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What is an EV? What is a stop?
EV stands for exposure value. Stop refers to click stops in mechanical cameras. A change of one EV
or one stop will adjust the exposure calculated by the camera by a factor of two.
Change in EV Change in stops Adjustment to exposure
+2.0 EV
+1.0 EV
0.0 EV
–1.0 EV
–2.0 EV
+2 stops
+1 stop
Calculated exposure
–1 stop
–2 stops
4X as much light
2X as much light
1/2 as much light
1/4 as much light
Sometimes the camera’s exposure meter is deceived by certain conditions.
Exposure compensation can be used in these situations. For example, a very
bright scene, such as a snowy landscape or a white sandy beach,
can appear too dark in the captured image. Before taking the pic-
ture, adjusting the exposure by +1 or +2 EV will result in an image
with normal tonal values.
In this example, the dark scene appears bright and washed-out on
the LCD monitor. By decreasing the exposure by –1.5 EV, the rich-
ness of the sunset is preserved.
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