Long time DSC-W30 user, first time problems...just exposure or more serious?

[fsa259]

I have had my DSC-W30 for over a year and never came across any problems with exposure. In auto mode, even in dimly-lit rooms, the flash would light up the scene enough to capture a high quality shot. I have never had any indoor photos overexpose. The only photos which would come out too dark are where I deliberately kept the flash off.

Over the past two weeks, however, some photos would spontaneously appear extremely overexposed or extremely underexposed. Still, on auto mode, in averagely lit indoor situations in which the camera previously had no problems handling. Overexposed ones would look like I pointed it at a halogen lamp, and underexposed ones are practically black.

On repeat shots, the problem sometimes goes away. Even if the onboard histogram shows an even spread while I am pointing the camera, after shooting it appears on either extreme.

When I look at the properties of the photos, the extremely overexposed photos get shot on ISO-320, when the normal selection for the same scene is ISO-80....what makes the auto detection malfunction like this?

The really dark photos show no difference in the properties to a normal photo of the same scene, so apart from a mistimed flash, I cant work out what would cause this.


Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could try out to try and rule out a hardware/software error? Any fixes? The camera is out of warranty by three months and the Sony Centre would charge a flat fee of around GBP110.....doesnt seem like worth pursuing when I could just upgrade....

[fsa259]

Unfortunately the same problem with variability exists when I shoot in a mode other than auto.

Even in Programme mode when I selected ISO of 80, 100, 200...instead of letting it auto decide, the photos were underexposed.

In a pitch black room, the flash and exposure work perfectly, lighting up the subject as if it were under studio lighting.

Photos outdoors under cloudy day conditions are as normal too...

It seems mixed lighting confuses the camera....


I understand this is a limitation on digital cameras...but what annoys me is the fact that this was a non-issue before...

[pisco]

Sorry, I don't know your camera, but I'm thinking that maybe you changed to "Spot metering" and didn't notice?

[fsa259]

thanks for the suggestion, pisco.

the auto mode doesnt have an option to change the metering, but in program mode, it was still set on multi.....

the problems do happen more frequently when on spot mode than on multi, though...

[fsa259]

ive included four sets of exif, in case it helps figure out exactly what is going wrong:

overexposed, normal in same light conditions
underexposed, normal in same light conditions

exif for overexposed photo:
File Name : DSC02938.JPG
Directory : H:\DCIM\101MSDCF
File Size : 1490 kB
File Modification Date/Time : 2007:10:21 10:07:54
File Type : JPEG
MIME Type : image/jpeg
Exif Byte Order : Little-endian (Intel)
Image Description :
Orientation : Horizontal (normal)
X Resolution : 72
Y Resolution : 72
Resolution Unit : inches
Y Cb Cr Positioning : Co-sited
Exposure Time : 1/40
F Number : 2.8
Exposure Program : Program AE
ISO : 320
Exif Version : 0221
Date/Time Original : 2007:10:21 10:07:55
Create Date : 2007:10:21 10:07:55
Components Configuration : YCbCr
Compressed Bits Per Pixel : 8
Exposure Compensation : 0
Max Aperture Value : 2.8
Metering Mode : Multi-segment
Light Source : Unknown (0)
Flash : Auto, Fired, Red-eye reduction, Return not det
ected
Focal Length : 6.3mm
Macro : Off
Quality : Fine
Long Exposure Noise Reduction : Off
Flashpix Version : 0100
Color Space : sRGB
Exif Image Width : 2816
Exif Image Length : 2112
Interoperability Index : R98 - DCF basic file (sRGB)
Interoperability Version : 0100
File Source : Digital Camera
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Custom Rendered : Normal
Exposure Mode : Auto
White Balance : Auto
Scene Capture Type : Standard
Contrast : Normal
Saturation : Normal
Sharpness : Normal
Compression : JPEG (old-style)
Make : SONY
Camera Model Name : DSC-W30
Modify Date : 2007:10:21 10:07:55
Thumbnail Offset : 4424
Thumbnail Length : 10051
Image Width : 2816
Image Height : 2112
Encoding Process : Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
Bits Per Sample : 8
Color Components : 3
Y Cb Cr Sub Sampling : YCbCr4:2:2 (2 1)
Aperture : 2.8
Image Size : 2816x2112
Shutter Speed : 1/40
Thumbnail Image : (Binary data 10051 bytes, use -b option to ext
ract)
Focal Length : 6.3mm
Light Value : 6.6

