contrast adjustment

[ronald_moravec1]

1-Does anyone have camera with contrast adjustment selection in the menue?

 

2-If so, can you capture a scene with a greater range by lowering the contrast?

 

3-Has anybody tried one of the three types of Tiffen low contrast filters to

capture a greater range of brightness in high contrast subjects?

[mars c]

All my digicam have contrast adjustments, only the film cameras have none.

 

You mean dynamic range? Unless the default is too contrasty, adjusting it wont help. I think adjusting the exposure compensation in camera and later in the PC will help increase the dynamic range.

 

I havent tried the low contrast filter and I havent heard about it before , by the way , what camera are you using?

[jcuknz]

Only very basic digital cameras do not have #1

#2 don't know but I guess yes

#3 No.

 

I cover high contrast by organising a pair of shots exposed for highlights and shadows with blend in editing. Why spend when a basic tool,the editor, sufficies.

[alan_olander1664878205]

Nikon cameras have "Tone Compensation" which alters the contrast. However, if you shoot in RAW, this can be changed during conversion. If you use a low contrast setting when shooting you will get as much range as possible. Shooting with high contrast will be more likely to clip the shadows and highlights. I don't think the filters do anything but soften the contrast in an image, not extend the brightness range captured.

[ronald_moravec1]

Been using film for 50 years. I bought a cheap digi cam as a learning tool. While reading a book, I found it said use contrast adjustments on the camera rather than adjust later. Mine has none as it very basic. The result is there are a lot of white skies if the light is not over your shoulder so to speak and I am tired of fixing them in PS. Sometimes they will not fix.

 

I am looking for a better way and the low contrast filter seemed a viable solution. Multiple exposures are usually not an option because most pics are spontanious and I do not have a tripod with me.

 

Ok so decent camers have contrast control, but can it extend the dynamic range of the sensor? Or do I still have to use filter. I get the impression it do not allow capture of greater range, it just lowers it to expand low contrast scenes.

[alan_olander1664878205]

My understanding of this is pretty basic, but the dynamic range of a camera's sensor is a fixed thing. By choosing a low contrast setting, you are able to use all of the range, and then can alter the contrast as you wish in editing. Bright skies give me fits, too, but there's no easy fix to it. If you encounter scenes with a wide brightness range, beyond the range of the sensor, you will have to either use graduated neutral density filters or HDR in your editing software, which requires bracketed exposures.