300D display - do you trust it?

[utkik]

Hi there,

I've only had my 300D for a couple of weeks now, and I'm still having a lot of fun testing it and figuring out the more subtle features on it.

One question I have is - when you're 'in the field' taking pictures, do you trust that the picture that appears in the playback is absolutely correct? What I mean by that is that when I take a picture, I review it on playback, and if it looks okay I keep it. But when I download the pictures into Photoshop, they look several shades darker. My monitor is a good one, and I've printed a few pictures as a test, and they seem a little darker in hard copy.
I've adjusted the brightness levels on the display of both camera and monitor, but I still get the feeling that I can't fully trust the playback image the camera produces.

I'd be very grateful to know other peoples' thoughts on this. I've been doing photography for about 3 months, so every little bit of advice is greatly appreciated!

thanks,
utkik

Ps apologies for the long post, and thanks for persevering!

[Ikinaa]

I don't have a DSLR, but a G3, and I don't trust the display for the colors or the tones...
The only thing I trust is the histogram...

[vvizard]

I only use the display to get instant feedback on parts of the image that might have been "blown out", and to see if the histogram somewhat looks right. For those purposes it's excellent, as it's not becoming a trust-thing, since the histogram and "blown-out" features of the camera is read digitally from the captured file, and _is_ correct, since a blown out part really _is_ blown out no matter how your display or monitor is calibrated :)

What I don't trust the display for is sharpness. It's to small to tell. For tones and colors I trust it "somewhat". Meaning that I get a rough "picture" of how it's looking, and now if I'm about right or far off. When I get it about right, I shoot a couple (or twenty ;)) pictures, maybe with bracketing to play it safe. That's the nice thing with digital, trust it or not, just be sure to take those extra ten "just to be safe" pictures, and you will mostly do OK :)

[Conk]

I noticed the photos may be a bit under exposed as to what is shown on the display. I wouldn't say "trust" but knowing how it does display I can figure on what my exposure might be like. That said, it only gets a quick look from me.

[theoldmoose]

Trust the histogram.

Then, when you have a properly exposed image, change the brightness on the display to give you what you think is a good looking image for the current viewing conditions. This will change drastically, depending on whether you are in open shade, sun, cloudy day, or indoors.

Then, trust the histogram. :)

Oh, and shoot RAW, in auto white balance (AWB), and check your histogram. :) Turn on the live review 'info' in the menus.

Then you won't waste your time (or CF card space) exposure or white balance bracketing. When you get back to your computer, you can develop the same RAW frame repeatedly up to +-2 stops, if you need, to get images to mask and overlay, to extend the dynamic range of the shot. And, it is very easy to correct color balance during RAW develop, without any image loss.

And don't waste your time with Canon's FVU. Get CaptureOne Digital Rebel Edition. You can enmasse do exposure and white balance correction, and do the develops in the background, while working on additional images.

[utkik]

trust the histogram. Will do!

Thanks for the help everyone. The histogram is one aspect of photography I'm still not fully clear about, but it's obvious from everyone's replies that it'll be worth my while getting to know it better!

I did a forum search and found some useful links, so I'll spend a bit of time reading up on it.

Thanks again for all your help.

utkik.

[cmM]

Let there be light !

http://luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understanding-histograms.shtml

[PhotosGuy]

I use “Info+histogram”, page 86 in the manual.
Remember this: If there’s NO white in the image, you will have to interpret the histogram info differently. And, gray does not equal white, unless you want it to be blown out.

[msvadi]

I never use it for "critical judgement". I use it to check on composition, and I use the detailed info mode to check the exposure. Histograms and flashing highlights are very helpful. I verify sharpness only on the computer in 100% view mode.

[AzzKicker]

also the LCD could be adjusted too bright in the menu :) I'd rather have a picture come out a tad underexposed than overexposed.

[theoldmoose]

I use “Info+histogram”, page 86 in the manual.
Remember this: If there’s NO white in the image, you will have to interpret the histogram info differently. And, gray does not equal white, unless you want it to be blown out.

Makes no difference, if you shoot RAW. I'd rather 'expose to the right' and then adjust the exposure down a couple of stops if necessary during RAW development. This will help your signal-to-noise ratio.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/expose-right.shtml

[Bruce Hamilton]

Keep in mind that when you shoot with your camera set on full auto, it also sets your ISO... When the flash pops up, your ISO is set to 400. If you use the camera on a manual setting, you can drop your ISO to 200, making your photos 1 stop brighter.