Paul Stenquist wrote:
Blown highlights are evidenced in the histogram as values off the right side of the scale.
By definition, blown highlights are clipped to the highest value on the histogram. So you should start worrying when you see a sharp peak there.
However, the histogram (and apparently the blinkies as well) in the *ist cameras describe the jpeg image. When shooting RAW, some highlights that might shown as off the scale can actually be accommodated. Thus, I look at the histogram as a guide, not an absolute. And of course there are situations where one might wish to include blown highlights for aesthetic reasons. Example: specular highlights on water.
Agree 100% with all this. Except that I'm not totally sure that you always get the same leeway every time when shooting RAW. I try to keep all the image data within the range of the histogram (re-exposing if necessary and possible), and use the extra range that RAW can offer as a safety net (and sometimes even that isn't enough).
S
