Kodak V705 users: Did you know your camera has Exposure Compensation? You may not have known that. It certainly is not mentioned in the 28 page manual.
So what is Exposure Compensation, and why would you want it?
Remember the discussion of Auto Exposure in this blog, I AUTO Get Out More ?
When your camera is set on full Auto Exposure, its tiny electronic brain measures the amount of light in the scene and selects the lens aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, that it is programmed to think is the correct exposure. But Auto Exposure can be fooled. We've discussed that before! Most commonly it is fooled by bright light flowing in through a room's windows. The camera's tiny electronic brain measures the amount of light coming in the window rather than the general amount in the room.
Exposure Compensation allows you to simply tell the camera's tiny electronic brain to "make it a little lighter" or "make it a little darker".
It's a fairly easy thing to do on DSLR cameras, and one of us will probably cover that soon. But, guess what? It is even easier on the V705.
Here are the steps.
1. Turn the camera on.
2. Press the OK button, towards your left for darker, or towards your right for lighter. (I've circled the OK button in fuchsia in the image below, and the SCN button in turquoise.)
As you press the OK button towards the left to darken the image, you'll see a numeric display at the bottom of the LCD screen. It will show the increments -0.3, -0.7, -1.0, -1,3, -1.7 ... etc. And you will see the LCD display darken accordingly.
Now press the OK button towards the right to lighten the image, again you'll see the increments, this time in positive numbers: +0.3, +0.7, +1.0, +1.3, +1.7 ... etc. And you will see the LCD display lighten.
Two presses of the SCN button on the top of the camera will return it to full auto.
Now take some pictures. Choose an object. Take a few shots on full auto. Darken a few steps, then a few more steps. Lighten a few steps, then a few more. Upload the photos to your computer, review them and think about which photos look best to you. The darker ones? The lighter ones? Why?
More about exposure compensation:
http://www.photozone.de/4Technique/ec.htm
http://www.photoxels.com/tutorial-exposure-compensation.html
http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam/User-Guide/995/EXPOSURE/EV-compensation.html
http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=exposure_compensation
Thanks Cheryl, I'm thinking of getting one of the kodaks are there any with a view finder? I also bookmarked this post for future reference.
Good Day!! have a cup of java and a smile on me :)
www.duayneweir.com REALTOR in Minneapolis Minnesota
Duayne: No optical viewfinders on the 570 or the 705 Kodak series. And those are the only two compact sized cameras with the really wide angle lens (23mm) that I know of.
A full size DSLR type camera would give you an optical viewfinder, plus the ability to use interchangeable lenses, and the option of manual control.
Kaye: I do prefer having an optical viewfinder, too. It can be pretty hard to see any LCD display in bright light. Not to mention, pressing the camera against my head as I use an opitcal viewfinder helps hold the camera steady. Don't laugh people, it's true.
I have a V705 as my always-in-my-pocket-or-bag camera. The tiny size is very convenient. But I know a lot of people here use one as their primary camera. It does take pretty decent pictures.
Cheryl... what do you think of the P880 ? That is the one I'm thinking about..
K
The Kodak P880 does look interesting:
Review from DC Resource: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/kodak/p880-review/
Review from D Preview: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0508/05080202kodak_p880p850.asp
Review from Steve's Digicams: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/p880.html
Note the P880 has the 24mm-140mm wide angle -- its sister the P850 has the 36mm-432mm telephoto
Note that it's an Electronic Viewfinder - not an optical. Which means the electronically generated LCD image displays in the eyepiece viewfinder. The upside to this is that you can see all the info usually displayed on the LCD when you look through viewfinder, and you'll be able to see it clearly even in bright sunlight. The downside is, if you are accustomed to seeing a purely optical, real-time image in the viewfinder, it takes some getting used to.
Anyone reading this have a P880?
Cheryl.. thanks for the info on the P880..
K
Cheryl,
Thanks for this tip. I did not know you could make this adjustment on the v705. Please let us know what else you have learned about this camera.
Mike, I take it you've already discovered one negative: The delicate, filmsy hinge to the SD card compartment. If you are used to a larger camera with a nice sturdy door to its CF card compartment, this is a real bummer.
Also, the majority opinion here on AR seems to be against the Kodak software. I, too, found it an annoyance. I uninstalled it.
I bought the little docking cradle that James Frazier discussed here, but I also found you can upload photos from the V705 with the cable only. As long as the Kodak software is NOT installed, you will be able to upload with Windows File Explorer. The camera, when turned on and connected with the cable, will simply show as another "location" in My Computer.
ha ha, I didn't notice the missing viewfinder until I read this blog! I wonder how long it would have taken me to notice it? ROFL!!!
A question - I did what you said, but is that with the flash on or off? I hope that's not too dumb a question, but I really don't know much about photography. I have the V705.
Thank you!
Dawn,
You can change the exposure compensation with the flash on -- or with it off. Either, or.
I just discovered the p880, somebody emailed me about it after my class.
I cant wait to get more info. Anybody have this? It might be a GREAT alternative to the v570. Almost as wide and MUCH sharper (I would guess since the lense is bigger)
Frank
Frank,
I do have a P880 (yeah, I know I'm a camera collector/hoarder) and my only complaint is the finger grip is a little too close to the lens, my fingers feel squeezed... I can't image how a guy with bigger hands would manage....
But to the best of my knowledge, the P880 was continued, too. :-(