exif for normal photo in above conditions:
File Name : DSC02937.JPG
Directory : H:\DCIM\101MSDCF
File Size : 2 MB
File Modification Date/Time : 2007:10:21 10:07:28
File Type : JPEG
MIME Type : image/jpeg
Exif Byte Order : Little-endian (Intel)
Image Description :
Orientation : Horizontal (normal)
X Resolution : 72
Y Resolution : 72
Resolution Unit : inches
Y Cb Cr Positioning : Co-sited
Exposure Time : 1/40
F Number : 2.8
Exposure Program : Program AE
ISO : 80
Exif Version : 0221
Date/Time Original : 2007:10:21 10:07:29
Create Date : 2007:10:21 10:07:29
Components Configuration : YCbCr
Compressed Bits Per Pixel : 8
Exposure Compensation : 0
Max Aperture Value : 2.8
Metering Mode : Multi-segment
Light Source : Unknown (0)
Flash : Auto, Fired, Red-eye reduction, Return detecte
d
Focal Length : 6.3mm
Macro : Off
Quality : Fine
Long Exposure Noise Reduction : Off
Flashpix Version : 0100
Color Space : sRGB
Exif Image Width : 2816
Exif Image Length : 2112
Interoperability Index : R98 - DCF basic file (sRGB)
Interoperability Version : 0100
File Source : Digital Camera
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Custom Rendered : Normal
Exposure Mode : Auto
White Balance : Auto
Scene Capture Type : Standard
Contrast : Normal
Saturation : Normal
Sharpness : Normal
Compression : JPEG (old-style)
Make : SONY
Camera Model Name : DSC-W30
Modify Date : 2007:10:21 10:07:29
Thumbnail Offset : 4424
Thumbnail Length : 13656
Image Width : 2816
Image Height : 2112
Encoding Process : Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
Bits Per Sample : 8
Color Components : 3
Y Cb Cr Sub Sampling : YCbCr4:2:2 (2 1)
Aperture : 2.8
Image Size : 2816x2112
Shutter Speed : 1/40
Thumbnail Image : (Binary data 13656 bytes, use -b option to ext
ract)
Focal Length : 6.3mm
Light Value : 8.6

exif for underexposed/almost black photo:
File Name : DSC03131.JPG
Directory : H:\DCIM\101MSDCF
File Size : 1400 kB
File Modification Date/Time : 2007:11:08 20:27:56
File Type : JPEG
MIME Type : image/jpeg
Exif Byte Order : Little-endian (Intel)
Image Description :
Orientation : Horizontal (normal)
X Resolution : 72
Y Resolution : 72
Resolution Unit : inches
Y Cb Cr Positioning : Co-sited
Exposure Time : 1/40
F Number : 2.8
Exposure Program : Program AE
ISO : 80
Exif Version : 0221
Date/Time Original : 2007:11:08 20:27:56
Create Date : 2007:11:08 20:27:56
Components Configuration : YCbCr
Compressed Bits Per Pixel : 8
Exposure Compensation : 0
Max Aperture Value : 2.8
Metering Mode : Multi-segment
Light Source : Unknown (0)
Flash : On, Red-eye reduction, Return detected
Focal Length : 6.3mm
Macro : Off
Quality : Fine
Long Exposure Noise Reduction : Off
Flashpix Version : 0100
Color Space : sRGB
Exif Image Width : 2816
Exif Image Length : 2112
Interoperability Index : R98 - DCF basic file (sRGB)
Interoperability Version : 0100
File Source : Digital Camera
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Custom Rendered : Normal
Exposure Mode : Auto
White Balance : Auto
Scene Capture Type : Standard
Contrast : Normal
Saturation : Normal
Sharpness : Normal
Compression : JPEG (old-style)
Make : SONY
Camera Model Name : DSC-W30
Modify Date : 2007:11:08 20:27:56
Thumbnail Offset : 4424
Thumbnail Length : 6547
Image Width : 2816
Image Height : 2112
Encoding Process : Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
Bits Per Sample : 8
Color Components : 3
Y Cb Cr Sub Sampling : YCbCr4:2:2 (2 1)
Aperture : 2.8
Image Size : 2816x2112
Shutter Speed : 1/40
Thumbnail Image : (Binary data 6547 bytes, use -b option to extr
act)
Focal Length : 6.3mm
Light Value : 8.6

exif for normal photo in above conditions:

