Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/01/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Ted Grant wrote: >Doug Herr answered and showed: > >Subject: RE: [Leica] Question about M8 exposure > >>> Not each time but where it makes the difference between this >> >>http://wildlightphoto.com/temp/dash01.jpg >> >>and this >> >>http://wildlightphoto.com/mammals/artiodactyls/dash01.jpg >> >you bet I'll do it.<< > > >Hi Doug, > >Beautiful example, thank you very much. OK now I understand why one would >make changes. So you shoot the first scene, look not at picture screen, but >at the history screen and???????????????? > >Then you "squggle something to the right side of the screen. What? > Ted, I do my personal voodoo well before the critter is within "keeper" range because when the animal is close enough for "keepers" I don't want to be forking around with the screen instead of taking pictures. The first picture or two is at the meter's suggested setting. I'll review the histogram at this point and see if any of the important highlights are clipped off the right side of the histogram. If so I'll reduce exposure and take another test picture. Repeat as necessary. Similarly if the right (highlight) end of the histogram doesn't reach the right side of the chart I'll either lose shadow detail where the histogram is clipped at the left (shadow) side or at least there will be more noise in the shadows than necessary. Increasing exposure will shift the histogram curve to the right & reduce shadow noise, but I have to be careful I don't increase exposure so much that the right end of the curve is chopped off (blown highlights). All of this is with the camera on m for manual. Getting the "perfect" exposure can be a bit tricky when the critter has a lot of deep blacks and bright whites: http://wildlightphoto.com/birds/picidae/acwo02.html A side benefit is that all this futzing around with test exposures fits my approach strategy of not staring single-mindedly at the bird and by the time I've got the correct exposure dialed in I've also gotten within "keeper" range and can just pay attention to the picture and to pushing the button. Cool, eh? Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://www.wildlightphoto.com