The next ISO

[dakkon76]

Increasing the gamma in-camera may not offer much of an advantage. If it doesn't change what the overall exposure is, then it would best to be manipulated in post rather than to apply a narrow range of presets.

Increasing brightness, regardless of where you do it, will still only be modifying the existing exposure... so you're not gaining anything by doing it in camera. And replacing ISO with it causes you lots of trouble... the two really are not interchangeable. That's like saying you should lock your ISO at 3200 and just adjust brightness. Or the inverse, you should lock it at 100 and just darken everything ... if you locked at 100 and shot with the same settings you would if it were at 300, then your highlights would be blown and would not be able to be darkened.

 

[dakkon76]

Not to mention, lets say you're at ISO 100, F/2.8, and shooting at about 1/200 and you're "blowing your highlights." How does simply turning a slider on the brightness prevent this? It in no way changes the amount of light hitting the sensor, which is the cause of the blown highlights. There are 4 ways to further adjust for this besides using ISO:

1. Decrease your aperture (increase F) - smaller peep-hole
2. Increase your shutter speed - light hits sensor for shorter period of time
3. Apply a neurtal density filter - sunglasses
4. Change your lighting

So... without correcting in one of those 4 ways, how does having a simple slider effect something that would already be blown or under-exposed based on the amount of light that was allowed to hit the sensor?

 

[EchoingWhisper]

Not to mention, lets say you're at ISO 100, F/2.8, and shooting at about 1/200 and you're "blowing your highlights." How does simply turning a slider on the brightness prevent this? It in no way changes the amount of light hitting the sensor, which is the cause of the blown highlights. There are 4 ways to further adjust for this besides using ISO:

1. Decrease your aperture (increase F) - smaller peep-hole
2. Increase your shutter speed - light hits sensor for shorter period of time
3. Apply a neurtal density filter - sunglasses
4. Change your lighting

So... without correcting in one of those 4 ways, how does having a simple slider effect something that would already be blown or under-exposed based on the amount of light that was allowed to hit the sensor?

You lose dynamic range when you increase ISO. Increasing brightness in camera has its use, it allows us to know what amount of brightness is need to be used in post, and also allow us to not increase ISO while being able to review our picture on the LCD which is not possible if you decide to use a lower ISO and increase brightness later.

 

[EchoingWhisper]

Not to mention, lets say you're at ISO 100, F/2.8, and shooting at about 1/200 and you're "blowing your highlights." How does simply turning a slider on the brightness prevent this? It in no way changes the amount of light hitting the sensor, which is the cause of the blown highlights. There are 4 ways to further adjust for this besides using ISO:

1. Decrease your aperture (increase F) - smaller peep-hole
2. Increase your shutter speed - light hits sensor for shorter period of time
3. Apply a neurtal density filter - sunglasses
4. Change your lighting

So... without correcting in one of those 4 ways, how does having a simple slider effect something that would already be blown or under-exposed based on the amount of light that was allowed to hit the sensor?

And if it is ISO 100, then you don't need to increase brightness. Maybe I should word it correctly, increasing brightness would prevent blowing highlights that you would if you increased ISO instead.

 

[Garbz]

You lose dynamic range regardless, and still back to my point: anyone who cares enough about image quality to want this will shoot RAW anyway, end result just do it in your RAW processor using curves. I don't understand why you think this complex scenario warrants its own setting in the camera?

The whole point of having RAW files is exactly for this scenario.

 

[EchoingWhisper]

You lose dynamic range regardless, and still back to my point: anyone who cares enough about image quality to want this will shoot RAW anyway, end result just do it in your RAW processor using curves. I don't understand why you think this complex scenario warrants its own setting in the camera?

The whole point of having RAW files is exactly for this scenario.

You know why? If you decided to increase brightness in the computer, you'll just see a super dark/pitch black photo on the LCD and this prevents you from being able to review the picture properly.

 

[Overread]

Echo - but you can boost brightness in the cameras in-camera editing settings already (before you take a shot of course). For RAW it won't affect it, but it will be applied to the JPEG that the camera makes with a RAW (and which is displayed on the back of the camera).

Furthermore if you refine the method yourself you'd fast learn how much or how little underexposure you'd need in a shot anyway.

 

[EchoingWhisper]

Echo - but you can boost brightness in the cameras in-camera editing settings already (before you take a shot of course). For RAW it won't affect it, but it will be applied to the JPEG that the camera makes with a RAW (and which is displayed on the back of the camera).

Furthermore if you refine the method yourself you'd fast learn how much or how little underexposure you'd need in a shot anyway.

