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HELP WITH Leica S 006 Underexposure

rollsman44

Well-known member
I just purchased the S 006 and the 70mm lens from A Reputable store in 9+ condition. I have it about a week and the Rear LCD shows my exposure to look correct. When I check it out on my monitor it is very much UNDEREXPOSED. So, I lowered the Brightness adjustment to the Lowest setting and still looks perfectly exposed and when I check it on my computer its Very Underexposed. Can anyone tell me what might be causing this? I want so much to keep the S BUT I am NOT happy with whats happening. I will try to attach a file now. I use Flash on Camera as I do when not shooting off camera flash. ISO 200. F6.5/8.0 at 10-12 feet. I know my flash settings so its not that I don't know.
I hope I can get this resolved otherwise I have to return it. Thank you, DennisL1001560.jpg
 

docmoore

Subscriber and Workshop Member
Dennis,


Leica S is major league ... basing exposure on the LCD is not. Use the histogram and perhaps invest in a light meter.

But 15 seconds in Photoshop with the Camera Raw filter gave me this:




Camera looks fine ... technique could use a bit of improvement.


Regards,


Bob
 

rollsman44

Well-known member
Dennis,


Leica S is major league ... basing exposure on the LCD is not. Use the histogram and perhaps invest in a light meter.

But 15 seconds in Photoshop with the Camera Raw filter gave me this:




Camera looks fine ... technique could use a bit of improvement.


Regards,


Bob
HI Bob, Thank you for taking the time to check this out. I know that I should use the Histogram and NOT rely on the LCD
When I use the Histogram to see my exposure why then is the LCD look so OVER Exposed? I want to show the person the image on my enter 645Z? Can you explain this to me? Truly, I thank you. I don't want to return this as I wanted the S 006 for quite some time.
 

docmoore

Subscriber and Workshop Member
Dennis

I do not have a good answer ... although most of the LCD pics are JPG not RAW based and are at best a poor approximation of the final file ... exposure and WB will vary greatly in my experience.

Good news is that the files are very malleable and you can recover a lot in post if you have not overexposed and blown out the highlights.

Truth is it does not hurt to bracket exposure even when using flash ... better to do three takes in a couple of seconds than lose all to a guess.

Studio portraiture is based on the experience of hundreds of exposures ... that is why they mark lines on the floor and have settings that are
reproducible. Hard to do when you use a room that does not enhance the quality of light ... specular reflections from windows are not that
consistent and a lot of light spills out ... if you used anything other than manual exposure it would be fooled by the lighthouse reflection from the
window.

However you got everyone smiling ... looking at the camera ... and that goes a long way to make a decent picture.

Perhaps those with current experience with the S will weigh in ....

Bob
 

rollsman44

Well-known member
Dennis

I do not have a good answer ... although most of the LCD pics are JPG not RAW based and are at best a poor approximation of the final file ... exposure and WB will vary greatly in my experience.

Good news is that the files are very malleable and you can recover a lot in post if you have not overexposed and blown out the highlights.

Truth is it does not hurt to bracket exposure even when using flash ... better to do three takes in a couple of seconds than lose all to a guess.

Studio portraiture is based on the experience of hundreds of exposures ... that is why they mark lines on the floor and have settings that are
reproducible. Hard to do when you use a room that does not enhance the quality of light ... specular reflections from windows are not that
consistent and a lot of light spills out ... if you used anything other than manual exposure it would be fooled by the lighthouse reflection from the
window.

However you got everyone smiling ... looking at the camera ... and that goes a long way to make a decent picture.

Perhaps those with current experience with the S will weigh in ....

Bob
Thank you BOB, I shoot in Manual and Flash in Manual as I have done always. When I check the Histogram and ensure that all is correct I see the LCD as Being way Bright and I think its overexposed. I have been shooting 43 years and Never encounter this on the LCD, In fact its important that I show the person I am shooting the LVD so they can see how they look. Also. the WB is off a little so I have to either do a custom WB or adjust each image in PP in LR. My Pentax Z was almost Exact on AWB not the S. I do appreciate your help and I hope others will weigh in. Thanks again, Dennis
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I agree judging just based on display doesnt make sense. Thats what the histogram is for.
Also it looks like when you took the image you were standing in relatively dark environment, and I assume the display will appear more bright in this dark environment than it would in bright daylight.
Take a shot in sunny environment and it will look dark when you look on the display when sitting at a sunny beach.
The other thing is the direct on camera flash which often leads to flat looking image with nasty reflections. But this would happen on any camera.
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
When I first got my new (used) 006, the display was very bright. I turned it all the way down, but results were inconsistent for a week or so. And then the problem went away. I tend to deliberately underexpose to preserve highlights, but also to make hand-holding easier.

BTW, there are two brightness controls for the LCD, Brightness and Backlight. Experiment with them.

Good Luck,

Matt
 

fotophil

Member
Something may be wrong with your LCD brightness control! Perhaps a return trip to the dealer to verify the LCD brightness control operation. Although the LCD is not useful for establishing correct exposure, it should be able to provide a preview of the image.
 

rollsman44

Well-known member
what kind of flash are u using? do u have the same problem with daylight shooting?
Yes and also had a problem with the lens Hunting in a well lit room. What I decided was to return it to to camera west.
Unfortunately I had to take a loss due to restocking fee. I am now looking to get back my P 645Z . thank you
 
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