Blown out and washed out shots--help!

[Rigby470]

I have a brand new, 5D Mark II. I went outside yesterday on a cloudy and dreary day to take a few shots, and this is what I got.

Shot 1:
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i81/Rigby470/IMG_0044.jpg

Shot 2:
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i81/Rigby470/IMG_0046.jpg

As you can see, they are horribly blown out. I admit, I'm unsure about light metering with my camera. I tried to meter off the sky by pressing the * button, then recomposing and taking the shot. I suspect I am doing something wrong.

[crashthenet44]

The thought process here puzzles me. Are you looking at the histogram and making your own adjustments from there? I assume this is why you shot in manual or you just playing chase the needle?

[Rigby470]

The thought process here puzzles me. Are you looking at the histogram and making your own adjustments from there? I assume this is why you shot in manual or you just playing chase the needle?

I was shooting in Manual in order to learn how to shoot in Manual.:o

[Jmark11207]

You are shooting 1/125
F-Stop @ 4
iso 400


To understand what you did wrong you have to understand what each of these settings does to your exposure.

You are letting WAY too much light into your camera
This was taken around 8:00pm in the summertime here in NY
Settings used were
1/3200 sec
Aperture: f/3.5
ISO Speed: 200

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2713/4296562714_e39a728940_b.jpg

[Jmark11207]

This one was shot closer to the settings you used but it was @ 9:00 pm

Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/5.0
ISO Speed: 500
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2516/3970755893_ba38c7d974_b.jpg

Not the greatest shots but just a quick example

[PhotosGuy]

I tried to meter off the sky by pressing the * button, then recomposing and taking the shot. I suspect I am doing something wrong. You actually did more than one thing wrong because metering off the sky shouldn't have blown it out. I was shooting in Manual in order to learn how to shoot in Manual Good idea. See if this helps: Need an exposure crutch? (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=89123)

[GorgeShooter]

I was shooting in Manual in order to learn how to shoot in Manual.:o

When I shoot in manual I do 3 things.
1. Turn on highlight alert.
2. Press AF and read the meter in the LCD to see how far off I am. Adjust accordingly and shoot.
3. Look at the resulting image (for blown out highlights) AND the histogram. Adjust accordingly and re-shoot if necessary.

[Rigby470]

1. Turn on highlight alert.


Is this the same thing as "Highlight Tone Priority"?

[Rigby470]

You are shooting 1/125
F-Stop @ 4
iso 400

You are letting WAY too much light into your camera


That makes sense.

[stsva]

Is this the same thing as "Highlight Tone Priority"?

I think he means the highlight alert for the in-camera lcd review that makes any over-exposed area "blink" white.

[stsva]

You might want to take a look at this:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-metering.htm

[Rigby470]

You might want to take a look at this:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-metering.htm

Thanks for this link. This will indeed help.