@Mkiv wrote:Thank you for the info Newton. I have been experimenting with the HDR PQ and Highlight Tone Priority. I did some shooting with these features and then exported to jpg and tiff. The results were good on a non HDR monitor. I usually have to export to jpg for my agency. I am a run and gun photojournalist that usually shoots in Aperture Priority. I am looking for a solution that lets me continue to do that while capturing the maximum amount of highlights and shadows. If the image is flat out of camera I don’t mind because I always post process my files. I use Adobe Camera Raw. As far as Highlight Tone Priority goes do you recommend D+ or D+2? or does D+2 go too far in the noise direction? What do you think of Auto Lighting Optimizer? I have also looked into the “shooting to the right” technique. Some people commenting on my post advise shooting at very low ISO. In a controlled situation that works great. I however often find myself in very dark environments. I am noticing a move within photojournalism where the final image looks a bit underexposed and flat and the highlights are rarely blown out with good detail in the shadows and subdued colors.
Apple photos.app included with macOS seems to do well at converting the Canon HIF to a pleasing JPEG. GraphicsMagick also seems to me to do a pleasing conversion.
I am assuming that one has limited time to get the photo and that getting a photo for documentation is more important than getting a perfect photo. This is what I have done and I do not claim it is the best way to do things, but I hope some of it might be helpful anyway. Using the software built into the camera seems important to me under these circumstances so I would keep at least some settings on auto.
If editing a RAW instead of sharing out of camera JPEG or HIF: In DPP, it seems better to me to disable the HDR PQ and use the dynamic range adjustment ( https://cam.start.canon/en/S002/manual/html/UG-04_EditImage_0040.html "Adjusting Dynamic Range" ) and if that is not enough, then use curves. It seems to me that the problem with the DPP conversion from HIF to JPEG is that it follows the HDR PQ standard more closely than the other programs so that the other programs give a more pleasing to me result. On my iMac screen, the HIF is stunning and Photos.app converts to a pleasing JPEG.
For a Northern Cardinal or a red flower in sunlight, I use exposure compensation of -2/3 EV and if backlit, a positive exposure compensation. This seems to work better for me than the Auto lighting optimizer and is a quick turn of one wheel on the camera before the bird flies away. The negative exposure compensation seems to work better for me than the Highlight Tone Priority. I speculate that Auto Lighting Optimizer, Highlight Tone Priority, or Peripheral Illumination Correction enabled in the camera might result in the camera choosing a different exposure than otherwise when any setting is auto, so I disable all three in the camera menus and only apply them later in DPP if desired.
I suggest auto ISO, possibly limiting the range, to take full advantage of the knowledge embedded in the camera software instead of a fixed ISO. I base this on the assumption that getting a photo to document something is more important than getting a perfect photo. In post processing, noise reduction loses detail for very high ISO. Down scaling the image followed by unsharp mask makes it look good again. The downscaling also helps with motion blur if one had to make the photo with slow shutter in a very dark setting.
As an example, here is a fox that would come to my house every night. I put a spoon full of grape jelly on the stump to attract birds, but the fox liked it too. The photo was made through double paned glass in a door and the only illumination was porch light far from the fox. The camera is an EOS R5 which was new to me and I was still learning how to use.
| F Number | 5.0 |
| ISO | 25600 |
| Shutter Speed Value | 1/83 |
| Focal Length | 286.0 mm |
| Focus Distance Upper | 10.47 m |
| Focus Distance Lower | 8.99 m |
| Lens Model | EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM |
Edits in DPP as shown by exiftool from the saved recipe dr4 file:
- LuminanceNoiseReduction : 12
- ChrominanceNoiseReduction : 12
- DLOSetting : 40.7646484375
- GammaContrast : 0
- GammaColorTone : 0
- GammaSaturation : 1
- GammaUnsharpMaskStrength : 3
- GammaUnsharpMaskFineness : 4
- GammaUnsharpMaskThreshold : 3
- GammaSharpnessStrength : 4
- GammaShadow : -2
- GammaHighlight : 0
- GammaBlackPoint : +0.000
- GammaWhitePoint : -0.367
- GammaMidPoint : +0.000
- GammaCurveOutputRange : 0 16383
- CropAspectRatio : 5:4
- CropX : 1087
- CropY : 192
- CropWidth : 4000
- CropHeight : 3200
https://www.rsok.com/~jrm/2021May26_birds_and_cats/2021may22_fox_IMG_1313c.html
