Optimal Exposure via ETTR Can Deliver More Noise Benefit than Medium Format vs 35mm
Image quality with any digital camera can be maximized by paying attention to metered (auto) exposure versus what is optimal for the subject matter, which means getting the maximum light to the sensor that it can handle, without blowing out details. AKA “Expose to the Right” or ETTR.
With most cameras, including the Hasselblad X1D, optimal exposure is often a full stop greater than metered exposure, and frequently as much as 1.5 stops.
In the Optimal Images from Hasselblad X1D section in my review of the Hasselblad X1D in Medium Format I step through the camera histograms and relate those to RawDigger histograms, then show the actual images that result.
Hasselblad X1D: Increase Image Quality by Optimal Exposure (ETTR, Dolls)
Includes full-size images from both Adobe Camera Raw and Hasselblad Phocus at five exposure each, RawDigger histograms, Hasselblad X1D histograms, plus crops in color and black and white showing the noise behavior versus exposure.
For anyone looking for the best possible image quality and not having understood and mastered ETTR, this single in-depth article by itself is worth the entire price of admission. I mean that literally and many times over: you can spend many thousands of dollars on better gear when the gear you already have when used optimally can step up a full pay grade. This article is applicable for any brand camera.
