Beneath the histogram, there is a bar-type exposure meter that displays a safe working exposure range in green from -1.7 stops to +2 stops along with the selected image’s deviation from the averaged exposure (0). The red area indicates overexposure and potential clipping of highlights, taking into account the extra data in the tonal range available from RAW files compared with JPEG or TIFF files. At the other end of the scale, there is a gray area that warns of underexposure and potential clipping of data in the shadows.
While underexposing is a common method to preserve highlights, a subsequent adjustment in Capture One using the Exposure slider, for example, to shift the histogram to the right, is likely to reveal "shot" noise in the shadow regions and deepest blacks. This can reveal itself as a regular pattern or banding in some cases, which can be difficult to remove entirely without adversely affecting detail.
The meter is meant as a visual aid when working with a tethered camera, but it is also useful when determining the characteristics of your own camera’s sensor.
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Comments
3 comments
Hi, this is really useful information. Would you therefore advise against exposing for highlights in camera? I always shoot minus a third of a stop for this reason. I’m new to capture one and certainly have found the Auto exposure tool isn’t creating the best results. Also, Auto mode on the exposure tool often creates blown highlights which are clearly visible on the histogram which is very puzzling. There’s no obvious explanation for this - eg loads of dark tones in one part of the photo. It happens even on photos where it’s all mid tones. I’d be interesting to hear thoughts on this. Thanks!
Hi Anita,
Thank you for the comment.
Shooting RAW images allows you to alter many settings in Capture One further without degrading the image quality.
Thus, instead of Auto Exposure setting, use the Exposure tool and the High Dynamic Range tool for adjusting exposure.
Adjusting the Shadow and Highlight sliders in the High Dynamic Range allows not only the recovery of shadows and highlights but provides the possibility to amplify the ranges, increasing the contrast. The Black and White sliders in the Hight Dynamic Range tool are used for better control of the darkest shadows and the brightest highlights.
Ah, thanks v much, that’s most helpful.
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