Active D Lighting D60 D90 etc

[deadshot]

Am I right in thinking the if I expose for the highlights on my D40x then boost the shadows in D lighting on my D40x I will infact have the same effectthat Active D Lighting would give me, albeit not as instantaneous. Although advantageously I will still have my original as well.Or am I missing something real advantage in A D L.?

[feetjai]

Active d lighting will make the darker parts in your picture brighter. Like someone eye which is dark bown...without active D lighting the eye will become just brown without much details , but with this active D lighting you will see details inside the eye.

The camera processor will make that part a bit brighter. Same applies to shadows.


My current thoughts:

D700 Active d lighting does not go beyond setting ' normal' if you use manual. I wonder why.

The A700 could be used to spot measure 2 places: one darkest and one lightest.

Then set in manual mode right in between these 2 extremes and the lighting system of the A700 will make the picture more evenly lit. Thus making shaodws brighter and making strong light less intens. Maybe I am missing a feature on the D700. reading trhought the pages of my manual.

Edit: Aahh yes found it. The actieve d lighting feature can be used after making the picture also. it then further enchances the dark places, making them brighter.

Did this answer help you?

[deadshot]

feetjai wrote:

Active d lighting will make the darker parts in your picture brighter. Like someone eye which is dark bown...without active D lighting the eye will become just brown without much details , but with this active D lighting you will see details inside the eye.

The camera processor will make that part a bit brighter. Same applies to shadows.


My current thoughts:

D700 Active d lighting does not go beyond setting ' normal' if you use manual. I wonder why.

The A700 could be used to spot measure 2 places: one darkest and one lightest.

Then set in manual mode right in between these 2 extremes and the lighting system of the A700 will make the picture more evenly lit. Thus making shaodws brighter and making strong light less intens. Maybe I am missing a feature on the D700. reading trhought the pages of my manual.

Edit: Aahh yes found it. The actieve d lighting feature can be used after making the picture also. it then further enchances the dark places, making them brighter.

Did this answer help you?

Yes thanks it would appear that I can achieve the same effect by metering off the high lights then recovering the shadows afterwards.

I was just wondering if it was a feature worth upgrading for.

Thanks for your reply and help.

[JimC]

From recent questions in other threads, it sounds like you're more interested in existing light photos at higher ISO speeds.

Usually, features like D-Lighting are a really bad idea at higher ISO speeds. Ditto for pushing the shadow areas in post processing.

That's because noise will be much worse in underexposed areas, and if you boost those areas (either in camera or via post processing later), you're going to increase visible noise levels, just as if you used a higher ISO speed to begin with. For example, if you push an ISO 1600 image two stops in the shadows, the noise will appear to be more like you'd see shooting at ISO 6400. ;-)

For higher ISO speed shooting, I make sure to turn DRO (Dynamic Range Optimization) to Off with my Sony A700 (it defaults to on with this model). DRO is a Sony feature that's similar to Nikon's D-Lighting feature. That way (leaving it turned off), I don't get unacceptable noise levels in darker areas of an image.

So, if your primary use of a camera is in lower light at higher ISO speeds, I wouldn't be too concerned about having that kind of feature. Just make sure to expose your primary subject(s) properly, and leave the shadows darker to keep the noise hidden (unless you like seeing more noise as you boost those areas). ;-)

[deadshot]

Thanks JimC, a good reply as usual.

I didnt realise that recovering the shadows boosted the ISO that much.

Cheers

[JimC]

Noise is worse in underexposed areas of an image. So, when you brighten those areas, you see more visible noise, just as if you used a higher ISO speed to begin with.

[deadshot]

Something that has just occured to me. is that what appearsto be the perfect solution. would be to take two shots one with the highlights properly exposed and one with the shadows properly exposed then put them together in P/Shop.

I think I am just beginning to think digital :-)