[kain]

Curious as to why are you shooting at 1/50s and ISO 3200 if you knew your flash was malfunctioning and firing at max power?

You'd have gotten even more room to work with at ISO 100 and 1/160s as these digital sensors do better at pulling shadow detail than overblown highlights.

1/50 @ 3200 with a GN56(@iso100) flash @ 1/32 or so was the right balance for lighting my subjects and still capturing the background. This was the first shot that happened when my flash malfunctioned. Of course I adjusted after the fact!

[GarethC7]

My understanding of ETTR is to do with the direction of the histogram. When you expose FOR the highlights (to retain detail in the highlights) then the histogram is leaning to the left. When you expose for the shadows the histogram is leaning to the right.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposing_to_the_right

I wouldn't be using the 5D mk III and exposing so I had to recover detail from shadows, as that was what made me jump from Canon in the first place. Lots of noise banding.

Edited to add: I think that we are agreeing vociferously just seeing the ETTR from different directions. I've always seen the ETTR in books and magazines talking about the direction of the histogram. What you expose for is very different.

Itshimitis had better be right because that's what I do, ie expose leaning to the left of the histogram, if my scene appears to have highlights that might blow out rather than mess around with it I'll just under expose by however much I think I might need to to save the highlights while not blocking the shadows too much. As you can judge, it's a very unscientific process for me

[itshimitis]

Itshimitis had better be right because that's what I do, ie expose leaning to the left of the histogram, if my scene appears to have highlights that might blow out rather than mess around with it I'll just under expose by however much I think I might need to to save the highlights while not blocking the shadows too much. As you can judge, it's a very unscientific process for me

Trial and error is always the best way - except of course when shooting film

[obsoquasi]

I agree with what some of you have said. The highlight recovery of the 645z isn't something to write home about. In scenes with a huge DR I underexpose sometimes by -2EV, following the classical "expose to the right" rule. This yields rediculously good results, with the right shadow recovery methods.

[itshimitis]

I agree with what some of you have said. The highlight recovery of the 645z isn't something to write home about. In scenes with a huge DR I underexpose sometimes by -2EV, following the classical "expose to the right" rule. This yields rediculously good results, with the right shadow recovery methods.

If you are exposing at -2 EV you aren't exposing to the right. You are exposing to preserve the highlights which will make the histogram lean to the left. The expression of expose to the right refers to the histogram which in normal circumstances helps recover detail from the shadows. I'd follow that with a Canon but not with my 645Z.

[2351HD]

If you are exposing at -2 EV you aren't exposing to the right. You are exposing to preserve the highlights which will make the histogram lean to the left. The expression of expose to the right refers to the histogram which in normal circumstances helps recover detail from the shadows. I'd follow that with a Canon but not with my 645Z.

Well I think he is exposing to the right and I feel that your interpretation of ETTR is incorrect.

It's got nothing to do with where the histogram is sitting or bunching, but rather what side of the histogram you are choosing to push the exposure towards, which does not mean there will be lots of histogram data there.

For example, every landscape shooter should be using a live histogram and adding positive exposure comp until the point where the highlights clip, and when they do, wind it back 1/3 stop so it's not clipping and your done. That's ETTR.

The poster above said he has to use up to -2ev comp, that's still exposing to the right.

Yes, if a scene can in its entirety actually fully fit on the histogram, then push it all the way to the right, but that rarely happens like the traditional ETTR wiki posts would have you believe.

[itshimitis]

Well I think he is exposing to the right and I feel that your interpretation of ETTR is incorrect.

It's got nothing to do with where the histogram is sitting or bunching, but rather what side of the histogram you are choosing to push the exposure towards, which does not mean there will be lots of histogram data there.

For example, every landscape shooter should be using a live histogram and adding positive exposure comp until the point where the highlights clip, and when they do, wind it back 1/3 stop so it's not clipping and your done. That's ETTR.

The poster above said he has to use up to -2ev comp, that's still exposing to the right.

Yes, if a scene can in its entirety actually fully fit on the histogram, then push it all the way to the right, but that rarely happens like the traditional ETTR wiki posts would have you believe.

Every book that I have read and the wikipedia link I put up earlier also expresses it this way. ETTR is about direction of the histogram, nothing else. That's where the term originated. On workshops I have also been taught this way also. The aim to get the Shadows with detail and recover the highlights later as they won't be as blown out as the preview jpg suggests. The trouble is with the 645Z this rarely works.

I suspect we will have to agree to differ