The camera's real time viewfinder and image playback monitoring tools

From a learning point of view, canvas prints one of the functional advantages of digital over film is the ability to make necessary adjustments to the composition and exposure through real-time preview. Film, on the other hand, requires patience to wait, which also results in the loss of the opportunity to correct errors to a certain extent when the film is returned. As LCD monitors on cameras become clearer and have higher resolutions, reviewing in-machine photos gradually becomes more reliable. And the digital monitoring tools based on this also bring more convenience to shooting.

In this article, canvas prints online we will systematically learn to use the camera's "real time viewfinder" and "image playback" monitoring tools, greatly improve the shooting rate.

Exposure monitoring tool: histogram

Histogram can directly reflect the light structure in the current scene and tell us whether the exposure of the image meets the shooting expectation. In order to improve the photographer in the immediate shooting of the exposure control, panoramic canvas and in the post-processing of the interpretation of the image tone relationship.

Misconceptions about histograms:

Often, novices in photography are used to evaluate exposures based on LCD monitors, leading to the misconception that histograms are useless. In fact, the camera's LCD (real time viewfinder) and EVF (electronic viewfinder) have adjustable brightness. In addition, when viewing images in bright sunlight or dark night, different ambient light, screen brightness and screen sharpness and other factors, will bring significant deviations to the images viewed. Rather, we should evaluate composition on LCD, or look at elements like depth of field and focus sharpness, and motion blur effects.

So how do we adjust our exposure if we can't trust what our eyes see? The answer: histograms. Fortunately for us, camera manufacturers gave us histograms as a tool to more accurately evaluate exposures on digital images.

How to read histograms?

Histogram, as a statistical chart, can directly reflect the type and distribution of data through the horizontal and vertical axes. In digital photography, the horizontal axis of the histogram shows the 255 brightness levels of the image, ranging from (0) pure black at the left edge of the graph to (255) pure white at the right edge. The increase on the vertical axis is the number of pixels relative to the amount of light at a given brightness level, and the higher its peak, the more pixels of that brightness are in the image. In short, a histogram is an intuitive display of the image brightness content in the form of graphical data.

Histogram determination of dynamic range:

Usually we want to get more detail in a picture, but due to the limited dynamic range of the camera. It is easy to have underdone shadows or overexposed areas in the image. While the two ends of the histogram are a good indicator of the camera's dynamic range, a touch on the left (pure black) or right (pure white) edge indicates a loss of data at the corresponding end of the luminance spectrum. The way the histogram is displayed also determines how well we can adjust for a balanced exposure to a given situation.

Of course, overexposure or underexposure is not wrong, and a balanced exposure is not every photographer's goal for every image. Exposure is not "right or wrong", it simply represents the tone of the current image and what the photographer wishes to convey visually, so there is no "ideal" histogram for all situations.

Histogram to determine screen tone:

The tone of the picture varies from image to image. In the histogram, we can evaluate the "tone relationship" of the picture of the area where most brightness values exist. Although the histogram can be used to divide the light and shadow distribution in a very detailed way, it is not very accurate in the expression of the tone. We need to split the horizontal axis into five main areas (from left to right in order of brightness level: black level, shadow, middle tone, highlight, and white level). By analyzing the data distribution of these five regions, we can roughly summarize five representative tone types.

Mid-tone: In the histogram, the central peak is concentrated in the mid-town area and decreases evenly to both sides. It mainly occupies the three areas of shadow. Mid-tone and highlight, and usually does not touch the edge of the chart. Its characteristics are: balanced tone, proper configuration of the light and shade of the picture, a relatively vivid sense of hierarchy, can form a picture of balanced contrast of tone.

Bright tone: also called "high tone". In the histogram, the peak is mainly distributed in the right of the chart in the moderate tone, highlight, white level of three areas. It is characterized by the fact that a bright scene can not only give a feeling of lightness to the picture, but also usually suggests optimism and positive information or openness of emotion.

Dark tone: Also called "low key." In the histogram, the peak is mainly distributed in the black level, shadow and middle tone area on the left side of the graph. It is characterized by the use of a large number of relatively dark tone to form the picture, which can produce a mysterious atmosphere and give a resolute, dignified and emotional visual effect.

