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Active D-Lighting (img) made this possible

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Phobos 790

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this is one of my favorite interior shots ever and it was shot today. sorry that i can't show you a shot with Active D-Lighting off - but i know that my D200 would not have captured the shadows so smoothly and handled the highlights as well.

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6710740&size=lg

D300, Tokina 12-24 at 12mm, ISO 250, M mode, f/7.1, D2X mode I, Sharpening 3, WB incand, Matrix metering, Active D-Lighting on Normal.

night,
Ric

the more abstract the better
 
That is remarkable. Normally, that tv would be completely blown. At least that's been my experience. Looks like the D-lighting definitely did its job.
--
Scott A.
 
That's what i was thinking. I knew i had the shot right then when i zoomed in and looked. i shot this home's kitchen today and was fortunate that the owners took me downstairs to their theater.

i did the whole interior shoot with ADL on. the D300 is blowing me away
(or is that - not blowing my highlights away ;)

--
the more abstract the better
 
Phobos 790 said:
this is one of my favorite interior shots ever and it was shot today.
sorry that i can't show you a shot with Active D-Lighting off
Click to expand...
Everything I've seen of d-lighting or sony DRO is that it's a simple shadow lightening, highlight darkening, and adds back in a little contrast. Nothing that can't be done with 30 seconds in a simple program like PSE.
 
if it were only that simple RedFox. the final image is the result of much more than just ADL. color (especially with the new D2X modes), detail, and total customization makes the D300 shine in capable hands. it must be tuned to your own preferences.

without ADL, you would see less detail in the dark areas and the screen highlights would be less controlled.

plus, why waste 30 seconds multiplied by 150 images in a shoot if you don't need to?...

--
the more abstract the better
 
nice
 
Does ADL give any advantage when shooting in raw? Or does it simply save the time and trouble of using the D lighting tool in capture NX?

Thank in advance for your replies.
 
hughmaan, ADL affects jpegs. from what i've seen, there are advantages of capturing ADL in camera. it certainly does an admirable job, and with 3 levels - you control it's effect.

if you look in the same folder of images in my link (click top left page - D300 images...) you'll see some images form inside a dark tree while shooting into the sun. ADL was off, as it was my 2nd day with the camera, and you can see that the D300 still handled that task nicely. of course now, i would've turned it on and achieved even better results. this cam is a jpeg machine.

and Thank you BLuver.

--
the more abstract the better
 
Phobos 790 said:
if it were only that simple RedFox. the final image is the result of
much more than just ADL. color (especially with the new D2X modes),
detail, and total customization makes the D300 shine in capable
hands. it must be tuned to your own preferences.
Click to expand...
I tested a non-DRO with a DRO image from an a100 and found little if any difference from shadow lightening, midtone constrast boost, and highlight darkening with PSE. "maybe" dlighting is different, but if dlighting doesn't get translated into RAW files, it's just a JPG correction that is more a P&S feature.
Phobos 790 said:
without ADL, you would see less detail in the dark areas and the
screen highlights would be less controlled.

plus, why waste 30 seconds multiplied by 150 images in a shoot if you
don't need to?...
Click to expand...
I prefer to shoot in good light. It yields the best images. Not much gets accomplished shooting in harsh contrasty light - especially backlit until it makes the image. And I don't shoot nearly 150 images at a time. I used to, but then I got better and I know what's a good image before I press the shutter button. ;) Shooting film has helped hone my skills.

A good day for me would be about 36 images of which I'd probably keep 20 and half of those would be ones to possibly sell.
 
RedFox, i'm glad that works for you. all i was saying is that Active D-Lighting is definitely going to help me in my interior shoots - which will help my billing.

i'm not trying to talk anyone into buying something but i thought some might find it useful.

again, my excitement is about the whole camera, my ADL example is just one facet...
--
the more abstract the better
 
with the quality jpegs that i'm getting out of this camera, i really don't have the need (or time) to shoot raw.

more time behind the camera and less time in front of my mac...
--
the more abstract the better
 
Nice shot... it would have been interesting to have had a darker image on the screen. (This looks like a scene from "300," if I'm not mistaken.)

That's quite a home theater set-up, too - I've never seen one with a "starry sky" like that. I presume that there's a sound system to match.
 
yeah, i really wish that Bladerunner was on the screen. but time was an issue and the son patiently looked for a decent screen grab to pause. i can't say that i'm unhappy - this image does show what ADL can do. (you're right - that is "300")

everything about this theater rocks - including the sound. the projector is by Marantz. usually the dealer who sold and installed the theater, sells about 6 to 8 panels of the starry lighting on the ceiling - and didn't want to sell as many as shown here. they cost more than $400 each and there's about 36 of them...i like they way that they were captured.

--
the more abstract the better
 
I would still like to know if anyone has the answer to the "silly question". Can the same effect be obtained by shooting in RAW and post processing? i.e., am I losing out on dynamic range by holding on to my D200?
 
rckdr said:
I would still like to know if anyone has the answer to the "silly
question". Can the same effect be obtained by shooting in RAW and
post processing? i.e., am I losing out on dynamic range by holding
on to my D200?
Click to expand...
Shooting Active D-Lighting and NEFs save a tag in the NEF file, which processes the picture the same way as JPEGs, when you open it in CaptureNX. You can also turn it off during post processing if you prefer that.

Regards
Ole Thorsen
http://www.pbase.com/ole_thorsen
  • OMNISCIENCE
Knowing what
thou knowest not
is in a sense
omniscience.
(Grook by Piet Hein)
 
OleThorsen said:
Shooting Active D-Lighting and NEFs save a tag in the NEF file, which
processes the picture the same way as JPEGs, when you open it in
CaptureNX. You can also turn it off during post processing if you
prefer that.
Click to expand...
If I remember right, in the Nikon D600 Videos the commentator states that with Active D-lighting the image is underexposed, the image is then "processed". If that is right, and I have no doubt it is, the RAW image will be underexposed compared to the exposure setting that would have been used without Active D-Lighting.

The underexposure may vary with the contrast being seen by the D300 metering system.

Question: Is the any indication in the shooting data that the RAW shot was exposure compensated?

--
Udo

Look at the images from my 2007 photo trip to Germany.

Images from Arizona, Utah, Las Vegas, Ireland, and Greece, are still there as well.

http://www.vavsoft.com/photo_gallery/
 
I shoot raw, and I've been experimenting with leaving Active D-Lighting on in the camera. I open each file in NX, and there I have the option of leaving ADL on, or turning it off, depending on the particular image. Then I save the image as a TIF and open it in PS for fine tuning.

Does this make sense? :)
 
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