Why are my photos coming out too dark or bright?
What you see on the screen is what you get if you take photos with a digital camera.
The film prints are different.You don't really know how your image is going to look until it has developed, so you can hazard a guess as to what the right exposure might be by choosing the recommended setting on the dial.The result will be either too bright or too dark if you choose the wrong setting.
When the film isn't exposed to enough light and can happen for a number of reasons, underexposure with the Mini 9 is one of them.
The Mini 9 end up underexposed because the wrong setting was chosen on the brightness adjustment dial.
If the ambient light is evenly distributed, your safest bet is to trust the setting the camera recommends.Dark rooms will almost always require indoors on bright sunny days.You can bet your bottom dollar that your image will be as dark as night after you Accidentally chose Very Sunny inside a dark room.
The photo below is a good example of when the camera doesn't pick the right exposure.
The sky was bright but the hills were in the shadows.Because the Mini 9 metered for the sky, it recommended the very sunny setting, which caused the foreground to be very dark.The hills would have turned out brighter if I had picked Cloudy or Indoors.
The film can't handle large differences in brightness so it's better to avoid contrasty outdoor scenes.Part of the frame will either be over or under exposed regardless of which setting you choose.
It isn't always enough to avoid a dark exposure in the dark setting.
When you take a picture in a poorly lit place without a clear subject in the foreground, the flash can illuminate it.Anything beyond the range of 60 cm to 2.7 meters will be out of reach of the light the flash emits.
When I received the Mini 9, I tried to take a picture of the river gorge.There was some light, but it wasn't enough to illuminate the river and branch I was trying to capture.
If you decide to use the camera in poor light conditions, always include a clear subject in your picture, and never shoot low light landscapes with the Mini 9.
The Mini 9's shutter speed is fixed at 1/60 of a second, but the Mini 70 and 90 have slower shutter speeds.You can use either model in low light situations if they are mounted on a tripod.
If the flash isn't working as it should, your pictures might be underexposed.
The next time you take a picture, make sure the flash is on.It might be time to send the camera off for repairs.
When taking a shot, make sure you don't accidentally cover the flash with your hand, as I did for the second image below!
The exposure/light meter can be covered if you want to skew your exposure.
If the meter is not covered, it won't be able to read the intensity of the light.
There is a higher chance that you will accidentally cover the exposure meter with your fingers when holding the Mini 9 than there is with any other camera.
We recommend sending the camera to the repair department if your photos turn out black despite following the instructions.