New Custom Curve +0.7 EV

[Apolinario]

Stop! If your only complaint about the D100 is the underexposure issue, don't sell your D100's yet! I just made a custom tone curve that simulates +0.7 EV without clipping highlights. I just took several photos using my new curve. I shot first at the normal tone setting with the camera's programmed exposure. Then I shot with my custom tone curve with the programmed exposure. Finally, I shot with the normal tone at +0.7 and the photo looks almost the same as my custom tone shot except for that the skies are not as blown out in my custom shot. I took several other shots to confirm this and all results are the same. Later tonight, I will post the results. I think most of you will be pleased.

FYI, I had read the translated French solution to D100 exposure problems after I had made these curves and found that it explained in a couple of pages what I had taken 1000 shots to discover, that the problem is not underexposure, but rather a compression of the image's tonality towards

the darker values. The trick is to increase the tone of the darker values without changing the lighter values and without losing contrast.

Other curves I have seen in the past increase the darker values, however, they lack contrast. I have two other curves, one is a +0.0 EV that simply cleans up whites and increases contrast somewhat, but doesn't have too much effect on overall brightness (I will post photos I had taken yesterday using this curve tonight as well). I also have a +1.0 EV that really brightens up the photos and increases contrast, however, I think it is overkill. I will upload all my curves to my website as well for anyone to download.

Stay tuned!
--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

 

[fredaow]

It sounds good ! ! !

Please, go ahead ....

Stop! If your only complaint about the D100 is the underexposure
issue, don't sell your D100's yet! I just made a custom tone curve
that simulates +0.7 EV without clipping highlights. I just took
several photos using my new curve. I shot first at the normal tone
setting with the camera's programmed exposure. Then I shot with my
custom tone curve with the programmed exposure. Finally, I shot
with the normal tone at +0.7 and the photo looks almost the same as
my custom tone shot except for that the skies are not as blown out
in my custom shot. I took several other shots to confirm this and
all results are the same. Later tonight, I will post the results.
I think most of you will be pleased.

FYI, I had read the translated French solution to D100 exposure
problems after I had made these curves and found that it explained
in a couple of pages what I had taken 1000 shots to discover, that
the problem is not underexposure, but rather a compression of the
image's tonality towards
the darker values. The trick is to increase the tone of the darker
values without changing the lighter values and without losing
contrast.

Other curves I have seen in the past increase the darker values,
however, they lack contrast. I have two other curves, one is a
+0.0 EV that simply cleans up whites and increases contrast
somewhat, but doesn't have too much effect on overall brightness (I
will post photos I had taken yesterday using this curve tonight as
well). I also have a +1.0 EV that really brightens up the photos
and increases contrast, however, I think it is overkill. I will
upload all my curves to my website as well for anyone to download.

Stay tuned!
--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

 

[Zorpie]

Hello Apolinario

I'd really like to try your new D100 custom curves ... but yoiu didn't leave details of your Web page address ??

Thanks

Stop! If your only complaint about the D100 is the underexposure
issue, don't sell your D100's yet! I just made a custom tone curve
that simulates +0.7 EV without clipping highlights. I just took
several photos using my new curve. I shot first at the normal tone
setting with the camera's programmed exposure. Then I shot with my
custom tone curve with the programmed exposure. Finally, I shot
with the normal tone at +0.7 and the photo looks almost the same as
my custom tone shot except for that the skies are not as blown out
in my custom shot. I took several other shots to confirm this and
all results are the same. Later tonight, I will post the results.
I think most of you will be pleased.

FYI, I had read the translated French solution to D100 exposure
problems after I had made these curves and found that it explained
in a couple of pages what I had taken 1000 shots to discover, that
the problem is not underexposure, but rather a compression of the
image's tonality towards
the darker values. The trick is to increase the tone of the darker
values without changing the lighter values and without losing
contrast.

