p.5 #1 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
Thank you very much Fred for this thread! It is so easy to apply when you need it. Interesting about the difference with using the SR app too. Great stuff
p.5 #2 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
charles.K wrote:
Thank you very much Fred for this thread! It is so easy to apply when you need it. Interesting about the difference with using the SR app too. Great stuff
You're welcome Charles!
I had to share this tip as it greatly improved my images.
Best,
Fred
p.5 #3 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
Thanks so much for this Fred, very informative indeed!
I have read the bulk of the post and it generally makes sense to me. Am just wondering if you are able to set your camera to -1 exposure for general purpose handheld shooting (so still protecting highlights to a degree) where you do not want the distraction of blinking zebras and then when you want exact exposure control, setting the zebras to the same settings as you have described (100+) and then adding another 3 stops on top of this?
Does this have roughly the same effect as your method of adding 2 stops when in normal mode and the zebras are set at 100+?
p.5 #4 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
Yeah, this was a really helpful thread.
In theory you can do that, of course, but you're giving up dynamic range -- this won't matter in a lot of shots, only when the scene is already pushing the limits of the camera. Since the idea is to use the point at which blinking begins as a reference point, you're still going to need to find the blinking point first before backing off of that, so it won't go away, but you just wouldn't see it after setting the exposure while you're composing. Maybe that's enough to help. You might try a different zebra setting than 100+ to see if there's one you find less irritating overall.
You could just skip the zebra/ETTR and only utilize it when you're faced with a scene that could best take advantage of the technique. You could also try just eyeballing it by looking at the histogram, turning zebra off altogether. You could also program Zebra to one of the custom buttons or to the function menu and toggle it on/off, as needed.
p.5 #5 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
Has anyone tracked the ETTR latitude for highlight as we climb ISOs? At 100 we bumb the exposure comp up 2 stops once we see zebra, but what about ISO 200,400 and 800? I often find myself shooting at these, and would like to maximize DR and minimize shadow noise. I know we loose stops as we climb in ISO, but not sure how/if it's a linear relationship (maybe we loose highlight recoverability before we increase shadow noise, etc.)
p.5 #7 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
wallpapervikin wrote:
Thanks so much for this Fred, very informative indeed!
I have read the bulk of the post and it generally makes sense to me. Am just wondering if you are able to set your camera to -1 exposure for general purpose handheld shooting (so still protecting highlights to a degree) where you do not want the distraction of blinking zebras and then when you want exact exposure control, setting the zebras to the same settings as you have described (100+) and then adding another 3 stops on top of this?
Does this have roughly the same effect as your method of adding 2 stops when in normal mode and the zebras are set at 100+?
My understanding is that ETTR only works for ISO 100. Why is this the case? Because you are better of keeping your camera at a low ISO than raising the ISO to expose to the right (say going from 400 ISO to 600 ISO so you meter to the right). The advantage of the lower ISO outweighs the advantage of ETTR at higher ISOs.
I have a similar question to yours. For general handheld photography (say kids indoors) would it be beneficial to add one or two stops exposure compensation all the time? Or would that just force the camera to use a higher ISO at times negating the benefit?
p.5 #8 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
Moroni wrote:
I was wondering if the ISO invariance would cancel out ETTR at higher ISOs. Thanks for that.
My understanding is that ETTR only works for ISO 100. Why is this the case? Because you are better of keeping your camera at a low ISO than raising the ISO to expose to the right (say going from 400 ISO to 600 ISO so you meter to the right). The advantage of the lower ISO outweighs the advantage of ETTR at higher ISOs.
I have a similar question to yours. For general handheld photography (say kids indoors) would it be beneficial to add one or two stops exposure compensation all the time? Or would that just force the camera to use a higher ISO at times negating the benefit?
p.5 #9 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
You guys will find this video interesting as it shows the benefits of ETTR using a Sony a7R II. His method is similar to Fred's however he recommends using Neutral and -3 contrast then exposing to the right of the histogram. In practice Fred's method is easier to use, IMO.
What I found most interesting is how Capture One is clipping channels earlier than LR. He recommends not using Capture One for now. The info on this is roughly half way through the video.
p.5 #11 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
Moroni wrote:
You guys will find this video interesting as it shows the benefits of ETTR using a Sony a7R II. His method is similar to Fred's however he recommends using Neutral and -3 contrast then exposing to the right of the histogram. In practice Fred's method is easier to use, IMO.
What I found most interesting is how Capture One is clipping channels earlier than LR. He recommends not using Capture One for now. The info on this is roughly half way through the video.
p.5 #14 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
So, let's see if I get this correct. Or, am I messing up my photos doing it the way I am?
When there is unlimited light, use ettr and iso 100; in more limited light situations, where I find myself shooting mostly, then I shoot at iso 640 or above since the sony a7r ii becomes mostly iso invariant, correct?
If this is true, then I should be shooting to the left and not to the right?
Or in other words, if the situation called for iso 400, I'd be better off shooting at iso 640 and above, say to iso 800 BUT shooting to the left so as not to blow hightlights as I can recover the shadows better in post-processing?
Any light anyone can cast on this will be greatly appreciated.
p.5 #15 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
pizdets17 wrote:
you would do this instead of ISO100?
Of course ISO100 always when possible, but when higher sensitivity is needed it would be interesting to see if 640 provides better starting point for ETTR.
p.5 #16 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
I'm wondering the same thing. A Google search did not bring up much.
I understand that pretty much anytime you can use ISO 100 you should use ETTR. What's the suggest approach to taking pictures in low light, at night, or when you don't have time to bracket or ETTR (i.e. kids at play)?
p.5 #19 · Easy ETTR technique using the Zebra pattern
fredmirandafan wrote:
A question related to ETTR. Is highlight and shadow recoverability distributed linearly on the A7RII sensor?
If not, ETTR may not always work properly because some scenes demand more details in highlight instead of shadow, and vice versa.
This question doesn't make any sense to me, maybe I am missing something.
If you shot a scene with a 1s "normal" exposure and then the same scene properly adjusted for ETTR at 2s, how could the 1s exposure in any way be better than the 2s exposure? In what sense could shadow recovery be worse if you have doubled the amount of light, you have more data to work with and you have to do less recovery?
