Thanks all for commenting. Very interesting: three folks, three different favorites.

with love, artie

Hi Bob, Thanks for your comment. I am confused by much of what you wrote and I think that you may be confused about exposure. I will reply point by point here to the best of my ability.

re:

BP: This is how I understand exposure compensation to work.

When you adjust EC what you are really doing is changing the in camera meter’s target or zero point.

AM: In a given situation, the camera’s metering system will always suggest what it believes to be the best exposure. That of course depends on the metering pattern you are using. But in any case, nothing changes the camera’s suggested exposure values. What you are doing when you add or subtract light is over-riding that suggested exposure value.

Your point may or may not be argued semantically, but understanding that you are over-riding what the camera suggests is very important …

BP: When in Shutter Priority this will change the shutter speed to try to match the new zero point.

AM: That is 100% incorrect. When in Shutter Priority the photographer picks and sets the shutter speed. The camera sets the aperture value.

Please understand that I find your use of the “new zero point” to be very confusing.

BP: When in Aperture Priority it will adjust aperture to do it’s best to match the new zero.

AM: Incorrect again. In Aperture Priority the photographer chooses and sets the aperture value and the camera sets the shutter speed.

Again, understand that I find your use of the “new zero” to be very confusing.

BP: If auto ISO is on when the Shutter or Aperture limit is reached, the ISO will adjust.

AM: Incorrect and confusing. When in any automatic exposure mode with AUTO ISO the camera will always adjust the ISO to reflect the Exposure Compensation set by the photographer. I firmly believe that if you are using any automatic exposure mode that you should be using AUTO ISO with Exposure Compensation (EC) on a convenient dial. If you are using Shutter or Aperture Priority without setting the EC then you will wind up with the wrong exposure 90% of the time.

BP: In full manual mode Exposure Comp still adjusts the meter target but the photographer must manually adjust settings to match the new target.

AM: As implied in the original post, there is no Exposure Compensation when you are working in Manual exposure mode. I re-crafted that original blog post text as follows to better reflect this:

When you are in Manual exposure mode, there is no Exposure Compensation. The scale itself cannot be adjusted. The arrow will move depending on your choice of shutter speed and aperture and what you are pointing your lens at.

BP: In manual with Auto ISO, EC will adjust the ISO and leave the shutter and aperture alone.

AM: Again, there is NO EC when you are working in Manual exposure mode. Furthermore, using ISO when in Manual exposure mode has never made any sense at all to me. Why? Whenever the tonality of the background (and often the size of the subject in the frame) changes, you will get the wrong exposure.

I hope that my comments help you to better understand exposure and the analog exposure scale.

with love, artie