Yeah, I do know that there is an option in-camera, but there's no shortcut towards it. I'm just suggesting if there is a way you could set brightness via the ISO button.

 

[Derrel]

Loading a custom tone curve into my Nikon allows me to getshoot in NEF mode, but ALSO to have instantly ready, SOOC JPEG files that have been metered, exposed, and then in-field LCD-reviewed with the exposure metering system and camera controls set to MINUS 1.7 stops. This "builds shutter speed" in action type scenarios, and works superbly. Where this comes in handy is when editing a large number of images, or when there's a good chance that the selects will be transmitted straight out of camera.

Returning from an event with 500,600,700, or perhaps even 1,000 images, the review of the off-the-card JPEG images is made MUCH,much easier and also more-accurate by viewing images that are already sharpened, have rich color, as wide a dynamic range as is generally possible, and which can show the degree that the focus is up to absolute snuff. This idea of using custom, in-camera tone curves was more common a few camera generations back, when Nikon's default tone curves produced very FLAT, dull, un-inspiring images that editors (and others) were less-likely to evaluate favorably against images out of "other brand" cameras that had much punchier images.

The speed advantage when there are 700-800 images is pretty significant...having a RAW file + an almost perfect SOOC JPEG due to a custom curve loaded into the CAMERA is a big advantage. I have two that I use. Until ,you've used one you might wonder, "Why bother?" Many publications and organizations do not have the most-powerful computers or the best and most up-to-date software: applying tone curves in-camera can at times make editing so,so much faster and easier. Many people have difficulty "envisioning" what a RAW file will look like; this method helps them see something very close to a final result with no added computer time or processing.

 

[EchoingWhisper]

Loading a custom tone curve into my Nikon allows me to getshoot in NEF mode, but ALSO to have instantly ready, SOOC JPEG files that have been metered, exposed, and then in-field LCD-reviewed with the exposure metering system and camera controls set to MINUS 1.7 stops. This "builds shutter speed" in action type scenarios, and works superbly. Where this comes in handy is when editing a large number of images, or when there's a good chance that the selects will be transmitted straight out of camera.

Returning from an event with 500,600,700, or perhaps even 1,000 images, the review of the off-the-card JPEG images is made MUCH,much easier and also more-accurate by viewing images that are already sharpened, have rich color, as wide a dynamic range as is generally possible, and which can show the degree that the focus is up to absolute snuff. This idea of using custom, in-camera tone curves was more common a few camera generations back, when Nikon's default tone curves produced very FLAT, dull, un-inspiring images that editors (and others) were less-likely to evaluate favorably against images out of "other brand" cameras that had much punchier images.

The speed advantage when there are 700-800 images is pretty significant...having a RAW file + an almost perfect SOOC JPEG due to a custom curve loaded into the CAMERA is a big advantage. I have two that I use. Until ,you've used one you might wonder, "Why bother?" Many publications and organizations do not have the most-powerful computers or the best and most up-to-date software: applying tone curves in-camera can at times make editing so,so much faster and easier. Many people have difficulty "envisioning" what a RAW file will look like; this method helps them see something very close to a final result with no added computer time or processing.

Yeah, its a good idea, if only you could assign tone curve to the Fn button.

 

[Derrel]

L

Yeah, its a good idea, if only you could assign tone curve to the Fn button.

it already appears in two different menus, and has multiple choices. Assigning it to the Fn button doesn't make much sense, given that much more-important functions need to be used on the Fn button, and complicated, multi-choice, CRITICALLY-important decisions need to be made on a menu where the user can verify the selection being made. Something important, like FX or Dx crop mode, exposure bracketing, flash bracketing, etc. is what the Fn button is for...Tone Curve can still be adjusted in 2 to 3 seconds, using one of two different menus...

Of course, you could write to Nikon and tell them your ideas.

 

[EchoingWhisper]

L

Yeah, its a good idea, if only you could assign tone curve to the Fn button.

it already appears in two different menus, and has multiple choices. Assigning it to the Fn button doesn't make much sense, given that much more-important functions need to be used on the Fn button, and complicated, multi-choice, CRITICALLY-important decisions need to be made on a menu where the user can verify the selection being made. Something important, like FX or Dx crop mode, exposure bracketing, flash bracketing, etc. is what the Fn button is for...Tone Curve can still be adjusted in 2 to 3 seconds, using one of two different menus...

Of course, you could write to Nikon and tell them your ideas.

I did it once on other ideas, maybe I'll do it again.

 

[EchoingWhisper]

The tone curve in ViewNX's picture control utility doesn't give me the result I want. I tried pulling the midtone slider to the left but all I get is a grey-ish shadow, tried it in camera, didn't work well too.