File Name : DSC03138.JPG
Directory : H:\DCIM\101MSDCF
File Size : 2 MB
File Modification Date/Time : 2007:11:08 20:28:38
File Type : JPEG
MIME Type : image/jpeg
Exif Byte Order : Little-endian (Intel)
Image Description :
Orientation : Horizontal (normal)
X Resolution : 72
Y Resolution : 72
Resolution Unit : inches
Y Cb Cr Positioning : Co-sited
Exposure Time : 1/40
F Number : 2.8
Exposure Program : Program AE
ISO : 80
Exif Version : 0221
Date/Time Original : 2007:11:08 20:28:38
Create Date : 2007:11:08 20:28:38
Components Configuration : YCbCr
Compressed Bits Per Pixel : 8
Exposure Compensation : 0
Max Aperture Value : 2.8
Metering Mode : Multi-segment
Light Source : Unknown (0)
Flash : On, Red-eye reduction, Return detected
Focal Length : 6.3mm
Macro : Off
Quality : Fine
Long Exposure Noise Reduction : Off
Flashpix Version : 0100
Color Space : sRGB
Exif Image Width : 2816
Exif Image Length : 2112
Interoperability Index : R98 - DCF basic file (sRGB)
Interoperability Version : 0100
File Source : Digital Camera
Scene Type : Directly photographed
Custom Rendered : Normal
Exposure Mode : Auto
White Balance : Auto
Scene Capture Type : Standard
Contrast : Normal
Saturation : Normal
Sharpness : Normal
Compression : JPEG (old-style)
Make : SONY
Camera Model Name : DSC-W30
Modify Date : 2007:11:08 20:28:38
Thumbnail Offset : 4424
Thumbnail Length : 12311
Image Width : 2816
Image Height : 2112
Encoding Process : Baseline DCT, Huffman coding
Bits Per Sample : 8
Color Components : 3
Y Cb Cr Sub Sampling : YCbCr4:2:2 (2 1)
Aperture : 2.8
Image Size : 2816x2112
Shutter Speed : 1/40
Thumbnail Image : (Binary data 12311 bytes, use -b option to ext
ract)
Focal Length : 6.3mm
Light Value : 8.6

[confromlondon]

I have a DSC-W50 and the exact same thing happend to mine.

After about 1 year it started over exposing or underexposing indor shots randomly.

If i take 5 shots in say 10 seconds indoors. holding the camera in my hands but not moving it. i will get 4 or 5 over or under/over exposed photos and if im lucky a good one.

when i say over or under exposed. i mean that the picture is almost white or black. completely useless.

i have changed every setting and reset the camera and it still does it.

i thought i had my finger over the light sensor so i tried it on timer on the table and it still does it.

the camera is useless indoors.

i am trying to find some firmware that i can try and fix this problem.

[fsa259]

Please do keep me updated in case you find out anything......its absolutely ludicrous that something like this should happen to sonys. Grr! Typically, it goes haywire AFTER the warranty period.

I have a DSC-W50 and the exact same thing happend to mine.

After about 1 year it started over exposing or underexposing indor shots randomly.

If i take 5 shots in say 10 seconds indoors. holding the camera in my hands but not moving it. i will get 4 or 5 over or under/over exposed photos and if im lucky a good one.

when i say over or under exposed. i mean that the picture is almost white or black. completely useless.

i have changed every setting and reset the camera and it still does it.

i thought i had my finger over the light sensor so i tried it on timer on the table and it still does it.

the camera is useless indoors.

i am trying to find some firmware that i can try and fix this problem.

[SmartWombat]

It could be the diaphragm sticking and not setting the aperture properly.

I had problems like this with a Canon 70-200 L IS lens.
About 4 weeks after I dropped it 3 feet onto concrete.

[xystren]

I know some of the Sony products had a CCD recall. I know my DSC-V1 had one, though I never encountered the problem...

I can't seem to find any of the reference on the Sony site, but there are other forums that do have samples of what the issues look like.. Check here

I'm not sure that this applies to your camera, but it might be worth checking out. If I recall it was caused by moisture in the area of the CCD, so it would come and go.

It may be worth checking into.

Cheers,
Greg