Histogram

When I first got into digital, I used the Histogram religiously after almost every picture. After switching to Pentax, I realize that I rarely use it at all. To the point where I almost forgot how to activate it. Does anybody still use the Histogram ?

I rarely use it while shooting; however, I do use it often while processing, especially with RAW files. The only time I use it while shooting is in high contrast and snow.

Does anybody still use the Histogram ?

 

I do. If I'm shooting something where exposure can be set up ahead of time, the histogram is my main tool. But I work almost exclusively in jpeg so I want things real close, including white balance, when I shoot. If I wasn't able to do this, I'd probably be working with raw, at least as backup.

 

If I'm doing indoor people shots (candids, not studio lighting), I like to rely mostly on the ambient light, but gel a weak on-camera "fill" flash to roughly match color. I pick the gel ahead of time by trial and error, using the 3-color histogram to find a decent match. (Does anyone have a better way to do this?)

Whoops! I just noticed that this is the Pentax forum, which I normally wouldn't be in. My response is more generic, based on experience with (mainly) midrange pro grade cameras from a couple of non-Pentax makers.

Yes!

While the Pentax / Samsung matrix metering combined with shooting RAW and fine adjusting stuff in post processing are quite decent; how are you supposed to deal with manual studio strobes without histogram chimping?

...how are you supposed to deal with manual studio strobes without histogram chimping?

 

Jochen, an incident flash meter is probably about the best quick way to do this. But you should first verify that the meter ISO speed setting works ok with your system.

I have one, it seems to be one stop too optimistic for Samsung GX 20 (rebadged K20D) with f2.8 macro FA lenses, works OK with Leica M though. I really like the meter to check how unevenly I am lighting. OTOH my subjects sometimes have highly reflective surfaces so histogram and overexposure warning are nice to have.

OTOH my subjects sometimes have highly reflective surfaces so histogram and overexposure warning are nice to have.

 

Good point. I've made a living mostly in the field of studio portrait work/processing, so I tend to misinterpret "manual studio strobes" as always meaning portraits.

I use it regularly when landscape shooting. Especially if I'm in challenging light for looking at the screen. If I'm in the dark or in very bright conditions, it's hard to tell on the screen if I might be over or underexposing. The histogram will show me this quickly without the results being affected by the amount of ambient light.

I don;t look every shot, but I like to give it a peek just to be saure my exposure is optimal.

I never use the histogram because it never tells me anything I haven't known already.