Manual exposure settings

You have to hold down the exposure compensation button at the same time as turning the control dial.
The values appear on the control panel screen.

I found this on page 33 of the manual...
Set the mode dial to M and turn the control dial to set the value.
• To set the shutter speed: Turn the control dial.
To set the aperture value:Turn the control dial while holding down the
[+-](exposure compensation) button.

The exposure level indicator appears on the control panel screen, showing the difference (ranging from -3 EV to +3 EV) between the exposure value calculated by the currently selected aperture
and shutter speed compared to the exposure value considered optimum by the camera.

When you want to use the time exposure with your remote control, you need to be in the M mode (Manual) then you can select time Bulb. One step farther then 30 seconds. Then you can press the ML-L3 to start and again after some time to stop the exposure.

The N2000 has Program, Program Hi, Aperture-priority, and Manual exposure modes, with exposure lock and exposure compensation capabilities. It can TTL auto and manual with flash. The meter is full-aperture and center-weighted.
The Program mode sets both the shutter speed and aperture for optimum exposure. You can adjust the exposure if you want to emphasize shutter speed or aperture. The Program Hi mode tries to set a higher shutter speed for action and/or long lenses.
You can download a copy of the manual here if you want to know more about this camera.

Do you have it in aperture or shutter priority modes? If so, do you also have exposure compensation set to overexpose? If you have it in manual mode, then you will, of course, have to make the adjustments each time.

If you have it in auto mode, it should be correcting the exposure for you, unless you have manually set the ISO to some very high level. Another potential issue would be that you have selected spot metering and you are metering on a very dark area, hence the camera is overexposing to make up for that.

I'd recommend setting the camera to auto-ISO and auto exposure and see how it works. If that checks out, then you can correct any settings in other modes.

what about the Exposure Compensation setting? set to "0"

There are nighttime settings for most cameras. This can be an auto setting where the camera will automatically detect the light level and set the exposure rate.
On a manual setting, you need to consult your manual as to the options of can be set such as:
aperture (how big the hole is to let light in)
f-stop (speed of the shutter)
exposure time (how long to expose the CCD)
Flash on or off.

all of these items should be explained in your manual.
If you did not get a manual, the please look up these items in a search engine to get an understanding of how to balance your exposures.
Flash photography is not the only nighttime way to take picture.

I hope this was of some help.

A plus-or-minus one-third stop is perfectly normal if you're handholding the camera, especially when metering a high-contrast subject such as a lit lamp. If you really need to lock the exposure, use the exposure-lock button or set the camera to manual.

likely there's nothing wrong with the D300 - all that's happened is that its inadvertently been set into bracketing mode and hence it cycles through 3 or 5 or 7 different exposures each time it is activated!

s I understand it from what I have seen on the Web, the 3000Z can operate in several modes: 1. Fully automatic (camera select both 2. Manual (user sets both aperture and shutter speed). 3. Aperture Priority mode - user sets aperture and camera chooses correct shutter speed to get a good exposure Apparently there is no Shutter Priority mode (user cannot set only the shutter er speed and allow the camera to set the aperature to get a good exposure). This option is available on the Epson 850Z camera and this seems like a silly ommision to make on a "high-end" camera like the 3000Z.

No, 8 sec. is the max. goto the S (shutter priority)or M (manual)setting on the camera and use the black wheel with your thumb to set the shutter speed.