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[OM] Re: Digital exposure and workflow

Subject: [OM] Re: Digital exposure and workflow
From: Winsor Crosby <wincros@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2004 12:29:57 -0700
I downloaded and read it. I really don't think that he knows what he is 
talking about. Here is why.

He says that it is more difficult to get an accurate exposure with 
digital than film. That is not true. Accurate exposure is a product of 
the camera's metering system and the photographer. People who are 
sloppy with their exposure technique with color negative film and who 
depend on a processor to clean up their exposure will need to polish 
their skills just as they would if they switched to color slide film. 
What you have with a digital camera is a histogram that tells you 
exactly how you exposed the image and allows you make a correction if 
needed. It is seldom needed because modern multizone exposure meters 
are spot on in most cases.

Raw vs. jpeg: (1)here is another area where he is just wrong if best 
quality is a goal. If your exposure is not exactly spot on you can 
adjust it in a raw image because it usually has 12 bit depth instead of 
8 without the risk of serious damage to the image. You can test this 
yourself and can see the difference easily in the histograms and 
sometimes in the image(look for zones with harsh transitions in the sky 
for instance).

(2) All digital cameras have default settings in jpeg for sharpening, 
color, contrast that may not agree with your perception of the scene. 
Reality is that the processor in a camera is tiny and they take short 
cuts. Doing the adjustments on a raw image gives you the advantage of a 
processor and software that is not limited by the size and power 
requirements of being stuffed inside a camera. Sharpening out of 
Photoshop and detail is so much better than the jpeg that comes out of 
the camera.

(3) Raw is not hard. It takes a few seconds longer than a jpeg to open. 
Other than converting it to 8 bit before saving the processing is not 
much different.

(4) I think if you just want to download directly to one of those new 
PictBridge printers, jpeg is your best bet.



Winsor
Long Beach, California
USA
On Apr 7, 2004, at 11:14 AM, Tris Schuler wrote:

>
> I found this PDF from an article on the Fuji site. I'm pulled both 
> ways by
> some of what's written, especially the writer's disdain for shooting 
> RAW
> and then working with his files later (is time really that important in
> most cases?), but there's food for thought either way--probably a
> worthwhile read for anyone (thinking about) jumping into digital.
>
>       http://tinyurl.com/3a2q8
>
> Tris
>
>


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