Other curves I have seen in the past increase the darker values,
however, they lack contrast. I have two other curves, one is a
+0.0 EV that simply cleans up whites and increases contrast
somewhat, but doesn't have too much effect on overall brightness (I
will post photos I had taken yesterday using this curve tonight as
well). I also have a +1.0 EV that really brightens up the photos
and increases contrast, however, I think it is overkill. I will
upload all my curves to my website as well for anyone to download.

Stay tuned!
--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

 

[Apolinario]

I'd really like to try your new D100 custom curves ... but yoiu
didn't leave details of your Web page address ??

Thanks

Stop! If your only complaint about the D100 is the underexposure
issue, don't sell your D100's yet! I just made a custom tone curve
that simulates +0.7 EV without clipping highlights. I just took
several photos using my new curve. I shot first at the normal tone
setting with the camera's programmed exposure. Then I shot with my
custom tone curve with the programmed exposure. Finally, I shot
with the normal tone at +0.7 and the photo looks almost the same as
my custom tone shot except for that the skies are not as blown out
in my custom shot. I took several other shots to confirm this and
all results are the same. Later tonight, I will post the results.
I think most of you will be pleased.

FYI, I had read the translated French solution to D100 exposure
problems after I had made these curves and found that it explained
in a couple of pages what I had taken 1000 shots to discover, that
the problem is not underexposure, but rather a compression of the
image's tonality towards
the darker values. The trick is to increase the tone of the darker
values without changing the lighter values and without losing
contrast.

Other curves I have seen in the past increase the darker values,
however, they lack contrast. I have two other curves, one is a
+0.0 EV that simply cleans up whites and increases contrast
somewhat, but doesn't have too much effect on overall brightness (I
will post photos I had taken yesterday using this curve tonight as
well). I also have a +1.0 EV that really brightens up the photos
and increases contrast, however, I think it is overkill. I will
upload all my curves to my website as well for anyone to download.

Stay tuned!
--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

 

[Jwpynn10]

Where's the link ?

I'd really like to try your new D100 custom curves ... but yoiu
didn't leave details of your Web page address ??

Thanks

Stop! If your only complaint about the D100 is the underexposure
issue, don't sell your D100's yet! I just made a custom tone curve
that simulates +0.7 EV without clipping highlights. I just took
several photos using my new curve. I shot first at the normal tone
setting with the camera's programmed exposure. Then I shot with my
custom tone curve with the programmed exposure. Finally, I shot
with the normal tone at +0.7 and the photo looks almost the same as
my custom tone shot except for that the skies are not as blown out
in my custom shot. I took several other shots to confirm this and
all results are the same. Later tonight, I will post the results.
I think most of you will be pleased.

FYI, I had read the translated French solution to D100 exposure
problems after I had made these curves and found that it explained
in a couple of pages what I had taken 1000 shots to discover, that
the problem is not underexposure, but rather a compression of the
image's tonality towards
the darker values. The trick is to increase the tone of the darker
values without changing the lighter values and without losing
contrast.

Other curves I have seen in the past increase the darker values,
however, they lack contrast. I have two other curves, one is a
+0.0 EV that simply cleans up whites and increases contrast
somewhat, but doesn't have too much effect on overall brightness (I
will post photos I had taken yesterday using this curve tonight as
well). I also have a +1.0 EV that really brightens up the photos
and increases contrast, however, I think it is overkill. I will
upload all my curves to my website as well for anyone to download.

Stay tuned!
--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

--
Cheers,
jwpynn
--------------------------------------------
http://www.pbase.com/jwpynn

 

[nd67]

... I'm not getting any younger over here... lets see those curves...

I'd really like to try your new D100 custom curves ... but yoiu
didn't leave details of your Web page address ??

Thanks

Stop! If your only complaint about the D100 is the underexposure
issue, don't sell your D100's yet! I just made a custom tone curve
that simulates +0.7 EV without clipping highlights. I just took
several photos using my new curve. I shot first at the normal tone
setting with the camera's programmed exposure. Then I shot with my
custom tone curve with the programmed exposure. Finally, I shot
with the normal tone at +0.7 and the photo looks almost the same as
my custom tone shot except for that the skies are not as blown out
in my custom shot. I took several other shots to confirm this and
all results are the same. Later tonight, I will post the results.
I think most of you will be pleased.

