Manual settings error?

I seem to be at a loss here, so any suggestions welcome.

I tried using my 30D in manual & no matter what I do, the over/under exposure compensation keeps reading as -2 stops.
I don't have any custom settings (already tried clearing just in case), no changes to the exposure function in Menu either.

I did note last night that by altering the shutter speed, the exposure compensation moved back up to + stops, so in effect I can't have full manual control (IE 1/125 & f5.6).
Any ideas as to how I get the + / - back to the centre again, or is this a camera malfunction?

"No matter what you do"?

Do you really say that even if you select a very long exposure time, like several seconds, you can't get the meter to move away from the -2 position? How dark is it around you, then?

Or is it just that you didn't select a time long enough, as your second paragraph suggests?

Vulcan58 wrote in post #7578902
I seem to be at a loss here, so any suggestions welcome.

I tried using my 30D in manual & no matter what I do, the over/under exposure compensation keeps reading as -2 stops.
I don't have any custom settings (already tried clearing just in case), no changes to the exposure function in Menu either.

I did note last night that by altering the shutter speed, the exposure compensation moved back up to + stops, so in effect I can't have full manual control (IE 1/125 & f5.6).
Any ideas as to how I get the + / - back to the centre again, or is this a camera malfunction?

The two red parts are contradictory.

In M mode, you pick your settings, but this is not totally random. You still need to pick a combination of ISO, shutter speed and aperture that make the correct exposure. If the settings you have picked have the meter off the left end and the shots are too dark then you need to select higher ISO and/or slower shutter speeds until the shots are not too dark.

Hi Anders
I've just tried it now (ISO 100, .3sec @f7.1) and the over/under exposure moves back up to +2 stops.

another example - ISO 100, 4 secs exp @ f14 - still over /under slides right across to +2.

Seems the slow the shutter speed, the more the exposure slider increases, so no manual control of aperture.

Vulcan58 wrote in post #7578995
Hi Anders
I've just tried it now (ISO 100, .3sec @f7.1) and the over/under exposure moves back up to +2 stops.

another example - ISO 100, 4 secs exp @ f14 - still over /under slides right across to +2.

Seems the slow the shutter speed, the more the exposure slider increases, so no manual control of aperture.

Can you re-write this? Massively confusing!

It sounds like ISO100, 1/3 and f/7.1 are showing +2 stops?

Then you let in 1 and 2/3 more light (11/3 stops slower shutter speed and 5/3 darker aperture) and the meter is still ++++. That sounds about right.

The way you are writing this situation is completely a puzzle.

I was using the above as examples only.
What I was trying to put across (albeit badly) is that I thought Manual meant just that, so no matter what the ISO / shutter speed / exposure combination is & whether the image is over or under exposed the camera still tries to compensate by moving the f stop either up or down accordingly.
Surely if I manually set either, that should be how I want it & not the camera making decisions for me?

Hopefully makes more sense now??

In Manual mode dialing the wheel adjusts the shutter speed, the exposure indicator will then move appropriately. Pressing the Av button and dialing the wheel alters the Aperture, shutter speed stays as what it was, the exposure indicator will then move again as appropriate. When the indicator marker is central there will be no compensation. This is on my 350D I assume the 30D is similar.

Are you saying your 30D doesn't behave like this?

It sounds to me as if everything is working correctly.

In M mode, you set all exposure parameters: ISO, shutter speed, and aperture.
What you are referring to as "over/under exposure compensation" is nothing of the sort.

In M mode, this indicator is showing you how close to what the camera considers a correct exposure your current settings are given the available light; the scale is acting as a light meter. If it is in the negative, you must increase aperture or ISO, or decrease shutter speed, and conversely if it is in the positive (that is, if you want to match what the camera thinks is best; you may know better).

Rest assured, you do have control of the exposure parameters; the meter is just telling you how good or bad a job you are doing.

xarqi wrote in post #7579175
< snip > the meter is just telling you how good or bad a job you are doing.

Which doesn't necessarily mean it's "good" or "bad", but at least "different" compared to what the camera would have set.

The description above

sounds more like Tv mode. In that mode, you set the shutter speed and the desired exposure compensation (and perhaps the ISO), then the camera sets the aperture for you.

The 30D sports a separate setting wheel on the back for the aperture, but the principle is the same as for the 350D.

Thanks all - especially to Xarqi, which sounds right then (acting like a light meter).

I don't normally use Manual, (mainly Av) so I hadn't noticed the 'over / under' exposure reading before, and thought that it had developed a fault.
Forum saves an unnecessary & wasted visit to the repair shop then!

There's a reason it's called "Manual".