Panasonic FZ20 Overexposure?

I recently bought a new Panasonic Lumix FZ 20 and I seem to be having some exposure problems.............Anything in the picture that is "bright" or "white" seems to overexpose. This happens in all lighting conditions - cloudy, sunny etc. I will be happy to send a j-peg or two showing this condition for some kind person to check out. Thanx.

a camera can only cope with so much variation between light and dark.. the bright or light areas u mention willl relatively overexpose compared to the dark areas.. basically the camera is inferior to the human eye in this respect so what u describe is normal..

the terms u need to look for are "dynamic range" and "highlight burn-out"

have u compared your own pictures with similar pictures taken with another camera.. ??

trog100

I have an FZ20 and would take a look. Why don't you post a couple smaller copies here. Also include the exif data so we can see how the camera was set up.

I've been using centerweighted averaging rather than letting the camera choose an exposure point and ISO 100 and usually have exposure compensation set to -1/3.

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Originally Posted by Chunk

I have an FZ20 and would take a look. Why don't you post a couple smaller copies here. Also include the exif data so we can see how the camera was set up.

I've been using centerweighted averaging rather than letting the camera choose an exposure point and ISO 100 and usually have exposure compensation set to -1/3.

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Hello,
Here are three photos taken under average conditiond - definately not sunny. Note how anything in the picture that is bright i.e. white-ish, is all burned out. This condition happens 75% 0f the time. Look at the left side of the house - no detail just a white glare.
See what you think.
Thanx

Those look like it's operating exactly as it should.

Turn down the contrast if you can, that will help add a little detail in shadows and highlights.

The best way to work with this though is just to dial in enough compensation to bring the highlights under control or meter manually. The dynamic range is not enough to deal with such variances and the camera meters for an average exposure, which looks ok but sacrifices either end of the spectrum. If you need those details then you need to intervene, the computer can't read your mind yet.

Turn down the contrast.. yes that will help.. i think u have three option high medium and low..

the only pic that should give problems out of your three would be the last one.. the other two would benefit from a little minus EV.. they are both a lttle over exposed.. and if u are into landscape pics have a look at the cokin graduated filters.. they really are the only way to avoid overcast sky burn out.. u might notice the white rocks i just see the missing clouds..

trog100