Still photo Live View LCD drastically underexposed. WHY????

G

Gene Sung

Veteran
I mostly just use my Canon 60d to shoot video.

However, I do like to also shoot stills. Lately, I've been using a Zeiss ZF 50mm f 1.4 Nikon mount. When using Manual lenses, you pretty much have to use the LCD screen with the 5x-10x magnification to get accurate focus.

I noticed that when in VIDEO mode, the exposure appears exactly how it is, which is really nice.

However, when taking STILL photos and using the Live View, the LCD exposure is drastically under by about 3 to 4 stops. The histogram and the light meter is very off when using the Live View for Still photos.

I always shoot in M (Manual) mode.

How can you make the Live View for still photos not have this drastic under exposure problem?

I know I could just shoot stills in the video mode and get the accurate exposure / Histogram reading on the LCD. However, on the 60d, when taking stills in video mode it uses a 16;9 instead of the traditional 3:2 for stills.

So frustrating. I just want the Stills mode Live View LCD to not be underexposed, and have an accurate exposure like the LCD in Video Mode.
 
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could be shutter. i think live view does certain calculations, and i think shutter speed is included. could be your photo mode has a really fast shutter set.
 
I just noticed that this seems like a bug / glitch with non-Canon, manual lenses. I popped on a Canon 100mm L Macro, and did not run into this Live View Exposure problem. It worked as it should. However, with my Zeiss ZFs using an adapter, the Live View is drastically underexposed.

Strange... because in Video mode, the Zeiss exposure is correct and perfect on the LCD screen, just not in the Still Live View mode.

Does anyone know if there is a 60D firmware update that addresses this problem?

Like I said, I would just use the video mode for still photos, but they crop at 16;9 and not 3:2.

I know on the 7D, in video mode, still photos are still in the 3:2 crop, but NOT on the 60d.
 
gene can: i have the same problem with my super takumar manual lenses on the 60d. everything works in video mode but is underexposed when shooting stills! good to see you opening a topic about this. i'll try the link of normanbates now!
 
Try to change the aperture setting back and forth a few times (on 550D it solves this issue).
 
Quick question Norman, and I would try it but my camera is not near by.

The Zeiss lens is an f 1.4 and my fastest Canon lens is an f 2.8 (2 stops slower). Does that mean I need a f 1.4 Canon lens to make your trick work and reset the camera?
 
I just tested it, and Norman's solution does work. The only problem is, if the vintage / non-canon lens is a f 1.4, you need an f 1.4 Canon lens to set the aperture. The fastest Canon lens I have is an f 2.8, so when I put on the Zeiss at f 1.4, it's still 2 stops off on the LCD screen. Bummer....
 
Real Bummer! I wonder if Canon could fix this behaviour with a firmware update.
So far we know this bug exists on the 550 and the 60D... What about the 7D and 5D Mk II ?
 
I haven't had that problem (my fastest modern lens is a f/1.8, my fastest vintage is f/1.8), but I suspected it could be a problem

it definitely is something that could be solved by a firmware update

or by a1ex's method: did you try it?

apart from that, with f/1.4 and f/2.8 it's easy to use ISO to counter this problem: get your ISO two stops higher to set exposure, then put it at the right level to take the picture; pain in the ass and I know I would take lots of pictures with wrong exposure, but it's a solution
 
I've tried my method on 60D (just received it); didn't work.

I'll try to fix it from ML.
 
Hey A1ex. There's a fix for this using Magic Lantern?? Been out of the loop lately, but is there a working Magic Lantern for the 60D now that can solve this?

Man... this is such a simply Firmware fix. Not sure why Canon does not fix it. Crazy...
 
gene_can_sing said:
Man... this is such a simply Firmware fix. Not sure why Canon does not fix it. Crazy...
Click to expand...


Actually I think this is probably a feature, if I had to guess, that speeds up the process of changing lenses. I actually like the fact that when I pull a lens off and then put a new one on that my aperture is set right away and things are ready to go. But I also don't shoot much manual glass. And i would bet that Canon agrees and wouldn't want to put a "reset" in there each time a lens is removed because it would increase the time needed to be ready to shoot on each lens change.