FYI, I had read the translated French solution to D100 exposure
problems after I had made these curves and found that it explained
in a couple of pages what I had taken 1000 shots to discover, that
the problem is not underexposure, but rather a compression of the
image's tonality towards
the darker values. The trick is to increase the tone of the darker
values without changing the lighter values and without losing
contrast.

Other curves I have seen in the past increase the darker values,
however, they lack contrast. I have two other curves, one is a
+0.0 EV that simply cleans up whites and increases contrast
somewhat, but doesn't have too much effect on overall brightness (I
will post photos I had taken yesterday using this curve tonight as
well). I also have a +1.0 EV that really brightens up the photos
and increases contrast, however, I think it is overkill. I will
upload all my curves to my website as well for anyone to download.

Stay tuned!
--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

--
Cheers,
jwpynn
--------------------------------------------
http://www.pbase.com/jwpynn

 

[michaeladawson]

I'm sure your curves work great. But I must comment on this one statement of yours.

I may not understand what you are saying but my response is:

Compression of the image towards the darker values IS underexposure.

I don't think you can disguise it as something else. But, as you suggest, you certainly can correct it with custom curves.

Mike

in a couple of pages what I had taken 1000 shots to discover, that
the problem is not underexposure, but rather a compression of the
image's tonality towards
the darker values. The trick is to increase the tone of the darker

 

[Apolinario]

Okay, here are my test results:



In this first series of photos, I used my 0 EV curve. It is somewhat subtle, however, you may notice that it cleans up the gray "film" as some people have called it, in the skies, and the whites are more white. Also, the green pops out more because of the higher saturation of yellows.



This second set also used my 0 EV curve. Again, the results are subtle.



Finally, here is my +0.7 EV curve at work. One thing about the photo taken with my custom tone curve (center) is that it looks it looks exactly like the photo on the left, however, the photo on the left's sky was completely blown out (as I discovered while reviewing the photo using the camera's highlight clipping review), whereas the center photo did not have any highlights clipped. Of course, there wasn't that much detail in the clouds to begin with, but this is the difference with my curve and simply using EV +0.7.

Here's a link to my curves. In order to download them, you have to right click on this link and choose "save as". Simply clicking on the link may not work.

http://www.geocities.com/kisskissbangbang_97/d100_custom_tone_settings.zip

I think I included a +1.0 EV curve as well, however, I did not check to see whether it is indeed equivalent to +1.0 EV.

Oh yeah, one more thing to note about my +0.7 curve is that it increases yellow saturation. For landscapes, it looks great, however, for portraits, it makes faces look burnt. For portraits, I either use the less contrast setting, or I use my custom tone and lighten yellows by +35 and shift their hue to -20, and I lighten reds by +10.

--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

 

[jbviajero]

Hey! Your curve looks really good. But when I clicked on the link, the site said "sorry, this page is not avialable for viewing...". I wonder if it was just a short "black out" or if there is something wrong?

Thanks,

jb

Here's a link to my curves. In order to download them, you have to
right click on this link and choose "save as". Simply clicking on
the link may not work.

http://www.geocities.com/kisskissbangbang_97/d100_custom_tone_settings.zip

I think I included a +1.0 EV curve as well, however, I did not
check to see whether it is indeed equivalent to +1.0 EV.

Oh yeah, one more thing to note about my +0.7 curve is that it
increases yellow saturation. For landscapes, it looks great,
however, for portraits, it makes faces look burnt. For portraits,
I either use the less contrast setting, or I use my custom tone and
lighten yellows by +35 and shift their hue to -20, and I lighten
reds by +10.

