Exposure compensation issue (GFX100s, XT4)

[JeroenB]

I have an issue with Exposure Compensation when I set my XT4 or GFX100s to M (Manual shutter + aperture) and AUTO-ISO. I can set the shutter speed and aperture, but Exposure Compensation doesn't work. Why not?? The camera is still in an automatic mode (the ISO gets sets by the camera), so Exposure Compensation should just work IMHO. Or am I overlooking something, does anybody know a solution? I woud love to hear from you.

[jerryy]

With the shutter speed and aperture set manually, the only option you are giving to the camera to adjust the image with changes via the exposure compensation dial is to change the ISO within the limits you set-up in the menus for Auto ISO.

However, usually the display will show the current (probably maximum) ISO setting until you give the shutter button a half press — the same as if you are focusing but not taking the shot. The display will then change to show the ISO the camera has decided to use for that scene, or it should, if things are working correctly.

But if the scene calls for a higher (lower) ISO to match the e.c. dial setting than your settings in Auto ISO allow, then it may not change from that maximum (minimum).

If you have the playback settings showing capture information turned on, you can try a few shots using different e.c. dial settings to see how much, if any, the ISO changed.

[JeroenB]

Thanks for your reply, jerryy. I really appreciate your thinking along but I'm afraid your solution seems more cumbersome than shooting fully Manual, unfortunately 🙃 I think that -at least in my case- it would be better to shoot in 'A' with a 'minimum shutter speed' set in the auto-iso prefs. Then I would get the option of 'Exposure Compensation' back. And perhaps I can create a C1-setting with for example 1/250 'minimum shutter speed', C2 with 1/500, etc. for my needs. 

Still, the question remains: why would Fuji (deliberately or thoughtless) disable Exposure Correction while shooting in auto-ISO and Manual?? 

Edited July 21, 2022 by JeroenB
typo

[jerryy]

There is ‘P’ mode.

Exposure compensation only works to override ‘auto’ settings.

When you set a parameter via a manual setting, you are telling the camera to leave that setting as-is. If you leave a parameter on ‘auto’, the camera can make adjustments as best its evaluative algorithms let it for the scene being exposed. Exposure compensation tells the camera to boost or lower the exposure by way of overriding auto-set parameters. Which manually set parameters should the e.c. button override?

It is not thoughtlessness on Fujifilm’s part, that is the way it should be, otherwise ‘manual’ has no meaning and ‘auto’ becomes a guessing game as to what resemblance the image exposure has to the scene.

Fully manual is a very good approach, but manual shutter speed, manual aperture and ‘auto iso’ is very useful for times when the lighting is quickly changing, but one needs a certain depth of field and motion freezing (or freeing) shutter speed. The e.c. dial lets you brighten or darken the image compared to what the camera thinks should be a standard exposure.

Edited July 21, 2022 by jerryy

[JeroenB]

6 hours ago, jerryy said:

Exposure compensation only works to override ‘auto’ settings.

Auto-ISO ***is*** an auto setting, that's my point!

Let me use a different approach to explain that this is a very annoying bug: set to M + auto-ISO, there's no way to make my image brighter or darker with either shutter speed or aperture, as auto-ISO levels out the exposure. 

[jerryy]

If you go back and reread what I wrote, especially the first note, you will be able to see if the e. c. is working correctly or not.

What you are describing in your last post is not a bug, it works that way on all recently manufactured cameras regardless of who makes them, Sony, Canon, Nikon, Leica, etc. etc.  Earlier made models only started allowing e.c. so their application varies. Setting the shutter speed and the aperture manually while leaving ISO set to auto has the camera deciding what ISO to set to expose the image to levels that its evaluative algorithms decide is ‘standard’. Changing the shutter speed or f-stop does matter, but not much as far as brightness goes, as long as the ISO is set to ‘auto’, the camera will adjust the ISO to have the exposure match the ‘standard’. Additionally, — not to change gears, but as long as you set one of the parameters to auto and the remainders to manual, the camera will act the same, by trying to achieve a ‘standard’ exposure. This happens for recently made cameras by all manufacturers. That really is the point of ‘auto’ — to have the exposure match a standard.

If, for a scene, the auto iso would normally use ISO 200 and you use the e. c. dial to boost the exposure by say +1, the camera will double the ISO to 400 and use that instead for that particular image.

In the first post, I mentioned how you can make sure the e. c. is working, give it a try.