EXCERPT page containing first few paragraphs. 2023-10-03 09:59:35
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JPEG vs RAW Example (Dolls)
See Understanding 'Expose to the Right' / ETTR for a discussion of exposure, as well the Push and Pull page, along with Exposure and Noise.
This page shows an unusually compelling example of how far off camera metering can be, and how well RAW can do to rescue poor JPEG results. The camera was the Olympus OM-D E-M5, which actually has a very capable dynamic range when shot in RAW.
For this example:
- The camera metered the scene at 1/125 second, but an exposure bracketing sequence proves that the 1/25 second exposure is ideal, a full 2 1/3 stops more exposure.
- JPEG was hopeless for making a top quality image in this scene; JPEG highlight detail is severely blown for the ideal RAW exposure.
- Noise is substantially reduced with the extra exposure RAW makes possible.
- Dynamic range is enhanced with RAW; detail is captured in the darkest and brightest areas with very low noise; no pinning of shadow detail, no blowout of highlight detail.
- White balance can be made perfect from RAW with no concern during the exposure for the correct white balance.
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Diglloyd Making Sharp Images articulates years of best practices and how-to, painstakingly learned over a decade of camera and lens evaluation.
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- Eases into photographic challenges with an introductory section.
- Covers aspects of digital sensor technology that relate to getting the best image quality.
- Technique section discusses every aspect of making a sharp image handheld or on a tripod.
- Depth of field and how to bypass depth of field limitations via focus stacking.
- Optical aberrations: what they are, what they look like, and what to do about them.
- MTF, field curvature, focus shift: insight into the limitations of lab tests and why imaging performance is far more complex than it appears.
- Optical aberrations: what they are, what they look like, and what to do about them.
- How to test a lens for a “bad sample”.
Intrigued? See Focusing Zeiss DSLR Lenses For Peak Performance, PART ONE: The Challenges, or (one topic of many) field curvature.