--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

 

[Apolinario]

Hi, I just added a slightly less contrast version that adds a little more shadow detail to both my +0.7 and +1.0 curves. Just thought you'd like to know.

Also, if anyone who is able to download the file could upload it to their own server and distribute the curve for those who can't seem to download the files from geocities, I'd appreciate your help. Thanks!

Stop! If your only complaint about the D100 is the underexposure
issue, don't sell your D100's yet! I just made a custom tone curve
that simulates +0.7 EV without clipping highlights. I just took
several photos using my new curve. I shot first at the normal tone
setting with the camera's programmed exposure. Then I shot with my
custom tone curve with the programmed exposure. Finally, I shot
with the normal tone at +0.7 and the photo looks almost the same as
my custom tone shot except for that the skies are not as blown out
in my custom shot. I took several other shots to confirm this and
all results are the same. Later tonight, I will post the results.
I think most of you will be pleased.

FYI, I had read the translated French solution to D100 exposure
problems after I had made these curves and found that it explained
in a couple of pages what I had taken 1000 shots to discover, that
the problem is not underexposure, but rather a compression of the
image's tonality towards
the darker values. The trick is to increase the tone of the darker
values without changing the lighter values and without losing
contrast.

Other curves I have seen in the past increase the darker values,
however, they lack contrast. I have two other curves, one is a
+0.0 EV that simply cleans up whites and increases contrast
somewhat, but doesn't have too much effect on overall brightness (I
will post photos I had taken yesterday using this curve tonight as
well). I also have a +1.0 EV that really brightens up the photos
and increases contrast, however, I think it is overkill. I will
upload all my curves to my website as well for anyone to download.

Stay tuned!
--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

 

[aflath]

http://www.public.asu.edu/~aflath/cutomtones/

Here is a direct link, ( right click save target )

http://www.public.asu.edu/~aflath/cutomtones/d100_custom%20 (%2b0.7%20curve%20).zip

This one is called " d100_custom (+0.7 cur+ "

 

[Apolinario]

I tried to right click on the direct link and I was also unable to download the file. However, when I went to your website I was able to. The reason is that dpreview doesn't allow direct links, rather, dpreview redirects you to the link, but you can't save a target through redirection.

http://www.public.asu.edu/~aflath/cutomtones/

Here is a direct link, ( right click save target )

http://www.public.asu.edu/~aflath/cutomtones/d100_custom%20 (%2b0.7%20curve%20).zip

This one is called " d100_custom (+0.7 cur+ "

--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

 

[Jack310]

Can you take a screen shot of your curve and post it? I'd like to learn from you...

Jack

 

[fredaow]

I've uploaded your curve to my camera (the +0.7 "less" one). If I understand well, it is the same as your 0.7 curve with a bit less contrast. Is that right ?

If yes, it seems that this one will be perfect in most situations.

On a technical point of view, how did you construct your curve ?

It seems that you surimposed something like a gaussian curve to the standard "ramp" curve at the middle tone's level. Is that right ?

By the way, it's great job !

I don't have the curve in mind but I guess that if we don't want to have "erratic/inappropriate" colors, the curve should be a bijection (and, especially, to one y point corresponds only one x coordinate. Is it the case for your curve ?

Regards,

Fred.

 

[Apolinario]

I don't have any screen capture programs, but if you have photoshop, just input the following points (all my curves have the points I plotted in their titles):

4-6, 11-15, 64-99, 128-165, 191-191. Those are the coordinates of each point in my +0.7 EV less contrast curve. I lifted the 4th point slightly (128-165 used to be 128-156) after I had already uploaded the curves to my website. I had observed slight graying (lack of contrast) in some mid-high tones.

