GH2: Shut off exposure compensation in M?

T

thepage29

Member
Hello, Im new to DSLR video and was wondering how do I turn off the exposure compensation when in M mode with the 14-140? When I have my Nikons on I just switch to S mode and that keeps the +/- at 0 but i would like to do this with the 14-140 as well but in M mode.

So far im starting to regret getting the 14-140 kit as i like shooting with my manuals more. I thought the 14-140 would be faster at focus and not force the exposure compensation to be left on auto. I havent tried anything for face detection yet but right now i dont think the 14-140 is worth it. I just hope it works different on the af100, thats why i got it.

Sorry this ended up becoming a bash on the lens. Thanks
 
Your post is a bit confusing, and perhaps that's why nobody has answered. There seems to be some conflicting information. When talking about being in "S" mode, are you talking about being in Creative Movie Mode on the wheel and then setting it to "S" in the Quick menu? Or are you in "S" mode on the wheel and hitting the red record button to shoot video? Those are 2 completely different things, so we need to know which one you're doing so we can answer your question.
Also, "exposure compensation" is a function that modifies Auto Exposure, so when you say "I thought the 14-140 would .... not force the exposure compensation to be left on auto", that doesn't really make sense. If you clarify your settings a little more, perhaps we can solve the issue.
 
I also have noticed this. In M mode in the dial, I can adjust the aperture and shutter speed, but not the exposure setting? I'm strictly talking about when taking photos.
 
peripatew said:
I also have noticed this. In M mode in the dial, I can adjust the aperture and shutter speed, but not the exposure setting? I'm strictly talking about when taking photos.
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But aperture and shutter speed are the two things, along with ISO that define exposure. Or am I missing something?
 
stoneinapond said:
But aperture and shutter speed are the two things, along with ISO that define exposure. Or am I missing something?
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I think this is a case of them not understanding what that exposure meter does. To explain, that meter gives you an idea of what your exposure is (over, under or correct) and as you adjust your shutter speed, aperture and ISO the exposure meter will go to either side to show you that you're making it brighter or darker with the settings you're changing. You'll always see that meter because its showing you the reading for the settings you've told it to use, like a gauge for exposure. It's not actually adjusting the exposure in any way, just measuring and relaying that information to you.

Hope that helps.
 
I think this question refers to the LCD or EVF. It is quite annoying that you don't get to see how dark or bright your image is before taking a picture, contrary to movie mode.

Maybe i should pick up the manual, cause i have the same issue on the GH1.
 
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Thanks memphis, i get it now and know where i went wrong.

If you want to read what happened here it is. I was testing my zooms to see how they hold focus through out the zoom. I have 14-140 mft, 70-300 nikon, and 18-90 nikon. I always noticed the meter moving when in M but im still not sure why you can only control it in P, A, and S. So in testing the 14-140 i saw exposure changes that were like "clicks" and thought its probably just the lcd. Saw the footage and saw the exposure changed there as well and thought in was because of the meter. I guess its just the aperture of the lens throughout the zoom as my nikons do this as well but its a smooth exposure change. So now with all the other things i dont like about the 14-140 i have another thing i dont like. I guess im just a manual lens type of guy.
 
In terms of dealing with the whole 'live view' misleading brightness thing, turn on constant preview in the menus. It will still have some gain when underexposed, but what you see is not way off from what you get.
 
Sage said:
In terms of dealing with the whole 'live view' misleading brightness thing, turn on constant preview in the menus. It will still have some gain when underexposed, but what you see is not way off from what you get.
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Thanks.
 
Dazza said:
Just fix the aperture of the 14-140mm at 5.8 to stop it from adjusting during zooms
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Innacurate information here...sorry but this is wrong on two counts.

1) you cannot manually set the 14-140mm lens to f5.8. It will either allow for a manual setting of 5.3 or 6.3 stepping right over 5.8. You can confirm this for yourself simply by zooming out full wide and trying to manually set the aperature.

2) In either M mode or creative movie mode the camera with this lens still does some sort of exposure adjustment when zooming. With all settings set to manual, things such as IDynamic, IResolution and Exposure mode all set to off (or manual in regards to exposure mode) the camera still steps. Here again you can easily confirm this simply by choosing creative movie mode, setting a aperature of f6.3 (widest allowable fixed setting through entire zoom range), shutter speed to 60 (assuming 60i recording) and iso manually set to a usable exposure and then zoom from wide to telephoto slowly. You will see the camera step down several times (about 4 times it seems) and hear a faint clicking sounds from the lens. This also appears in the footage, not just on the lcd.

Exposure lock (when available - as it does not seem to be in creative movie mode) also does not mitigate this behaviour.

While the advice given here about stopping down to a smaller fstop is true for other cameras (XHA1 for instance works with this workaround), there is SOMETHING going on with the GH2 that causes it to still make exposure adjustments when zooming no matter the settings or workflow. My only other option would be to try a full manual zoom lens and see if there is still some sort of exposure compensation or something going on in camera. Unfortunately I only have prime manual lenses and cannot check this.

This is not a personal attack btw simply frustration at seeing misinformation like this being repeated over and over in several different forums I regularly visit.
 
The ongoing quest for stepless aperture in auto exposure!

soundprostudios said:
While the advice given here about stopping down to a smaller fstop is true for other cameras (XHA1 for instance works with this workaround), there is SOMETHING going on with the GH2 that causes it to still make exposure adjustments when zooming no matter the settings or workflow. My only other option would be to try a full manual zoom lens and see if there is still some sort of exposure compensation or something going on in camera.
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I have hunted through many forums in the hope of resolving this issue. I have found that shooting video from "S" on the dial (not movie mode) allows smooth stepless correction of exposure with the 14-140 and also gives the option to set exposure compensation of +2/3 EV to allow for the native underexposure of the GH2.

