[zosxavius]

Well when I picked up the k7 I used highlight recovery exclusively. Noise didn't seem to be awful, though I did note the shadow noise increase. Now I find the near lack of noise makes it hard to really compare the difference @ iso 200 with it off or on. So I've come. Up. With quite a few questions:

1. Is iso 200 also just 100 pushed as it is in dr mode?

2. If not is 400 just 200 pushed in either mode?

3. With dr off, what iso speeds on k7 are native and what are pushed?

4. Is there any real dr benefit to a raw shooter outside of it helping to detect and automatically apply ev compensation to help highlights? In example with dr off, I find that I generally have to apply some negative compensation to get the same shutter speed according to my meter. I find this interesting. Its like it underexposes and pushes based upon some variable. I already know that it is pushed 100, so what is 200 with it off??

5. What do you raw, landscape shooters use out there? It seems the dr benefit @ 100 would be greater, and you could just expose to the left if need be. I mean 100 isn't always all that useful, since its kind of slow, but let's say @ 400 is there any benefit to dr being off? I'm really curious. Ok. Sorry about all the questions and any typos. No way I'm editing this on my phone....

[zosxavius]

Also, I'm finding that a tripod and a timer have really unlocked the resolution of this camera. It performs marvelously @ native iso. Unfortunately I shoot @ f8-f11 mostly, so generally iso 100 isn't an option except in daylight.

[Giklab]

Do any of those settings actually /do/ anything to RAW files except being recorded and used in JPEG creation

[zosxavius]

Well, I know that 200 in dr mode is just pushed 100. I don't know if that is the case with it off, hence my questions.

[zosxavius]

Also, if the raw converter supports it, it will push the shadows with the shadow compensation on.

[Anvh]

Shadow correction is simply software, you can even do that in the camera when you shoot RAW after the shot.
Highlight correction is ISO100 shot with everything pushed up except the highlights.

Non of these actually increase the dynamic range but decrease it.

If you want the most dynamic range shoot in RAW and use the lowest ISO.


About the ISO, native ISO for the k7 is around ISO200 but you do get more out of ISO100 though, up until ISO1600 i believe the gain is done within the processor so it's not a software gain but a real hardware gain, above that it's most likely software.

[zosxavius]

Well I tried to find out information about what exactly happens in raw with dr enabled, because when I read that 200 with dr enabled was simply just 100 pushed down a stop I was very interested in what was going on. I do realize that iso is typically a hardware gain until a certain point. (probably 1600 on the k-7 I'm guessing) So you think that native iso is 200? I don't know if that's really possible. What is 100 then? 200 underexposed and pushed?

[zosxavius]

Or over exposed and pushed down I mean...lol...no coffee yet....

[zosxavius]

K20D 14.6mp detail - 100% crop: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

Fascinating....

[zosxavius]

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/87079-k7-native-iso.html

It seems 100 is native. It also achieves the highest dr @ 100 according to dxomark

[zosxavius]

Re: K20D: EDR *does* affect RAW images.: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

[Anvh]

I think you're using the term native a bit wrong, it simply the ISO the sensor is designed to work best for nothing more nothing less.
A car is also not made to drive 5kmph all the time but he can drive it.

[Ole]

The K-7 differs from the K20D refreed to in the test above in that the K-7 also has shadow EDR adjustment which (I would assume) - if set - relieves the issue of highlight EDR leading to more shadow noise as is the case with the K20D as per the tester. In other words the K-7 set to ISO 200 with highlight and shadow corretion turned on would expose as if set to ISO 100 in the hightlights but increase gain in the shadows corresponding to a higher ISO than 100 for the shadows.

A couple of quick tests in RAW should reveal if both EDR settings affect the RAW files or just the meta data.

[RonHendriks1966]

DR on (highlight) does also effect in RAW images, but shadow corrections does not.

[zosxavius]

Ok...here's what I don't get though. Iso 100 has to be the native iso. If it isn't, how does it possibly use iso 200 and push down?