Probably the best exposure article extant today....

Didereaux · Apr 2, 2015

This article is so clear, concise, and well illustrated that I doubt there is a single photographer around that won't take something away with them after reading it. It explains the 3 exposures: Metered, Proper, and OPTIMUM.

The Optimum Digital Exposure - Luminous Landscape

480sparky · Apr 2, 2015

Looks like it boils down to, "don't clip the shadows or highlights", but it also says it may be OK depending on the scene.

fjrabon · Apr 2, 2015

meh, I've tried this and on modern cameras it really doesn't seem to make much difference if you do this v. the "traditional way." Plus this requires you to painstakingly reset exposure on every single image you ever edit. For what really isn't a very discernible difference on a modern dslr with a modern sensor.

This used to make a difference 4-5 years ago, and it still can on some camera bodies (it does help on my old 7D, for example). But on a Nikon D600, a Fuji XT1 or X100T or even a Nikon D7100, it really doesn't make a difference in my experience.

Further, this wasn't an article, it was an advertisement.

and in that first picture, what in the heck camera was he using that had that much noise at ISO 800. I haven't used a dslr in like 6 years that was that bad at ISO 800.

Didereaux · Apr 2, 2015

I believe the article, and it was an article, was written for those who want to learn more about photography. It makes no sense to write one aimed at those who believe they already know everything about the subject.

fjrabon · Apr 2, 2015

Didereaux said:
I believe the article, and it was an article, was written for those who want to learn more about photography. It makes no sense to write one aimed at those who believe they already know everything about the subject.

Its literally an advertisement by the guy who is attempting to sell his book. ETTR isn't new either.

"Both methods are described in detail in Chapter 2 “OneZone Procedural Methods” of my book."

and

"I have developed an exposure method I call the OneZoneTM for optimizing digital exposure."

Can anybody explain how this is anything more than him trying to trademark/copyright the expose to the right method and sell some books?

480sparky · Apr 2, 2015

Well, there's a lot I'll take issue with there.

“If you do not see camera blinkies… your exposure is sure not to be Optimum and…
you’ve probably lost more than 50% of the scene’s data!”

Really? So if my scene has a dynamic range of 4 stops, and my camera is capable of recording 8, I must adjust the exposure until I start to turn the shadows pure black or blow out the highlights to pure white?

"... place the brightest part of the scene at 99+% in the processing software."

99% of what?

"The OWP is a 99+% brightness in the software."

WTH?

Braineack · Apr 2, 2015

I shoot nikon. I underexpose and recover everything.

fjrabon · Apr 2, 2015

480sparky said:
Well, there's a lot I'll take issue with there.

“If you do not see camera blinkies… your exposure is sure not to be Optimum and…
you’ve probably lost more than 50% of the scene’s data!”

Really? So if my scene has a dynamic range of 4 stops, and my camera is capable of recording 8, I must adjust the exposure until I start to turn the shadows pure black or blow out the highlights to pure white?

"... place the brightest part of the scene at 99+% in the processing software."

99% of what?

"The OWP is a 99+% brightness in the software."

WTH?

It seems to purposefully introduce enough jargon to make you feel that you have to buy the book he's selling, when all it's really espousing is ETTR. The Amazon page is full of bogus reviews as well. One of only 3 verified purchases give it a 1 star.

fjrabon · Apr 2, 2015

Braineack said:
I shoot nikon. I underexpose and recover everything.

I just want to know what in the world camera he was using in that article that had that much noise at ISO 800. The original Canon Rebel?

fjrabon · Apr 2, 2015

Here are, IMHO, the two best articles that address what the advertisement in the OP is trying to address:

Pro ETTR

Anti ETTR

D-B-J · Apr 2, 2015

Seems like a foolish advert to me..

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Didereaux · Apr 2, 2015

You know, it is one thing to disagree with a post. It is something else entirely to make a donkeys behind out of yourself when so doing.

Just put me on ignore, boys. I did for you. :angry:

photoguy99 · Apr 2, 2015

ETTR is LuLa religion. It's obsolete, but that doesn't prevent them from continuing to flog it.

I *would* like to know how ETTR produces more sharpness, though. That's fascinating.

Didereaux · Apr 2, 2015

photoguy99 said:
ETTR is LuLa religion. It's obsolete, but that doesn't prevent them from continuing to flog it.

I *would* like to know how ETTR produces more sharpness, though. That's fascinating.

Just a guess, but I have experimented a bit with it. You get more 'apparent' increased sharpness with the clarity slider in ETTR than you get with ETTL. This sorta makes sense since you are really just playing with an expanded contrast. imo