GH2 GH-2: Overexpose or Underexpose? Votes.

Gorgeous shot, dvbrother! If possible, would you post the un-corrected frame as well for comparison, to see how much it was pushed in post?
 
I echo what others are saying. I really try to push the exposure as much as possible without it really being blown out... This is especially important for some low-light stuff cause it does look a bit pooh pooh when it's in the merky shadows... Although it would be nice to have a waveform and zebras, the highlight option is pretty decent to use.... and I'm pretty good at getting close to the exposure I want with this, especially when using a Fader ND.


This was all shot like that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2STTxSOmjs


The stuff I don't like is some of the campfire shots in the lowlight and the strange flickering lines are due to my LED light being stopped down too much. I guess when it's almost off but just producing a bit of light it strobes and creates very visible lines.. Was hard to see through the EVF but it's glaring in post... Not too bad to not use, just annoying.
 
dvbrother said:
A warning there are 2 different definitions of "over- and underexposure" at play in this thread. Some are referring to overexposure as anything that reads above the "correct" meter setting on the GH2. The other definition is that something is, in fact, overexposed regardless of whether the meter is correct or not. Confusing these 2 separate definitions might not be good.

The former definition is based upon the accuracy of the built-in reflective meter or upon how much the scene deviates from 18% neutral gray.
The latter definition assumes the camera operator knows how to use the camera's meter and then also makes a conscious choice to expose the image brighter or darker with the intention of adjusting it later to get the intended look.
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I agree completely with this. We need to separate whether the metering system in the camera correctly meters a scene with the user's choice to either overexpose or underexpose to protect shadow detail or highlight detail.

Regarding the meter correctly measuring the scene, I found the following link, which explains that 18% gray may not be the standard that camera manufacturers are using to calibrate exposure meters:

http://www.bythom.com/graycards.htm

Whether the standard is 12% or 18% gray, it is best to do testing of the camera meter to make sure it gives the results that are expected. We should shoot tests with the camera and an 18% gray card and choose what amount of exposure compensation needs to be applied to get the gray result that we expect, whether it is 18% or 12%. Then we would have a metering system we can trust to give the same result every time. This also varies to some extent between individual cameras of the same model.

Once the meter is calibrated to our liking, then it is a question of choosing how to expose a particular scene. If our camera had 20 stops of dynamic range and 10 bits or more of recording, then it would not matter so much because a lot of things could be corrected in post. Sensor technology is not there yet (but may get there in the future). So, for now, we need to be careful how we expose a scene. In different cases, it may be important to overexpose to protect shadow detail or underexpose to protect highlight detail, depending on what is important in a particular shot. The metering system only gives us a starting point to make choices. In fact, if time permits, spot metering of highlight areas and shadow areas can give additional information to make choices. If the meter is calibrated to 18% gray and you wanted to do the best average job of exposing a scene, then set the exposure to exactly half way between the highlight and the deep shadow spot metering settings. If the dynamic range is not large enough to cover this whole range, then you will get both highlight and shadow clipping. If one is more important than the other, then shift the exposure to protect the highlights or the shadows. This assumes you have done the testing to know what the dynamic range of the camera is. This is all just a variation on the old Zone system that was first put forward by Ansel Adams:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_System

It works with any camera, but requires a bit of testing. Once the metering system is properly calibrated, it becomes a very good tool for rendering the photographer's intent to the final product.
 
dvbrother said:
The former definition is based upon the accuracy of the built-in reflective meter or upon how much the scene deviates from 18% neutral gray.
The latter definition assumes the camera operator knows how to use the camera's meter and then also makes a conscious choice to expose the image brighter or darker with the intention of adjusting it later to get the intended look.
Click to expand...

Talking about Camera Meter's and On-Board Monitor readings, image, specifically.
 
Tuning GH1/2's EVF/LCD wouldn't be easy. Some guys in this forum mentioned about this technique. Have an ext monitor connected to GH2. Tune the monitor so that 0 EV on the monitor gives 15~10% over exposure on GH1 consistently. Slight over exposure & Black level adjustment in post-processing. I've been using Kodak Gray Scale without having an ext monitor. It works but pain. If it bothers me enough, I'd get an ext monitor...
 
Kholi said:
Eh, I don't think you need a monitor, the onboard LCD was pretty accurate as far as what I'd expect shooting digital formats. It's no less useless than the 7" RED LCD, which I've gotten accustomed to to the point where I ignore the waveform, etc, and light and expose by eye.
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The onboard LCD is one of the few things about the GH2 I find absolutely useless. The only times I've lost shots using the GH2 were while depending on its LCD for exposure or focus. A Marshall monitor is well worth the investment.
 
vcassel said:
The onboard LCD is one of the few things about the GH2 I find absolutely useless. The only times I've lost shots using the GH2 were while depending on its LCD for exposure or focus. A Marshall monitor is well worth the investment.
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Out of curiosity, what are the other things that you personally find useless about the GH2?
 
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