Hi, I just jumped from P&S having bought a Canon 400D, upon the weighted advice of the great Jo Avila. :)

I read in some fora that the 400D intentionally "underexposes" so as to preserve the highlights (at least that was my understanding). Dpreview says it does this when using evaluative metering. I've taken a lot of shots on auto mode and evaluative metering and I didn't think my shots were underexposed.

Am I not evaluating my shots correctly or is the "underexposure" thing just a misperception?

I have to say though that I'm very happy with the 400D. Thanks for the advice, Jo!

congrats nick! welcome to DPP. dont believe in hoax...just fire away!

Hi, I just jumped from P&S having bought a Canon 400D, upon the weighted advice of the great Jo Avila. :)

I read in some fora that the 400D intentionally "underexposes" so as to preserve the highlights (at least that was my understanding). Dpreview says it does this when using evaluative metering. I've taken a lot of shots on auto mode and evaluative metering and I didn't think my shots were underexposed.

Am I not evaluating my shots correctly or is the "underexposure" thing just a misperception?

I have to say though that I'm very happy with the 400D. Thanks for the advice, Jo!

Same case with me... I think in a well-lighted scene, exposure is simply on-the-spot accurate with evaluative metering... I have noticed that in very difficult lighting condition/uneven distribution of light/extreme brightness and darkness in a single scene, this is where the slight underexposure occurs with the evaluative metering (very much the same with my KM-7D). My understanding is that the system favors the underexposure so as to avoid blownout highlights. Anyway, in most cases, I wouldn't rely on evaluative metering on such kind of lighting condition... spot or center-weigh would be much desirable.

Tama si Cris... 'wag maniwala basta sa mga sabi-sabi (or even in fora), best thing is to really discover things on your own and have your own evaluation... the most effective way that you will appreciate the learning curve in photography.

Hala... keep on shooting!:D

Thanks for the encouragement. Yes, I also noticed that the pic is underexposed in uneven lighting conditions. Will keep on shooting!

my two cents, maybe because of the high contrast of the light source, shall we say the difference between the highlight and the shadow is great therefore. if we are using evaluative, the camera will favor the mid or compensate for both exposure,,

It's to minimize blown highlights. Better underexpose than over. Impossible to recover lost detail in overexposed shots. My D80 tends to do this also.

400D is a great camera! Shoot lang ng shoot!

I think every camera manufacturer prefers to do this as per Peter's point above. My K10D will do this in very bright scenes and with scenes with a lot of white with matrix metering as well.

And to list the posts above, Canon, Nikon, Konica Minolta, and Pentax does this. :)

Happy shooting.

Would resort to center weighted metering avoid the problem?

It's to minimize blown highlights. Better underexpose than over. Impossible to recover lost detail in overexposed shots. My D80 tends to do this also.

400D is a great camera! Shoot lang ng shoot!

I agree, Peter! I have a 400D and when you shoot in RAW, you don't lose any detail in an unnoticeable underexposed shot. Its easier to remedy than a washed out overexposed shot.
Shoot lang talaga ng shoot, up to 12 successive shots when you shoot in RAW until you reach buffer capacity.