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08-11-2011, 08:40 PM   #1
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Using the histogram on K5

I just purchased a K5 and played with the histogram. How is it used? To me it's just a bunch of graph like lines. I find the red over exposed indicator and the yellow under exposed indicator more useful. Any help would be appreciated.

08-11-2011, 08:54 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by njpentax Quote
I just purchased a K5 and played with the histogram. How is it used? To me it's just a bunch of graph like lines. I find the red over exposed indicator and the yellow under exposed indicator more useful. Any help would be appreciated.
Welcome to the club...

Histogram?? Never use it but if you want to, I would set my exposure so you are aiming for left of center. Which channels are where will depend on what you are taking photos of. Exposing to the left slightly will get you nicely exposed highlights and plenty of room to pull detail out of the shadows if you desire.

08-11-2011, 09:04 PM   #3
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Histogram can serve the same purpose as your over-exposure and under-exposure blinkies because it will show you if highlights are clipped. The advantage over blinkies is that histogram can tell you exactly which channel is getting clipped so you can make a better adjustment.

cheers,

Abhi
08-11-2011, 10:43 PM   #4
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The histogram is incredibly useful.
It indicates the distribution of pixels in the exposed image registering across the dynamic range of the sensor - from shadow areas (left) to highlight areas (right).
It essentially guides you to the correct exposure you as the photographer are looking for in a particular image. Best way to learn about it is in tutorials, such as:

Understanding Your Digital Camera's Histogram -- A Nikonians Guide
Histogram.....what is this? >_< - PentaxForums.com
using the histogram? - PentaxForums.com

08-11-2011, 11:20 PM   #5
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I swear by my histogram. The links Ash has provided will explain alot
08-12-2011, 01:53 AM   #6
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Personal I tend to expose to the right. It is also just a way of your personal photographic style I think.
08-12-2011, 03:33 AM   #7
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Histogram

Thanks for the responses. The Nikonians article was most helpful because they matched the pictures with the sample histogram. I'll have to try it for a while and see the light vs. dark sides of the graph.

08-12-2011, 05:52 AM   #8
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I never used the histogram much, but it is very useful, and tells you more that what you see on the LCD photo.
I use it often with the K5.....staying in the middle or slightly to the left and shooting in Raw will get nice results with the K5. Pull up the shadows and enjoy the great highlights that are not blown using this method.
Regards!
08-12-2011, 06:08 AM   #9
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Don't forget the histogram has to be interpreted like the light meter. Dark subjects should have the hump somewhat to the left, bright subjects to the right, and average subjects somewhere in the middle region.
08-12-2011, 06:43 AM   #10
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It's worth pointing out that the live view histogram is kind of useless in manual (M) mode - it won't change to reflect your chosen shutter speed and aperture.
08-12-2011, 10:34 AM   #11
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RAW shooters should also keep in mind that the histogram is based on the embedded jpeg in any RAW file, and is not an entirely accurate representation of the way that a RAW file will deliver an image. Often when a histogram shows blown highlights, the RAW file will still deliver a good image. If you shoot RAW, the histogram needs to be interpreted less literally.
08-12-2011, 11:30 AM   #12
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Definitely true about raw - though with the K5 I find there's not much room for error regarding blown highlights (compared to the K200D) while shadows are clean and easy to brighten so the highlight warnings are still useful for doing ETTR.
08-13-2011, 12:19 PM   #13
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Minor correction

QuoteOriginally posted by Delgado Quote
RAW shooters should also keep in mind that the histogram is based on the embedded jpeg in any RAW file, and is not an entirely accurate representation of the way that a RAW file will deliver an image. Often when a histogram shows blown highlights, the RAW file will still deliver a good image. If you shoot RAW, the histogram needs to be interpreted less literally.
I need to make a correction to my previous post. Depending on memory is always a mistake.

The K5's histogram represents what would be produced if you were shooting in jpeg at the existing camera settings. Jeff Schewe and Bruce Fraser's work on Camera Raw comments that camera vendors tend to apply a strong tone curve to the default Raw to jpeg conversion (possibly in an effort to mimic the appearance of transparency film). The on-camera histogram is useful as a rough exposure guide, but not much else. Overexposure warnings (say where the histogram shows clipping to the right) appear to be quite conservative. Raw shooting will give more scope than the on-camera histogram suggests. For an accurate histogram, you will need to view your files in post-production - in for example, Camera RAW or Lightroom.
08-14-2011, 08:33 PM   #14
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I'm with Ron, I always to shoot to the right just a tad. But always shoot in Raw. I've found it extremely useful. Excellent guide. For birding. I instinctively look down at my first and second pic for blown highlights then adj fast. I did not know it was not accurate in Raw. Hummmm I have found it to be pretty accurate for me.
08-14-2011, 08:42 PM   #15
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Also required reading for understanding how to use the histogram

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/expose-right.shtml
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