There are some instances when you may want to use this mode. The first and biggest is when you think your meter might be reading incorrectly. For example, a portrait of someone with a bright sky behind them. The camera might give you a reading for the sky. This might be a good time for compensation. The opposite also holds true. Say, maybe a portrait with a black background when your meter will give you a reading that will cause overexposure of the subject. Just remember, your camera will always give you a correct reading, you just have to decide if it is reading the area you want it to read. The way a camera's light meter works is it takes all the highlights and shadows and blends them all together and tells you what aperture and shutter speed you need to shoot at to get an 18% grey average. So, obviously, if your frame consists of 90% a bright sky behind the subject, then the meter will account for the sky as 9/10ths of the 18% grey average and 1/10th for the subject (if the subject is the only thing else in the frame). Does that make sense? The only other time that I can think of that you might want to use your exposure compensation is if you are going for a high-key or low-key image. A high-key image is one that is overexposed to the point of being primarily white which is sometimes nice when trying for a soft feminine photo. And a low-key photo is one that is underexposed which gives a harsh, foggy type of atmosphere. Those are the only two times you should use your exposure compensation feature unless you discover your meter is a stop or two off, in which case you can leave your compensation on constantly to make up for it. (I have had to do that with a previous camera.) I hope that helps. =o} -Andrew