I wouldn't look for it in a firmware fix either. Being that canon doesn't have any manual glass that mounts directly up, they have zero incentive to spend anytime fixing it. The want to push people to buy newer glass rather than older glass.
 
We all know it's Canon's way of making people buy Canon glass.

With that said, the modern (not older glass, but brand new) Zeiss ZF are probably the BEST lenses you can use on the Canons or any DSLR for that matter. Incredible color, sharpness and aesthetic. Plus, TOP Notch mechanics and focus ring with long and very precise focus throw. Pulling focus on Zeiss is a dream compared to any modern lens that has autofocus. I have several Canon L lenses, and mechanically for video, they are not even close to the Zeiss lenses.

On video mode you can swap out Canon lenses and Zeiss lenses with no problem and no change in F-Stop for the electronic lenses. It remembers your last aperture for Electronic lenses and for the manual lenses it resets it to wide open. So it already works fine in video, they just need to make it do the same thing in Manual Live View mode.

It's really just basic customer service to offer such a simple fix. I've spent a small fortune on Canon lenses and Cameras, and just because I own a few non-Canon lenses, they should still work as expected.
 
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In movie mode with manual lenses, the firmware doesn't have to know the aperture. It should just meter the amount of light. That's why it works perfectly in this mode.

Instead, in photo mode, with Canon lenses it previews wide-open. That's why the firmware has to know the exposure difference between wide-open and stopped-down. That difference should be reset to 0 EV when putting a manual lens.

If my theory is right, you should be able to fix this bug by putting a Canon lens in M mode (LV) and set it to wide-open. I didn't try yet.
 
Your Theory is correct Alex. The only problem is my Zeiss lens is f1.4. I put my fastest Canon lens which was an f2.8 and set it wide open. When I put the Zeiss back on, it was 2 stops off.

So if I wanted it to meter correctly for the Zeiss, I would need to put on an f1.4 Canon lens (which unfortunately I don't have).

Is there a way to set the aperture to wide open without putting on a Canon lens? Or somehow fooling the camera into setting the aperture wide open?
 
mrchirster said:
Real Bummer! I wonder if Canon could fix this behaviour with a firmware update.
So far we know this bug exists on the 550 and the 60D... What about the 7D and 5D Mk II ?
Click to expand...

I've seen complaints about this on the Canon 7D.

With Canon EOS lenses (and EOS compatible 3rd party lenses) there is communication between lens and body conveying aperture and focus information, adapted non EOS compatible lenses don't do this. I had been using a Nikon to EOS adapter with a Nikkor AI-S 50mm f1.8 lens for video on a T1i (which had no manual control) for manual control over aperture at least. It worked fine in video mode but I never tried it for stills.

The 7D came out with full manual control and I sold off the T1i. I had an EF 50mm f1.8 in the original metal lens barrel left over from my film EOS 650's and have stuck with Canon EOS lenses for the 7D, T2i, and now 60D. The main reason for this is I want to be able to mount the needed lens and go to work without having to "fiddle" with incompatible adapted lenses.

With full communication between lens and body rapid settings for stills are easy even in full manual exposure mode.

Just my preference.

I doubt very seriously if Canon will feel any obligation to attempt a firmware update fix for making incompatible lens systems work with their cameras. I sure wouldn't look for it.
 
with modern lenses, the body knows it's previewing at maximum aperture (and it knows how much that is, because the lens tells it), but will be stopped down when taking the picture, so it can calculate "when I take the actual picture, X% less light will be hitting the sensor", and can tell you how exposure will be when that happens

if a manual iris lens is installed, "preview" and "still" are taken at exactly the same aperture, so the camera should know "this is the light I will be getting when I take the picture" and apply no correction to its calculations

unless it's a "let's screw people with old lenses so they buy new ones" thing, I can't understand why canon thought it would be better to use a correction factor based on the last modern lens you had installed

which leaves us with a hit-and-miss workaround and the hope that a1ex can work some magic
 
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