A better Picture Styles choice = better RAW histogram?

[Chuck Lee]

Sound like a plan?

Yes, that's a plan but still doesn't help in all situations. I just read this same advice over at TheLuminous Landscapeand tried it out. Looked good on first couple of attempts but missed severely on last couple of attempts. The raw was off by 1 ev which is not acceptable.


An easy way to do a accurate raw histogram is to shutter a shot with the lens cap on. Then use that image to set the white balance. Your photos on the LCD will be green but your histogram will be correctly displayed for the raw image captured.


I've looked for the source for this info but can't remember where I read it. Maybe Daniel knows where this tip is from. We've discussed it before in another post.


This black image white balance does work well but the green screen output is very annoying. I find with digital that in a pinch if I'm really unsure about my exposure, I'll bracket and shoot 3 frames.


My method currently is toset proper white balance for subject. That usually displays the best histogram for raw on my 5D. As long as my images are well exposed I find little to do in post. I would rather expose for the jpg histogram and loose 1ev of raw overhead than to try and always fill that dynamic space. The newer bodies like my 40D have up to +2ev of headroom but my 5D has only about +1. If I do get by chance some blown jpeg highlights I have a better chance at highlight recovery by saving the +1ev overhead than if I had filled it and overshot the highlights. When you uae a black image WB histogram this is precisely what you are doing and it can lead to undesirable results.


When shooting for $ and precious memories I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[Daniel Browning]

I've looked for the source for this info but can't remember where I read it. Maybe Daniel knows where this tip is from. We've discussed it before in another post.

It's from Vincent Van Gogh. He invented the "UniWB" technique we use for accurate raw histogram. It has that green screen output you talk about:





[] OK, actually I heard about it from Iliah Borg, Guillermo Juijk, and Gabor Sh. (panopeeper). Here's one link on it:


http://www.guillermoluijk.com/tutorial/uniwb/index_en.htm


And here's some more info:


http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1021&message=31582853

When shooting for $ and precious memories I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Agreed. Better to have noise than be completely clipped.


Personally, I don't mind the green review image at all, so I always use UniWB, and only switch to "normal" white balance to check color every once and a while. Having a closer histogram is more important to me.

[Chuck Lee]

It's from Vincent Van Gogh. He invented the "UniWB" technique we use for accurate raw histogram. It has that green screen output you talk about:

Absolutely hilarious! LOL....