High contrast: also called "hard stone". In a histogram, peaks tend to the edges of the graph, indicating a wide range of light and dark areas, while intermediate tone contains fewer pixels and is a form of contrast between light and shadow. It is characterized by the strong contrast in the picture, less transition, giving people a bold and rough picture mood, and a strong texture.

Low contrast: Also called "soft tone". In the histogram, the peaks are concentrated in the middle tone in a large range, which makes the picture flatter and softer due to the lack of pixels of highlights and shadows. It is a weak tonic form of light and shadow pairs. It often occurs in foggy or rainy environments. Its characteristic lies in: the picture contrast is weak, the contrast is small, the picture mode to give a person is soft, delicate, implicit keynote.

Regardless of the fact that photography is a form of artistic expression of ideas and ideas, it is still highly technical. Because we are using advanced cameras to capture images, it is important to understand and use these mechanical concepts, both for pre-shooting and post-processing.

Exposure Verification Tool: Specular display

Most cameras today have a sunny exposure verification tool called a highlight display. Unlike a histogram, any overexposed "dead white" area will flash when we view an image, warning that certain areas of the photo are overexposed.

While the highlight mode alerts you to an overexposed highlight area by flashing affected pixels, just because you see a flashing alert doesn't mean you should adjust the exposure, the decision depends on where the alert is occurring and how the rest of the image is exposed.

If the subject looks good and the highlights are presented in the background, we need to selectively adjust the exposure after considering whether to restore the details of the overexposed area. If the subject or scene produces a large range of overexposure. It is necessary to reduce the exposure and shoot again. Highlight display Settings:

Different camera manufacturers often have different names for similar features, which of course mean that Settings and usage can vary. In Nikon's camera, look for the "highlight" check box in the "play display options" menu. For Canon cameras, you'll have to find the "Highlight Warning" option in the "Look Back" menu. With this feature enabled, any overexposed highlights will slowly flash black and white when thinking about the photo.

Sony differs from other manufacturers by displaying a "zebra crossing" highlighting alert. After selecting "zebra crossing" in "Camera Setting 2", the zebra crossing sensitivity can also be adjusted. The higher the number, the lower the sensitivity. In terms of Settings, if the scene contains a lot of white elements, the recommended setting is between 90 and 95. If you are shooting a portrait, between 70 and 80 are best.

Focus Viewer: Displays automatic focus

The threat to the output rate is not confined to exposure, but focus control is also important. Despite the fact that today's digital cameras have strong autofocus performance, but out of focus and out of focus will still occur. The display of the automatic focus tool allows us to quickly view the focus position and focusing situation when looking back at the image, especially when there is no obvious reason for poor focus, which helps to correct the image of time.

When automatic focus is turned on, look back at the image, and the red box will automatically display the habitual focus preview without scaling. However, the following issues are to be noted.

Select autofocus and enable extension to concentrate, only the selected autofocus will be displayed. It does not show which autofocus assist points use to achieve focus. If you release focus before shooting, you will lose the automatic focus display. Unless the autofocus sensor is active during the shooting. If the focus is decomposed without releasing autofocus, the final focus is displayed at the original position of the frame. Manual focus tool: peak focus

Despite the fact that the automatic focus system on modern cameras can cope with most shooting scenes, when it comes to low-contrast low-light environment or macro themes, speed and accuracy are not enough, so manual focus has always been irreplaceable.

In addition, modern cameras can also use a transferring to adapt the old manual lens for a lower cost. Users and manufacturers have also been looking for ways to simplify manual focus through a variety of distinct technologies. One such technique is peak concentrating, a very common aid to film and television photography that is now being mastered by photographers.

How do I apply peak focus?

Peak focus works by detecting the edges of a scene with the highest contrast (and therefore the most focused) and highlighting them with vivid colors. As we turn the focus ring to focus efforts, the overlay moves across the image in real-time, so you can quickly see which areas are sharp.

Major cameras that currently support peak focus can adjust the peak level depending on the scene or subject being photographed, large canvas prints or change the color of the peak highlight to make them contrast with the color of the image and easier to see.

Conclusion

Even as photography becomes increasingly digital, it is still a highly specialized field with a steep learning curve that requires specialized training and knowledge, as well as a lot of thought and practice.