Steve'sDigicams

dwhite3 · Sep 20, 2006, 6:39 PM

New Canon PowerShot S3 IS underexposes outdoor shots in bright sunlight. Viewfinder goes very dark when shutter button pressed half way and picture of sunlit subject very dark. Somewhat better in Program and Manual.

blackspot · Sep 22, 2006, 5:05 AM

I use an S3 IS too and I also experienced thatwhenusing evaluative or sometimes in center-weighted metering as they tend to balance the light based on how the light is distributed in the scene or within the area used as reference. So if your subject is generally darker than the background then the subject will surely be underexposed.

If you don't want to do manual settings, try using spot metering and focus on the subject -- this way the light balance will be based on the general shade of your subject. In this case, most of the background will be washed out, but what is important is that the subject has proper exposure. Filters/Polarizers also help in this cases.

I hope I understood your problem correctly.

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Sep 20, 2006, 6:39 PM	#1
dwhite3 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 1	New Canon PowerShot S3 IS underexposes outdoor shots in bright sunlight. Viewfinder goes very dark when shutter button pressed half way and picture of sunlit subject very dark. Somewhat better in Program and Manual.

Sep 22, 2006, 5:05 AM	#2
blackspot Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 7	I use an S3 IS too and I also experienced thatwhenusing evaluative or sometimes in center-weighted metering as they tend to balance the light based on how the light is distributed in the scene or within the area used as reference. So if your subject is generally darker than the background then the subject will surely be underexposed. If you don't want to do manual settings, try using spot metering and focus on the subject -- this way the light balance will be based on the general shade of your subject. In this case, most of the background will be washed out, but what is important is that the subject has proper exposure. Filters/Polarizers also help in this cases. I hope I understood your problem correctly.