[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
So, are you taking full advantage of digital?
1. Do you feel you understand the histogram?
Yes. I find it very helpful in determining the quality of my exposure.
I wish, however, that there were a setting for mid-tones on DSLR's. I
often find that an exposure lacking burned highlights and/or loss of
shadow detail can lead to an exposure where the mid-tones are off
(usually underexposed). It seems that the algorithm that interprets the
data from the *ist-DS sensor is maybe a little too linear, when it
should use a curve that boosts mid-tones a bit. ...just an opinion.
Anyway, I find the histogram an important part of getting an exposure
that can be workable.
2. Do you ever look at the histogram while you are shooting? When? Under what
situations?
I have my *ist-DS set to show the histogram after each shot. I glance
at it after most shots, and tinker with EV settings and re-shoot if I'm
dissatisfied with the histogram.
3. Do you ever look at the blinkies? When? Under what situations?
Yes, I do. They enable me to decide whether the area of burned out
highlights is in a significant cluster, or if it's scattered a little
here and a little there. A cluster might really be noticeable. A
little here and a little there might be annoying at worst, or
unnoticeable at best.
4. Do you find one of them (histogram or blinkies) more useful than the
other? Do you look at it more? Or do you tend to use both in concert?
Definitely the histogram is more important to me. It tells me more at a
glance; where the approximate mid-tone is going to fall, whether I've
burned highlights or dropped shadow detail, and if my shot is too
contrasty, or not constrasty enough. If you've got a peak at the left
and the right, you might need a little fill flash, for example. Or
maybe that's what you want/expect in a particular shot. If you have a
big peak at the right, and then a little peak 3/4ths of the way to the
left, you might have something in the frame that's throwing off the
metering such as a bright sky. Those sorts of things all help.
