flashing blown highlights vs histogram

[Ben Rubinstein]

But as a detector of blown highlights, is not the flashing highlight indicator as good or better? It can have the advantage that you might see that the blown highlights are only specular highlights in small enough pieces to be acceptable as pure white on the final image.

Right, I use the flashing highlights to warn me, the histogram to see where the rest of the image is. Even if I know where the highlights are in trouble, I have to see where my shadows are too see how far I can back off without running into noise problems.

In less than the time that it takes to review the histogram and take one more shot, a suitably designed camera could do burst bracketing over +/-2 stops at 1/3 stop intervals.

That only helps with a static subject, if the leaves or moving, if there are people in the scene, for people or wildlife shooting you have to get it right with one exposure, blending will cause halo and ghosting. If you can't be bothered with reviewing the histogram when shooting landscapes then turn off the review (info) mode and bracket as you say. When I'm bracketing and blending I never bother looking at the histogram, I know the pictures are going to be off, that's the point.

[Tim Gray]

Blending only helps with a static subject,

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  Using CS2 HDR any movement will cause ghosting in the final image - cloud movement in particular drives me nuts.  But using a more tradtional layering technique (eg as described by MR on this site - a couple of years ago) movement is only an issue if it crosses the boundary between where the 2 shots would layer.  Eg. if you're underexposing the sky and over exposing the foreground - any movement limited to the foreground or the sky (eg cloud movement or a car driving by in the foreground) won't cause a problem.  High wind causing branch movement on the horizon between foreground and sky will be a problem, but can often be overcome by judicious editing of the layer.

[Jonathan Wienke]

Blending only helps with a static subject, but a sequence of bracketed shots taken within a second or two seems to have a better chance of catching a moving subject than reviewing the histogram, changing the exposure compenstion, and reshooting many seconds later.

My recommended alternative approach is to shoot some "polaroids"--test shots made specifically to check and adjust exposure settings if necessary, before the "money shot". Once settings are dialed in, one can shoot without needing to bracket as long as the DR of the subject falls within the camera's capture capability. You can shoot with confidence until the subject or lighting changes significantly.

[BJL]

I can see the advantage of the histogram over the flashing blown highlights indicator when the exposure is less than the maximum possible: the histogam can show you how much headroom you have, so that you can judge how much to increase the exposure level.

But as a detector of blown highlights, is not the flashing highlight indicator as good or better? It can have the advantage that you might see that the blown highlights are only specular highlights in small enough pieces to be acceptable as pure white on the final image.

Then again, my suspicion is that in most situations, the even simpler and better solution is bracketing. That lets me do all this reviewing with the far better tools of computer based image analysis software (like accurate RGB histograms), and also gives me the ingredients for blending if that is the only way to salvage both highlights and shadows.

In less than the time that it takes to review the histogram and take one more shot, a suitably designed camera could do burst bracketing over +/-2 stops at 1/3 stop intervals.

[BJL]

That only helps with a static subject ...

Blending only helps with a static subject, but a sequence of bracketed shots taken within a second or two seems to have a better chance of catching a moving subject than reviewing the histogram, changing the exposure compenstion, and reshooting many seconds later.

I can see the value of the histogram as a light meter when preplanning for shots that will only give you one chance, like test shots during a wedding ceremony before the big moments.

[BJL]

Thanks Tim; it is obvious now that you say it, but it's a great tip for cases like only a bright, still sky that needs to be handled at lower exposure, with all the movement in the foreground.