Getting the perfect exposure

[MortenSJ]

Hi guys

I would like to know how you guys get the exposure you want when recording RAW?

Which picture profile, comes closest to RAW? I often underexpose or overexpose because i have a hard time seeing what i'm getting in the viewfinder. Do you use the zebras in ML?

[romainkedochim]

Hiya,

Not too sure what difference there is between shooting raw or not in terms of having a good exposure with ML. But there are basic principals you can follow:

1/ expose for your subject: meaning don't loose sight of what really matters in your shot.
2/ look at the histogram: it tells you if your whole scene within the camera's dynamic range or not. If it doesn't fit, you then need to make a choice between clipping the blacks or the highlights.
3/ turn on the clipping features: it'll overlay what's over/underexposed while shooting.

Last thing, when shooting raw you can easily review your exposure after the fact. That's the whole point of shooting raw.

[ade123321]

On this subject, I have come across some things that may change my current practice a little.

Sian storm, a pro colorist over at colorghear.com  talks about his zone system of optimum exposure being within + or - 2 stops. A 4 stop range, a lot smaller than we think our cameras have. This is due to the h.264 codec used by dslrs. Anything above or below the 4 stop range is where the inherent problems with h.264 encoding start to appear.

Would love to hear other people opinion on this.!

[ade123321]

Forgot to add that exposing to the right as a rule would start to push you over optimum exposure.

Raw to a lesser extent I suppose but I think it is still an issue to consider.

[Walter Schulz]

ETTR is often misinterpreted as overexposure = blown highlights. So do you but it is just not.
ETTR's origined as a tool for still photographers.
Are you talking stills or video?

Ciao, Walter