30D - Shooting underexposed purposely...

[EOS mE]

i've read in PSCS2 RAW by Mikkel Aaland that he tends to purposely shoot underexposed (1 stop or so lower) in RAW, because underexposed RAW is easier to recover back compared to overexposed RAW.

now.. is that something that fellow members here shooting in RAW are doing? would you recommend a newbie to do so to have a better chance at getting more useable shots? :confused:

[saravrose]

i've read in PSCS2 RAW by Mikkel Aaland that he tends to purposely shoot underexposed (1 stop or so lower) in RAW, because underexposed RAW is easier to recover back compared to overexposed RAW.

now.. is that something that fellow members here shooting in RAW are doing? would you recommend a newbie to do so to have a better chance at getting more useable shots? :confused:

Depends on the circumstances.. but, yes when the circumstances call for it.. and it's always better to underexpose than overexpose..

[Lightstream]

Depends on the circumstances.. but, yes when the circumstances call for it.. and it's always better to underexpose than overexpose..

A little bit of further explanation about the circumstances... when shooting at high ISO settings, it's better to expose towards the right (as the histogram folks say). Since I'm not a big histogram user I dial in a little bit of exposure comp, say +1/3 or +2/3. Works great at low light events. The problem is, if you recover the shadows at high ISO settings, the noise really jumps out at you. You can combat this with noise reduction tools, but all the better if it does not need to be done. If shooting raw, and you overexpose a little as a result, you can always dial the exposure back with almost no penalty.

However, when shooting at low ISO settings, it is indeed better to underexpose and recover the shadows as noise is not as big a problem here. I use this as my solution to the dynamic range problem, I expose for the sky, and recover the shadows. Works like a treat at ISO 100-200. :) (fill light tool in RSE2006)

[EOS mE]

lightstream.. i use RSP2006 and i've been tinking with the exposure here and there. so, i guess for low light situations, i should "expose towards the right" with higher iso. and vice versa.. when shooting with low iso.. i should just underexpose a tad bit.

btw... any dummy proof guidelines on when to use which ISO setting during certain environments? there's so much ISO settings available on my 30D.. that i'm just dumbfounded about the settings. i would like to get out of the ISO100 more often.

[Curtis N]

i guess for low light situations, i should "expose towards the right" with higher iso. and vice versa.. when shooting with low iso.. i should just underexpose a tad bit. Exposing to the right is a technique that is used to maximize the signal/noise ratio, giving your camera the maximum amount of data to work with. If you use your histogram to prevent "blowouts" on important parts of your image, there's rarely a good reason to deliberately underexpose, regardless of ISO. Here's an article about it. (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/expose-right.shtml)

The best ISO setting for a given situation is the one that allows you to use a shutter speed that will prevent motion blur and an aperture that gives you sufficient depth-of-field. Determining what those values are is easier said than done. Almost every exposure is a compromise.

[RLRiley]

i've read in PSCS2 RAW by Mikkel Aaland that he tends to purposely shoot underexposed (1 stop or so lower) in RAW, because underexposed RAW is easier to recover back compared to overexposed RAW.


Well.... Many people here will say something like expose to the right of the histogram and I'm sure they can give very good reasons for doing so but.... I, too, tend to generally set my 20D to underexpose by about 2/3 of a stop. This is a habit that I carried over from my film days when I discovered long ago that I preferred the look, usually, of a slight underexposure (for print film generally 1/3 to 1/2 stop underexposed suited my general liking). In practice I still lean towards underexposure, especially in brightly lit scenes, since I often don't have time to futz around and check the histogram to push everything as far to the right as possible without getting blowouts. Given the option of trying to recover some overly dark shadows or some blown-out highlights, I'll choose the overly dark shadows, hence the deliberate underexposure. Now, earlier or later in the day when there is less chance of blown highlights I move progressively closer to zero compensation.

[Lightstream]

lightstream.. i use RSP2006 and i've been tinking with the exposure here and there. so, i guess for low light situations, i should "expose towards the right" with higher iso. and vice versa.. when shooting with low iso.. i should just underexpose a tad bit.

btw... any dummy proof guidelines on when to use which ISO setting during certain environments? there's so much ISO settings available on my 30D.. that i'm just dumbfounded about the settings. i would like to get out of the ISO100 more often.
When I was new, I'd simply shoot in Program AE (P) mode, and watch the shutter speed. If the shutter speed dropped too low, I'd increase ISO to compensate, and as a consequence of doing that, the shutter speed will go up. After a while you'll be able to get a feel for what ISO speeds go with what situations. These days I shoot in Av, and before a shoot I find myself thinking "Hmmm, this looks like an ISO 400 day.." (overcast, gray skies), or "Good, I can definitely use ISO 100 today"

Who needs weather forecasters...... ;)

[EOS mE]

When I was new, I'd simply shoot in Program AE (P) mode, and watch the shutter speed. If the shutter speed dropped too low, I'd increase ISO to compensate, and as a consequence of doing that, the shutter speed will go up. After a while you'll be able to get a feel for what ISO speeds go with what situations. These days I shoot in Av, and before a shoot I find myself thinking "Hmmm, this looks like an ISO 400 day.." (overcast, gray skies), or "Good, I can definitely use ISO 100 today"

Who needs weather forecasters...... ;)

good tip. not just have to remember to do so when i'm out shooting next time. ;)