Dealing with high contrast shoots

[Tomislav]

I'm sure this happens to everyone shooting a camera, stills or video - I'm wondering if there's a way to deal with it;

- when shooting in enclosed environments, such as rooms, how can one avoid that damn washed out blown up section that appears over the window area, even if there's just one window in the field of view?

- when pointing the camera west, even with sun behind buildings or hills, it seems you can choose between blown out sky or crushed black foreground.

Is this something that my GH2 can't cope with, (dynamic range?) or is it because of our superior eyes and their dynamic range?

 

[runnah]

No easy way in the field to take care of this without adding a ton of lights. The best way is to shoot multiple exposures and combine them in post.

 

[Judobreaker]

Look into HDR (High Dynamic Range).
It is a technique in which you shoot multiple photos with different exposures of the exact same scene and then combine them to get the best result.

For example, when you have a room with a window in it you can shoot a shot in which the room is perfectly lit and the window is blown out and a shot in which the scene outside is perfectly lit and the room is kinda black.
You then combine the two with HDR processing software and get a shot in which both the room and the scene outside are lit properly.
Some people shoot up to 9 different exposures of the same scene and combine them for the best possible result.

 

[Tomislav]

I'm familiar with HDR and I do use it for those purposes (but not for those overly contrasted saturated effects I commonly see) ... but is it possible to deal with that issue in video?

 

[tirediron]

The best solution is to used lighting, but if that's not an option than HDR is the way to go.

 

[runnah]

I'm familiar with HDR and I do use it for those purposes (but not for those overly contrasted saturated effects I commonly see) ... but is it possible to deal with that issue in video?

No, add lights and blinds. There are some HDR video programs out there but I have had very limited success.

 

[KmH]

I agree, to shoot video the only real option at this time is to add lighting, or if possible, flag windows from outside.

A lot of people don't understand the numerous limitations of DSLR video. Those making high quality video using DSLRs usually use several thousand dollars of accessory camera, sound, and lighting gear.

 

[Tomislav]

OK, I'll put this question in complete layman terms - is there a camera capable of recording footage with similar dynamic range as human eyes?

 

[fjrabon]

no. Human eyes also don't actually do it either. You only think they do it because your brain tricks you into that. The human brain does something sort of like HDR when looking at a scene with a wide dynamic range. At any one point in time, you only actually see a very small part of the visual scene clearly. Your eyes scan the scene constantly (called saccades) and your eyes constantly adjust for the differing levels of brightness. If you saw the entire scene as a single, simultaneous visual image, you'd see something roughly similar (if not inferior) to what a camera sees.

 

[runnah]

OK, I'll put this question in complete layman terms - is there a camera capable of recording footage with similar dynamic range as human eyes?

Depends on what you mean. I know some cameras are coming out with onboard HDR software that does some post production work. But see what fjrabon posted for more.

 

[Tomislav]

I'm somewhat disappointed I thought that those high end devices, Red or Arri or any other "up there" brand make these immensely hi-tech cameras that can capture all kinds of ranges, darks, lights, mids and slap them all into one video file that you can later edit and adjust within your own terms...

 

[fjrabon]

I'm somewhat disappointed I thought that those high end devices, Red or Arri or any other "up there" brand make these immensely hi-tech cameras that can capture all kinds of ranges, darks, lights, mids and slap them all into one video file that you can later edit and adjust within your own terms...

The Red can do HDRx where it records two simultaneous video streams, one of which is underexposed by up to 3 stops. the two can then be automatically HDR'd after the fact using the provied software. But the dynamic range of the sensor is nothing remotely like what the brain/eye combo can perceive.

 

[runnah]

Watch this video, It going into depth about ISO sensitivity and how it relates to sensors and range quality.

 

[TCampbell]

This is a general mixed-light levels problem.

Meter the room (away from the window) to check the light level. Meter out the window to check the light level.

Those two meter readings will call for completely different exposures. If, on the other hand, they called for the same exposure or at least exposures which aren't very far apart (e.g. say 1/3rd of a stop) then it will look natural.

You cannot do anything about the outdoor exposure unless you can configure up clouds on demand -- (btw, I have discovered that purchasing a new telescope is a sure-fire way to conjure up clouds on demand. <sigh>)

You COULD do something about the indoor lighting by adding a lot of lights.

This applies not only to windows, but anywhere that the metered exposure for your intended subject is different than the metered exposure for some background area. E.g. want to take a photo in a park with someone sitting under a tree? Same rules apply.

Here's a video demonstrating how this works: Control the Light and Improve Your Photography: Part 2

The video, btw, is sponsored by Sekonic (they make the light meter) so you'll see they're trying to sell you on light meters. Regardless... if you just want to get to the demo of the mixed light levels, slide forward to about the 12 minute mark and watch for about 3 minutes and you'll get the essence of how it works. I will say that the whole series is actually pretty good and you may learn a lot about metering.

 

[Buckster]

Magic Lantern firmware for Canon is possibly something to look into as well to do HDR video.