Disparity between histograms on D80 and NX

[dbrucef]

I've been diligently trying to choose exposures on my camera so that none of the channels climb the wall on the right side of the histogram. When I open up a "perfectly exposed" shot in NX, the information in the histogram usually falls well short of the right end of the histogram. If I set the camera so that the red channel looks blown out, the histogram looks much better in NX. Can anyone explain the disparity? How do you folks out there handle this?

 

[Radzilla]

You are right, I have noticed that as well.

I would mainly trust the histogram and highlights display on the camera LCD and only adjust in NX if it's really really necessary.

Radu

 

[andrewthomasdesigns]

does the picture look good?

does the screen blink at you on your camera?

does the info tab show 0,0,0, on your highlights?
--
http://www.andrewthomasdesigns.com

(please note my site has no nude, lingerie, erotic, or 'sexy' shots as to not offend the religious right - thank you)

I have a camera, a few lenses, flashes, and imagination.

 

[-=Doug=-]

I rarely use the histogram, so it's not an issue.

 

[dbrucef]

I've never noticed the 0,0,0, on the info tab. Thanks for the tip. My trial version has run out, and the copy I ordered isn't due until tomorrow, so I can't even look! Errrggghhh!

 

[Roger T.]

You might find Ken Rockwell's discussion of color histograms helpful:

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/histograms.htm

He sez that the single histogram (like, I assume, the D80) only shows the green channel. When you open the file in NX you're seeing all three ...

--
Roger

http://tinius-photo.com/Roger

 

[dbrucef]

The D80 shows all three channels. Usually the red climbs the wall first.

 

[Chris Elliott104343]

Interesting! Will watch out for that.

My first thought is which historogram image has the better pixel count?

You can view blown highlights and lost shadows in NX via the drop down menu from the View command.
--
Chris Elliott

Nikon D Eighty - Other equipment listed in Profile to aid searching.

http://PlacidoD.zenfolio.com/

 

[dbrucef]

Hmm, I'll have to look at the pixel count. I've seen the lost highlights screen. When I move, in NX, the slider on the right side of the histogram to the left to where it "should" be, I get more lost highlights. However, the overall picture seems to look brighter and better. I guess the eyeball is still the best judge?

 

[dumbo]

I'm not 100% certain that this applies to the D80, but it does for most other Nikons, AFAIK, and also several Canons.

The histogram and blinking highligts in camera are based on a full size JPEG basic that is embedded in the NEF. This JPEG image is demosaiced with the settings set in the camera.

Interesting! Will watch out for that.

My first thought is which historogram image has the better pixel
count?

You can view blown highlights and lost shadows in NX via the drop
down menu from the View command.
--
Chris Elliott

Nikon D Eighty - Other equipment listed in Profile to aid searching.

http://PlacidoD.zenfolio.com/

 

[wupeide]

Wow - talk about egocentrism - LOL

I rarely use the histogram, so it's not an issue.

--
Peter Waldvogel

Nikon D80
Nikon D70
Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX
Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8D G-AFS ED-IF VR
Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 D
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 D
Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 (Kit Lens)
Nikon SB600
Sekonic L-508 Zoom Master

 

[Retread]

this one was up the right side in .nef in PS and the jpeg I shot at the same time was unusable. Normally I don't get that much difference between the two formats but I think the D80 has problems processing the image with too much red in the shot. Just an observation so far.



--
Back at it...

 

[morris]

I find it even more interesting that the histograms in Photoshop don’t match. The one in ACR dose not match either the histogram in the info box or the histogram produced in the levels tool.

Figure out which one gives you the results you like and use it.

Morris

--



http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/~morris/POD

 

[Chris Elliott104343]

this one was up the right side in .nef in PS and the jpeg I shot at
the same time was unusable. Normally I don't get that much
difference between the two formats but I think the D80 has problems
processing the image with too much red in the shot. Just an
observation so far.

Very interesting. Can I just make sure I understand. Did you shoot JPEG and RAW simultaneously and the JPEG was unuseable or were they taken serially? Did you check the historogram on the D80 at the time of shooting? If so what did it say?

It might be worth a test to check out the historogram in RAW only against RAW + JPEG.

Were you shooting in 1a or IIIa?

I have a feeling that at the margins like this is exactly where NX may have the edge in processing but that is a wholly subjective comment and I am biased!
--
Chris Elliott

Nikon D Eighty - Other equipment listed in Profile to aid searching.

http://PlacidoD.zenfolio.com/

 

[Retread]

Very interesting. Can I just make sure I understand. Did you shoot
JPEG and RAW simultaneously and the JPEG was unuseable or were they
taken serially? Did you check the historogram on the D80 at the
time of shooting? If so what did it say?

Yes, simultaneously although I rarely work with the jpegs anymore. Sort of a safety net for me I suppose, like wearing suspenders with a belt.

No, I didn't get a chance to check the historogram on the camera as I was a bit rushed before work.

It might be worth a test to check out the historogram in RAW only
against RAW + JPEG.

Interesting. Are you offering the extra processing is possibly overloading the camera?

Were you shooting in 1a or IIIa?

Ia although I've been meaning to try some IIa shots and see if they are any different in PS. I don't know the benefit of going to IIIa? Any enlightenment here?

I have a feeling that at the margins like this is exactly where NX
may have the edge in processing but that is a wholly subjective
comment and I am biased!
--
Chris Elliott

Nikon D Eighty - Other equipment listed in Profile to aid searching.

http://PlacidoD.zenfolio.com/

Yes, I keep meaning to get a copy as I'm using the NEF driver with PSE5 for now and am happy with the results. Here's a copy of the JPEG version of the same shot. It isn't cropped like the first and the only other processing I've done is reducing the size and quality for the web. I even played around with it a bit but the red and cyan are too far gone to make it practical.

Still, it's not the usual result I get as most times the RAW and cameral processed JPEG are pretty close.

Thanks for your reponse Chris

Don
--
Back at it...