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Unusual observations during manual exposure on the G2

Ive been playing around with the G2 (not recording anything as yet as I don't have an SD card.) I was fooling around with the manual exposure mode. Interestingly, as I adjusted both the shutter speed and the aperture, there was no change in brightness of the image in the EVF, unlike a video camera. Though what really puzzled me was that the viewfinder image did fluctuate in brightness when I panned the camera, even though it was still in manual exposure mode. Essentially, it was acting like it was in auto exposure mode - adjusting to differences in brightness in different parts of the room that I was in. Should I be concerned about this when shooting in manual exposure mode? Of course during this mode, I would prefer to have complete control.
 
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I hear its a setting
A setting? As in a setting that does allow auto exposure even when the camera is in manual exposure mode? I just assumed that when the command dial was set to M, you had complete control over the aperture and shutter speed. By the way, the 'intelligent exposure' setting is turned off.
 

pellicle

New member
A setting? As in a setting that does allow auto exposure even when the camera is in manual exposure mode? I just assumed that when the command dial was set to M, you had complete control over the aperture and shutter speed. By the way, the 'intelligent exposure' setting is turned off.
no, a setting to allow the viewfinder to dim in accordance with exposure settings.

I was responding to:
there was no change in brightness of the image in the EVF,
 
Ah...okay. Well, I am very intrigued by this setting. I haven't come across this as yet in the instruction manual.

Slightly off topic but I did read that in the depth of field preview, the shutter blades close down instead of the aperture blades. Most unusual.
 

Diane B

New member
Panny LCDs are not WYSIWYG in manual though generally in good/normal light they are close. In manual you need to watch the line graph (?) at the bottom which will tell you if exposure for that scene is sufficient or not--it will change as you pan. To preview you can, I assume like the G1, press the delete and then the display button and it will give you a pretty decent preview of the exposure of the scene in the LCD/EVF. I've found this isn't possible with G3 so its imperative to watch the little line graph or exposure meter which you can choose to have show on screen.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Ive been playing around with the G2 (not recording anything as yet as I don't have an SD card.) I was fooling around with the manual exposure mode. Interestingly, as I adjusted both the shutter speed and the aperture, there was no change in brightness of the image in the EVF, unlike a video camera. Though what really puzzled me was that the viewfinder image did fluctuate in brightness when I panned the camera, even though it was still in manual exposure mode. Essentially, it was acting like it was in auto exposure mode - adjusting to differences in brightness in different parts of the room that I was in. Should I be concerned about this when shooting in manual exposure mode? Of course during this mode, I would prefer to have complete control.
Panasonic's programming attempts to keep the LCD bright and clear for framing and focusing no matter what the exposure settings and lighting might be. The metering indicator in manual mode tells you how far off the metered recommendation the settings are.

If you want to preview an approximation of the exposure on the LCD, you press the "Preview" and "Display" buttons. I can't recall the exact behavior (been a while since I sold the G1...). This will give you the "WYSIWYG" display preview. It also makes the Live View Histogram operate accurately in manual exposure. The preview display cancels when you touch the shutter release.

Personally, I always liked this behavior: it puts priority on the LCD for focusing and framing, which is what a viewfinder is usually supposed to be best at, and leaves the approximation of exposure to the special case use. Others differ with my opinion, of course. ;-)
 

Diane B

New member
Thanks Godfrey for naming the metering indicator correctly LOL. Couldn't think of it to save me. I agree I rather like Panny's philosophy on this too as it makes it much easier to compose and focus.
 

Terry

New member
I believe Panasonic has made some changes to the overall behavior in later models.

First up not on manual mode but in Aperture or Shutter Priority the LCD now WILL change when you change the exposure compensation within a +/- 3 EV range.

In Manual Exposure they still expect you to use the line at the bottom as Diane indicated.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I believe Panasonic has made some changes to the overall behavior in later models.

First up not on manual mode but in Aperture or Shutter Priority the LCD now WILL change when you change the exposure compensation within a +/- 3 EV range. ...
I don't think so, Terry. My G1 always reflected the exposure in the EVF and LCD brightness when adjusting the EV Compensation setting in AE modes. It was in Manual exposure mode, where there is no EV Compensation, that the EVF/LCD brightness diverged from reflecting the taking exposure setting.

The logic behind this seems quite sensible to me, but I know I'm at odds with a number of others' opinions on the matter.
 

Terry

New member
I don't think so, Terry. My G1 always reflected the exposure in the EVF and LCD brightness when adjusting the EV Compensation setting in AE modes. It was in Manual exposure mode, where there is no EV Compensation, that the EVF/LCD brightness diverged from reflecting the taking exposure setting.

The logic behind this seems quite sensible to me, but I know I'm at odds with a number of others' opinions on the matter.
My bad...too many cameras since the G1.... I thought it always needed the preview not just in manual mode.
 
Yea, I was watching the exposure guide line at the bottom of the screen, adjusting the aperture until it was dead in the middle. However, I was also expecting the image brightness to change as well. And now I know why the brightness remained the same. I looked carefully at the front of the lens while I released the shutter - both at maximum aperture and at minimum aperture. And it was pretty clear that for most of the time, the aperture blades remain wide open and only close during the exposure - just like with an SLR.

Before I bought the G2, I was assuming the opposite - that the stock lens would always been in 'stopped down' mode because really, there's not much need for it to behave like an SLR - because it's not an SLR! With a single lens reflex viewing system, obviously the main reason why the aperture blades are wide open most of the time is so that you can view the image with maximum brightness. Well I guess also there is the added benefit of seeing the image with the shallowest depth of field to make focusing more accurate. Maybe that's why Panasonic opted for wide open aperture viewing with these cameras - for the shallow depth of field / focusing issue. Even so, I was expecting the aperture blades to behave like those you would find on a video camera - being in 'stopped down' mode continously.

I had been planning to do a lot of time lapse with this camera. Though the aperture issue with the stock lens may increase the chances of flicker. Not the end of the world because of course I can use my selection of Canon FD lenses when I buy an adapter and not worry about any fluctuations in aperture size. Though the G2's depth of field preview mode could potentially be a workaround to using the stock lens for time lapse. However, according to the instruction manual, when you're using the depth of field preview, it's the leaf shutter blades that close down instead of the aperture blades. Very strange...I don't really see the logic in that.
 
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