Have you ever heard of NEVEC?

[scottbergerphoto]

I came across an interesting feature of Canon's exposure system for Series 1 cameras, and 10D(?300D) on another (http://www.robgalbraith.com) forum. It's called NEVEC. In low ambient lighting, in Tv and Av, the camera automatically reduces the exposure of the ambient lighting. This cannot be disabled. It is based on ISO and EV. A full description is available here (http://eosdoc.com/manuals/flash/NEVEC/). If you put your 1 Series or 10D(?300D)camera in Tv or Av, take a look at the meter and then turn on the flash and you'll see what I mean. The effective exposure for the ambient light is reduced.
I was already aware that flash output was automatically reduced in Tv and Av as those are considered to be "fill flash" modes. Neither phenomenon occurs in Manual mode.
Regards,
Scott

[slin100]

I have and I stumbled across it at the eosdoc site you referenced. I haven't checked if it applies to the 10D, but I suspect it does since the article mentions that the Elan 7E has NEVEC.

Flash output is not always reduced in Tv and Av. It's only reduced at EV 10 or higher. Below EV 10, the flash becomes the main light and the ambient becomes the fill.

If you read the article, NEVEC also occurs in Manual mode. No, it won't change the shutter speed or aperture, but it does affect the camera metering. Switching to center-weighted metering appears to disable it on the Elan 7E, but not on the 1V. All in all, NEVEC sounds like another annoying feature.

[scottbergerphoto]

Slin,
It does have the same effect on the 10D. I tested it.

It actually kicks in at EV12 at ISO 1600. It's ISO and EV dependent.

I did read the article. Neither the 10D nor the 1D Mark II are mentioned. I tested the 1D Mark II and the 10D. There is no evidence of any effect what so ever in Manual Mode. Unlike the earlier Canon bodies, turning on the flash on a 10D or 1D Mark II does not change the exposure or limit the metering mode to evaluative when in Manual Mode. At the bottom of the comments section you will find: "For starters, the Elan II and D60 do not have NEVEC and the meter pattern does not automatically switch to evaluative when a flash is attached.
Ken Katz 1/9/2003 5:00:56 PM "

I found your comment "If you read the article,......." offensive and a gratuitous slap. Rather then tell you to piss off, I'll just say that you can assume that if I post an article , I've read it. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and not accuse you of questioning my intellectual capacity to understand the article.
Scott

[slin100]

I found your comment "If you read the article,......." offensive and a gratuitous slap. Rather then tell you to P*** off, I'll just say that you can assume that if I post an article , I've read it. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and not accuse you of questioning my intellectual capacity to understand the article.
Scott
No offense intended. I wasn't questioning your intelligence. It was a poor choice of words on my part. I should have said, "According to the article..." I didn't have access to my 10D at the time I posted my reply. I now see that you are correct that the 10D does not have NEVEC in M mode.

OTOH, the comment about the D60 doesn't mention M mode and implies that the D60 doesn't have NEVEC at all. Did the commenter really mean to say that the D60 does not have NEVEC in M mode, like the 10D? Of course, the comment predates the 10D, but it would seem strange for the 1 Series film cameras to have NEVEC, the D60 to not have it, and the 10D to have it only in Av and Tv modes. I really doubt that they brought NEVEC back by popular demand. So, my suspicion is that the D60 behaves just like the 10D. Maybe a D60 owner with a few minutes of spare time could run a quick test.