I am sitting here, contemplating.
Experimenting, playing … and contemplating.
I am having great fun with an X-T3 that I have on loan,
more or less turning it and myself inside-out in order
to learn more about all it can do.
So far, it outperforms me; for instance regarding exposure.
That makes me a trifle mad. You see, I believed that I knew
how to expose properly; but very often I get clipped highlights
As a very intimidating consequence: this also means that I
have to re-learn RAW conversion as well. Things that I have
automatically performed are not necessarily the optimal ones.
Sigh. Luckily, I have time, I have proper equipment, and I have
just made an itemized list on experiments laid out for the next few days.
With my X-T20, I use the jpeg histogram and make sure that isn’t clipped or is only slightly clipped so I know my raw isn’t clipped at all… I assume everyone does about the same?
Hello, I never look at histograms while shooting and I always expose at -1/3 EV to avoid clipped bright areas in sunlit situations. Works for me (might be camera dependant, metering dependant, lens dependant, light dependant, monitor & eye dependant, etc.). And raw processor dependant of course !
I have the X-T2 and it has some sort of ‘zebras’ that show you live when you are overexposing (the jpegs, of course). I think X-T3 has something similar…
I know from experience that at the point when it shows ‘jpeg overexposure’ I can still push it about 1 EV if needed. But this mostly depends on how you setup the film simulation and other jpeg settings.
I use two methods on my X-T20 - if outside on brighter days with more DR I’ll drop my exposure compensation by 1/3 or even 2/3. 1/3 less seems to be the best option mostly. For tighter shots or less DR I’ll have at 0 compensation and just keep an eye on the histogram.
I’m just getting settled in with a new X-T20, and I’m really enjoying it so far. I’m already more at home on it than I ever felt with my D7000.
For the most part, I’ve been doing the same as others here so far: not letting the (JPEG) histogram clip on the right (or just a very little bit); when the sun is involved and DR is high, exposing -1/3 to -2/3, and when a setting sun is actually in the photo dropping exposure compensation even further, like -1 to -1 2/3. When I get into post processing the raws, it seems that there is always some available headroom. Will need to build up some more experience with it to have a feel for how far I can ETTR without losing info.
What lens(es) have you been playing with on your loaner?
I do not have a Fuji but with my T7i; I also do similar.
My camera is set to Adobe RGB for a slightly more accurate histogram. Then it is set to display all 3 channels. I push my exposure to the right until one channel slightly clips. Usually this results in a great exposure. One thing I noticed is my camera loves to under expose the raw by a good full stop. Once I learned this it helped a lot.
You can massively improve the histogram accuracy by using Pro Neg Std (a low contrast film simulation), and lowering both highlights and shadows to -2. This produces a very flat image, that gives a good approximation of the RAW dynamic range.
Also, I find the DR modes preferable to exposure compensation for protecting highlights, as they leave you with properly exposed JPEGs, yet underexpose the RAW by 1 (DR200) or 2 (DR400) stops. Actually, I usually leave DR on auto and let the camera ETTR automatically. This also leaves exposure compensation as a purely aesthetic choice instead of a technical one.
The DR modes do exactly what I would be doing in post in high contrast scenes: under-expose to save highlight information, then raise exposure in.all but the highlights in post. In my own testing, I found the DR modes to work just as well as filmic.
You can even raise your exposure compensation and use the DR modes to still protect your highlights, which feels very much like working with the filmic sliders.
My only complaint is that the on-screen histogram only shows manually selected DR settings, but not DR Auto. I.e. it will show blown highlights and blinkies, even though DR200 would automatically kick in and save them once you trip the shutter.
← “older” but not old. Have fun!