However, I noticed that there seems to be a much stronger noise signal in the S, A and P sections of the dial than in Movie mode. This becomes quite radical the more you increase the +EV exposure compensation, checking it with the lens cap on.

Not sure if I am missing some menu setting. Any thoughts would be greatly welcomed.

Also, is there a generally accepted reason that people do NOT shoot video from the PASM sections of the dial (unless of course it is the grain I mentioned!)

Chris Poynton (Victoria, Australia) --- www.YesYesMovies.com
 
Chris Poynton said:
Also, is there a generally accepted reason that people do NOT shoot video from the PASM sections of the dial (unless of course it is the grain I mentioned!)

Chris Poynton (Victoria, Australia) --- www.YesYesMovies.com
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Yes, there is. If you do not have motion picture mode set with the dial on top (M with movie camera icon), and you have P, A, S, or M set with that dial on top, when you press the red button to start a video recording you get FULL AUTO EXPOSURE ONLY.

No matter what settings you have made in any of those modes, the camera will give you full auto exposure only.

So most of us set the dial on top to Motion Picture mode, EXPOSURE MODE in the menu to M for manual, CONSTANT PREVUE to ON, EXPO.METER to ON, shutter to 1/60th or 1/50th, ISO to something appropriate to the lighting conditions, and aperture for something close to desired DOF effect (Deep or Shallow or In Between), adjust by the exposure meter readout at the bottom of the screen, and go to work (often watching the histogram and evaluating exposure as we see it on the screen).
 
thepage29 said:
Hello, Im new to DSLR video and was wondering how do I turn off the exposure compensation when in M mode with the 14-140? When I have my Nikons on I just switch to S mode and that keeps the "+/- at 0 but i would like to do this with the 14-140 as well but in M mode.
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In both "M" mode for stills and in "M" mode when set for "Motion Picture" mode with the dial on top of the camera, there is no "exposure compensation" available. This is because with CONSTANT PREVUE" in the menus set to "ON" you can see exposure changes on the screen (LCD or EVF) as you make them. The image darkens and lightens as you change exposure.

With CONSTANT PREVUE set to "OFF" the screen itself behaves as it does in all auto modes, it remains bright and looking properly exposed even if exposure is not set correctly. Meter readout, however will show the calibration bars with "-" or "+" if under or over and will show the "+/- at 0" only when exposure is correct.

In "P", "A", or "S" the meter readout will always be at "+/- at 0" because in those three modes the automated exposure is giving you correct exposure unless you have one parameter set "out of range".

Hope this helps your understand how the exposure system works.
 
Bruce Foreman said:
If you do not have motion picture mode set with the dial on top (M with movie camera icon), and you have P, A, S, or M set with that dial on top, when you press the red button to start a video recording you get FULL AUTO EXPOSURE ONLY.

No matter what settings you have made in any of those modes, the camera will give you full auto exposure only.
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Hi Bruce, thanks very much for your prompt response! I really appreciate it. I had not understood that the video went into AUTO when shooting video from the "PASM stills/dial mode". It is possible to adjust the +/-EV correction however in each of those modes so it is not striclty full auto. I am still doing some testing on these modes to come to a fuller understanding.

The reason I had settled on shooting video from the S stills mode is because the "stepless aperture correction" in the 14-140 works correctly in this mode, unlike when shooting from Creative Movie Mode.

In another thread you mentioned you had compiled an essay/article on the best video settings for the GH2. Could you perhaps email it to me if it is still available? ... chris.poynton@gmail.com (I can't seem to send you a PM).
 
When videoing in Creative Movie Mode A, S, and P Behavior:
In Creative Movie Mode with A,S, (and P) set in the quick menu the GH2 is still doing automatic exposure. Assuming you don't have a manual ISO set, in A and S you are simply locking one parameter and the camera is changing the other 2. In S, you're telling it the shutter speed and the camera is changing the ISO and the aperture as it sees fit. If you select an ISO in A or S the camera is changing only the remaining unlocked parameter. Obviously in P it is changing the aperture and shutter speed, and ISO if you don't have it manually set.

The Exposure Meter
The exposure meter in A, S and P modes can be selected and changed. Press the thumb wheel in on the back of the camera and it switches between controlling whatever aspect you have selected and the exposure meter. Let's say you're in A mode. You can select the aperture on the left, and change it as you see fit by scrolling the thumbwheel. Now, press the thumb wheel in. Your exposure meter is highlighted in yellow. Now when you scroll the wheel left and right, you are changing the automatic exposure of your image up and down. You'll see your image get brighter and darker and the meter go to the positive or negative side. Since, as we established above, when you have the Aperture set (in A mode) it is changing the shutter speed and ISO to compensate, by adjusting the exposure meter up and down you are telling your camera to try to automatically adjust and instead of achieving proper exposure, an over exposed or under exposed image.

In my own experience:
M is for anything narrative that I have control over and am doing set shots.
S for activities I'm filming that I want to still have a cinematic 1/50th (or 1/40th) shutter speed.
P for activities that are actiony and I don't mind if they look videoy, or situations where I just need to make sure I can get the shot when there's a varying amount of light. Or for something I just don't care too much. Doesn't hardly ever happen, but every now and then.
A Not very often. If I want shallow depth of field, I usually want a specific shutter speed of 1/50 or 1/40 too, so I just go M. Also, if I want shallow DOF, I'm usually using a fast manual lens (though sometimes with the Panny 20mm).

I'm not sure if anyone needed this info, or if it helped anyone, but there seemed to be a few people confused.
 
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