>
> Chuck, if I had just used the Sekonic, there would be ZERO
> issues with exposure.
>
Amen! I've been up and down this issue with my E-500 since the day I
bought it, and ended up uderexposing by two bars on the LCD exposure bar. When
I brought out the Gossen Pilot 2, which I had utmost confidence in from decades
of use, it verified that the offset was correct. I now use an antique General
Electric PR-1.
Just as a comment on the photo being discussed, I would have used a
reflector of some sort on the left side to even out the lighting. A diffuser
to the right would have made objects in the background stand out.
Chris
>AG
>
>
>On Saturday, December 3, 2011, Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>wrote:
>> Your struggles with the exposure foibles of the E-1 reminds me of an
>> article I read recently chastising our camera designers for not making
>> full use of the exposure measurement technology already available to
>> them. It covered more ground than ETTR but, since ETTR is of special
>> interest to me, it's what I paid most attention to. The author simply
>> pointed out that any camera with live view could easily implement an
>> ETTR exposure mode and guarantee that no highlights would be blown since
>> it knows the exposure state of every pixel.
>>
>> Using the 5D's histogram or flashing highlights display usually works
>> fairly well for ETTR but sometimes is a real guessing game. It irks me
>> to sometimes have to underexpose a bit to be sure I've not blown one
>> channel. For the 5D the ETTR analysis has to be post exposure but any
>> live view camera should be able to make perfect ETTR into a point and
>> shoot exercise.
>>
>> Chuck Norcutt
>>
>>
>> On 12/2/2011 10:52 AM, Ken Norton wrote:
>>>> Ken, I thank you... and my E-1 thanks you, too!
>>>
>>> Ditto in return.
>>>
>>> An analysis of the image is actually very instructive. This image could
>be
>>> a poster child for several E-1 issues.
>>>
>>> 1. The E-1's sensor is overly sensitive to near-IR. The problems seen
>with
>>> the Leica M8 are also present with the E-1, but just to a lesser extent.
>>> Typically, this is not a problem, but when using strobes it can be.
>Strobes
>>> have extensive IR and UV radiation. Caucasian skin will turn nice and
>pink
>>> when photographed with the E-1 using flash.
>>>
>>> 2. This extended near-IR sensitivity leads to the exposure lifting of
>>> caucasian skin--especially in the red channel. We are more likely to blow
>>> exposure in this case. If we use highlight-recovery to bring things back
>>> into line again, we get color shifts in the highlights as the four color
>>> array did not clip at the same point. Highlight recovery with the E-1 is
>>> very much a crap shoot. In comparison to the other digital cameras in my
>>> household--the exact same exposure with the E-1 will make caucasion skin
>>> look at least a half-stop lighter.
>>>
>>> 3. Because of 1 and 2, it is better to UNDEREXPOSE the image slightly and
>>> bring up the exposure during RAW conversion. With my E-1, and I believe
>>> this to be true with all E-1s, if you chimp the portrait on the LCD, if
>the
>>> skintones look "just right" you are about 2/3 to a full stop under. If
>you
>>> want the skintones to actually be properly exposed (for no pulling
>exposure
>>> in conversion) you have to expose the image so the skin looks a bit
>bright
>>> on screen. Generally speaking, I make sure I never have flashing
>(clipped)
>>> highlights and try to stay about a stop away from clipping. With the
>E-1's
>>> four-color array, you can be clipping in-camera and never know it.
>Anytime
>>> you are within a stop of clipping you are guaranteed to be clipping.
>>>
>>> 4. Just a side note, this child has extremely smooth skin.
>>>
>>> 5. When you get too close to your subject and you are bouncing the light,
>>> the in-flash auto-sensor of the T45 will overexpose because the exposure
>>> sensor isn't looking at the same point the camera lens is. Move farther
>>> away and this isn't a problem.
>>>
>>> 6. Not illustrated in this photograph because the ISO was set to 100, but
>>> when using a high-power on-axis flash and higher ISOs, the dreaded
>>> magenta-blacks will show up. A flash at full or near full power produces
>a
>>> ton of IR and the E-1's sensor in "boost" mode seems to be particularily
>>> susceptable to this problem.
>>>
>>> 7. Not related to the sensor or exposure is the lens. The 50/1.4 is
>bloody
>>> sharp. Notice that the proper focus point wasn't too difficult to achieve
>>> either. Even though this lens lacks that "wrap-around" characteristic of
>>> the 35-80, it still does a remarkable job for portraiture. The
>comparative
>>> 35-80 shots aren't as sharp because of the chromatic aberrations (see
>notes
>>> about extended near-IR sensitivity) and the fact I was at 1/60th of a
>>> second so I was inverted on the maximum handheld speed equation. The
>50/1.4
>>> is easier to handhold than the 35-80.
>>>
>>> 8. Flash facing 90 degrees sideways is a fantastic technique. I bounced
>the
>>> light off the side wall. The images where she is looking "towards the
>>> light" are really really nice. Using the Rogue FlashBender to throw a
>>> little forward light works really well. Granted, in this case, I had a
>>> touch too much light thrown forward, but the theory is sound. The best
>>> shots were the ones where the FlashBender was bent back so much that it
>>> wasn't really in the flash's light path.
>>>
>>> 9. A bit of pride in the fact that my purchase decision a zillion years
>ago
>>> worked out so well this far down the line. At that time, I don't think
>many
>>> of us expected the E-1 to be viable past three years. Yet, for
>portraiture,
>>> this remains my go-to camera.
>>>
>>> 10. Just a random note about the exposure. I do believe the skin looks
>>> overexposed partially because of the proportion of the entire image area.
>>> Another shot of her and her mother had exactly the same brightness
>levels,
>>> but because they were "farther away" from the camera showed that they
>were
>>> exactly where we would want them to be. Oh, and they haven't been in the
>>> sun for a couple of months so their skin really is quite light.
>>>
>>> 11. Other than t--
>> _________________________________________________________________
>> Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
>> Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
>> Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
>>
>>
>
>--
>Ken Norton
>ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
>http://www.zone-10.com
>--
>_________________________________________________________________
>Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
>Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
>Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
>
Regards,
Chris
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|