Does exposure compensation affect RAW files in manual mode on Nikon?
Asked 7/12/2013
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When shooting RAW on a Nikon in full manual mode, with aperture, shutter speed, and ISO all set manually, does exposure compensation change the RAW file in any way? Or is exposure compensation only meaningful when the camera can automatically change one of those exposure settings? I'm trying to understand whether exposure compensation is just a meter/display adjustment in this situation, or whether it actually alters the recorded RAW data.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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If you are referring to in-camera Exposure Compensation (EC), if your particular model will even let you set a value at all when in Manual mode, then EC will only affect the reading of the meter you see in the viewfinder, but will not affect the ISO, Tv, or Av.
There are exceptions to this if you are either shooting with Auto ISO selected while in manual mode or if you are using i-TTL flash while in manual mode. In these cases using exposure compensation will affect either the ISO or the flash power automatically selected by the camera, respectively.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
13y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
In full manual mode, if aperture, shutter speed, and ISO are all fixed by you, exposure compensation generally does not change the RAW exposure itself. The RAW file is determined by the actual exposure settings you chose.
On many cameras, exposure compensation in this situation either is unavailable or only shifts the meter indication in the viewfinder, helping you judge where the camera thinks “correct” exposure is.
Important exceptions:
- auto ISO in manual mode: exposure compensation can tell the camera to choose a higher or lower ISO
- ttl/i-ttl flash in manual mode: exposure compensation can influence automatically controlled flash output
So yes: it’s reasonable to think of exposure compensation as only having an effect when the camera is allowed to automatically adjust something. If nothing is automatic, it won’t change the captured RAW data.
If you mean adjusting “exposure” later in RAW processing, that is different: the converter remaps the higher-bit RAW data to brighten or darken the image during processing, using available headroom in the RAW file.
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