Camera problems. (over exposing)

[wmoore]

I seem to be having problems with my camera, it appears to be over exposing some parts of the photo. These are sooc .
some more details
Camera Canon 1100D
18-55 kit lens
AWB and Auto ISO
AV mode
RAW
Everything else is default.[IMG][/IMG]

It was a clear day, but I wasn't shooting into the sun.

Any ideas ?

[benm]

Is this happening with every photo or randomly? Seeing the EXIF information would be useful. Without more information I can only guess that the aperture blades in your lens are sticking and not closing down properly. Another possibility is that the lens surface is smudged - check that there are no major fingerprints on it.

[RustBeltRaw]

On the software side, it's possible that your exposure compensation is set above 0. The shot does look overexposed in most areas, but you may find that even if you expose for your subject, you'll blow highlights in the sky, light sources, and reflections of same. As long as you aren't blowing highlights in areas where you care about the detail level, you're usually fine. In addition, it looks like you might have had condensation on the front element (the shot looks soft-focused, but you weren't on that kind of lens). Not sure how, since the conditions don't look terribly cold. Did the camera come from a heavily air-conditioned car into a humid environment, by chance?

[Andrew1]

There a few things that could cause this Warrick. Lex points out a few. My first check if it was happening to me, would be metering. I almost always stick to spot or center weighted metering which would produce exactly what you are showing. Spot metering will measure the light at center, the trees in this case, or the car and owner if that's what I chose, and pay no mind to the rest thereby over-exposing lighter objects outside of the point I metered. On the rare occasion I use an auto shooting mode I also change the metering mode to take in a larger percentage of the frame right up to full. More towards P&S.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

[wmoore]

Is this happening with every photo or randomly? Seeing the EXIF information would be useful. Without more information I can only guess that the aperture blades in your lens are sticking and not closing down properly. Another possibility is that the lens surface is smudged - check that there are no major fingerprints on it.

I just had another look at the lens and there was a nice big smudge. Cleaned tested, problem now seems to be solved.

Thanks everyone.

[xpatUSA]

Warrick, I had that exact same problem with the Nikon D50 kit lens (18-55?) but don't recall checking for a smudge (blush). I put it down to excessive flare under bright skies and sold it . . . and the camera!

None of which helps this thread at all ;-)