightly over.