Why does my sunset look washed out?

[HBMermaid]

Tried out my new A7R2 using Auto mode and my sunset was all washed out. Why is that? On the A6 it was flawless. I am open to all positive feedback, Aloha.

[adwb]

image  to look at ? and any chance of the full exif data from the print? need to see the camera settings , 

[HBMermaid]

I have it set to the A (auto) setting. How do I post a pic here? Thx

[Guest all8]

IIRC there is a Scene mode for sunsets, put the top dial to SCN, and then use the front wheel thing to select the one that looks a bit like a sunset.

 

 

[Thefallguy]

On the A7rii, the A setting is Aperature priority and the Auto shot is "auto".

[ariksm]

You try setting Manual (M) , Manual Focus, ISO 100-400, f/2.8 

[HBMermaid]

Thank you ALL for replying and thefallguy nailed it!! The setting was changed to A not Auto. Today's sunset was spot-on!! Aloha

[yarmmcd]

Never use auto white balance on sunsets, the camera will try to turn it mid grey overall and wash out the whole thing.

Never use auto white balance on sunsets, the camera will try to turn it mid grey overall and wash out the whole thing. Try cloudy white bal instead.

[chrisqphoto]

Thank you ALL for replying and thefallguy nailed it!! The setting was changed to A not Auto. Today's sunset was spot-on!! Aloha

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

you'll get better results if you don't use auto, you may want to research using your camera not in auto

Yah, there is no reason to buy a 3K camera and use it on Auto, and possibly jpeg?

 

You won't see any difference to a 1K camera.

[Bindegal]

Consider there might be a learning curve involved. Why not use some of those "auto" features to get some "safe" shots in.

If you like what you see, take a look at the settings the camera chose. Then switch to manual mode and try variations on those settings and learn what happens.

 

And yes. ALWAYS RAW. At the very least use RAW so you can change white balance later on.

When I dig up an old Canon RAW file from 7 years ago from time to time, I can now do so much more with it. As software and your technique improves, new magic is possible. Awesome.

 

/Allan

[Disambiguous42]

HBMermaid--  Use a combination of RAW + JPEG, which you can set in the camera function settings, first screen, third item down.  Then, if you are using A (aperture priority) or S (shutter priority), use the exposure compensation dial to "bracket" the exposures, which means shooting the same scene at different exposures.  Pick the result you like, or, if you want to get fancy, research "High Dynamic Range" (HDR) and blend them for an even better image (see www.stuckincustoms.com for more details).

 

Alternatively, the a7RII has a built-in HDR function, and the best description I've seen on how to use that is in David Busch's informational book on the a7RII/a7II (http://www.amazon.com/David-Buschs-Alpha-Digital-Photography/dp/1681980606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460232130&sr=8-1&keywords=david+busch+sony+a7rii).  BTW, if you plan on keeping your a7RII, I highly recommend you get that book.

 

You can achieve the same effect by going to manual operation, lining up the exposure with what the camera's internal meter suggests, then bracketing the shots using the shutter speed, aperture, or both.

 

In all cases, a tripod is recommended.

 

As an earlier respondent explained, saving in RAW will give you complete control over the color temperature of the image, since the RAW file will not not be affected by what the camera "thinks" the color temperature of the scene is.  With JPEG, the camera will apply it's opinion, and that can't be changed later.  The only problem is that you will need to have the appropriate software on your computer to be able to decipher the RAW image.

 

Also, the RAW files will take up more space on your memory card.  I recommend using 128GB cards, or at minimum 64GB.

 

Best of luck.