GH3 How do you like to push the histogram to the right?

Q

Qatastrophe

Member
How do you like to push your histogram to the right?

Is there a certain ISO you try not to go over?
Any F stop you try not to go under?
Shutter speed, etc

List your camera as well.
 
Qatastrophe said:
How do you like to push your histogram to the right?

Is there a certain ISO you try not to go over?
Any F stop you try not to go under?
Shutter speed, etc

List your camera as well.
Click to expand...


Depends on the situation you are shooting. No hard or fast rules.

I personally try to protect the highlights with the GH3 but you will have to experiment to see how much you can dig from the shadows that is comfortable for you visually noise wise.

I personally try not to go over ISO 1600 and 3200 if no other choice. All the other settings depend on the look I want and keep shutter in the range of 1/40-1/60 unless shooting 60p.
 
With my GH3 I try to stay at ISO 400, or 800 as a last resort, with shutter speed always set at 50 (ideally there would be a setting for 48) when shooting at 24p (which is pretty much always). I'm happy to shoot wide open with my lenses, and I'm a speed junkie when it comes to aperture, regularly shooting at f/0.95 with my 25mm and 50mm lenses. I like the look that wide apertures produce. If it's still too dark, add more light.
 
I'm usually shooting Nikon DSLR or Panasonic Ac-130/160, but for corporate stuff:

I really try to be at F4 or so. Focus is critical to me, and for non-trained talent or non-rehearsed stuff, I do worry about losing focus.

On DSLRs, I try to stay well under 800. On the Panasonics, I try not to hit the Gain switch.

In all cases, I want to lift the shadows and close 'em back up in post. So I generally get the shot lit as I like it, and whenever possible, add a stop or so of fill. Usually a big bounce, a large china ball closer to the camera, etc. Pretty much what people on BMCuser or Reduser would say. Lifting ISO or opening the lens blasts everything brighter. I like soft fill to get the overall low mids and shadows filled in.
 
I find the GH3 always tends to overexpose slightly so i deliberately underexpose by a stop to protect highlights.
 
nobbystylus said:
I find the GH3 always tends to overexpose slightly so i deliberately underexpose by a stop to protect highlights.
Click to expand...

I did a series of tests a month or so a go, and I 'rate' my GH-1 with my Sekonic L-308DC meter to be about ISO 250 with the camera ISO set at 100.

I use the f-stop indicated by the meter. This for me puts an 18% grey card at the 50% IRE level using the Premiere Waveform widget.

Upon looking into 'specs', the ISO spec for digital ISO values has sort of a 'weasel worded' phrase, 'what the engineering/manufacturer 'thinks' looks good'...

The two methods are SOS -- Standard Output Specification and REI -- Recommended Exposure Index. This latter one is the 'loose' definition... some manufacturers do not list which method they used...
 
I'm with nobby & ratlab... I haven't done extensive comparison tests, but I find having the exposure meter about .5-1 stop under is a good place to be. I'd rather have the flexibility in correcting towards the highlights in post, than having it clipped in the source.

As to the histogram - i like having it and know how to read it, but I use it to get an idea of the full spread - for exposure itself, i use the meter.

I usually shoot at twice the framerate - so, a shutter speed of 60 or 120. If I'm not using twice the framerate, then it's equal to.

There's no f-stop i won't go under, unless it's ruining the shot. For ISO, I try to never go over 800 unless it's completely unavoidable... say, if it's a nightclub with a band, and I have no control over lighting, and the only choice is to increase the gain. But for a controlled shot, never over 800 if possible - i just can't stand the noise.
 
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