Here's a link to my webpage in case you want to simply download the zip file and look at the curves themselves. If you can't look at the curves, you can read the points I plotted in the names of each of the files I zipped and enter them in a curve program.

http://www.geocities.com/kisskissbangbang_97

If I can get a capture program, I'll show you, but until then, you can input these curves in any program that allows you to make curves to see what the fit looks like. In general, my curve has a flat but steep slope where the eye is most able to see contrast, in the low-mid tones. If I had continued this higher slope throughout the rest of the curve, I would have clipped highlights, so I lessened the slope starting at just before the mid mark and held down the curve as much as possible without introducing graying or solarization until the very end to hold as much highlight information as possible.

Can you take a screen shot of your curve and post it? I'd like to
learn from you...

Jack

--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

 

[Jack310]

capture screen, just press " Print Screen" key, and past is onto any program like PS or Window Paint.. very easy.. thanks

jack

 

[Apolinario]

The +0.7 curve is also the curve I use. I actually slightly mistitled it. It should be titled "slightly more shadow detail +0.7 curve". It has the same amount of contrast, but for the first point I plotted, I lifted it ever so slightly to bring out a little shadow detail. I found that bringing out the shadow detail too much causes the dark tones to lose their richness. This showed up particularily in photographs with dirt ground or the dark wings of geese.

Anyways, in constructing my curve, they key assumption I made was that we can see contrast better in low-mid tones . I'm not sure if this is true, but it allowed me to increase the slope of the curve (adding contrast) without clipping highlights. I may have lost some contrast in highlights, but it seems to me that ccd's can't resolve contrast in highlights all that well anyways, so lack of contrast wouldn't be as noticeable.

By the way, in that curve you're using, you might want to lift the 4th point from 156 to 165. I noticed a slight graying of areas where the sky was about to be clipped. Basically, there was not enough contrast at the midpoint. Lifting it brought back the contrast and seemed to clean up the lighter tones even better. I'll upload my updated curves tomorrow or over the weekend.

Finally, about the bijection point, yes, my curve has no two same y points. In general, the smaller the slope is between two points, the more "gray" that area becomes. At some point, when the slope becomes negative, you get solarization. I tried to keep my curve as steep as possible with the exception of the higher tones.

If the +7 curve seems to overexpose, the +0 curve I made looks almost exactly the same as the camera's normal exposure, but with a higher red and yellow saturation and more contrast without sacrificing shadow detail.

Hope my curve helps out!

I've uploaded your curve to my camera (the +0.7 "less" one). If I
understand well, it is the same as your 0.7 curve with a bit less
contrast. Is that right ?

If yes, it seems that this one will be perfect in most situations.

On a technical point of view, how did you construct your curve ?
It seems that you surimposed something like a gaussian curve to the
standard "ramp" curve at the middle tone's level. Is that right ?

By the way, it's great job !

I don't have the curve in mind but I guess that if we don't want to
have "erratic/inappropriate" colors, the curve should be a
bijection (and, especially, to one y point corresponds only one x
coordinate. Is it the case for your curve ?

Regards,

Fred.

--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

 

[fredaow]

Thanks for your answer.

I will adjust the 4th point.

You just wrote that you also use the 0.7 curve. Is it the "normal" one or the "less" one (the one which I prefer) ? Or is it another one that you call "slightly more shadow detail +0.7 curve" which is not on your site yet ? It it's a new one, what excatly differs from the "less" curve ?

Regards.

Fred

Anyways, in constructing my curve, they key assumption I made was
that we can see contrast better in low-mid tones . I'm not sure if
this is true, but it allowed me to increase the slope of the curve
(adding contrast) without clipping highlights. I may have lost
some contrast in highlights, but it seems to me that ccd's can't
resolve contrast in highlights all that well anyways, so lack of
contrast wouldn't be as noticeable.

By the way, in that curve you're using, you might want to lift the
4th point from 156 to 165. I noticed a slight graying of areas
where the sky was about to be clipped. Basically, there was not
enough contrast at the midpoint. Lifting it brought back the
contrast and seemed to clean up the lighter tones even better.
I'll upload my updated curves tomorrow or over the weekend.

Finally, about the bijection point, yes, my curve has no two same y
points. In general, the smaller the slope is between two points,
the more "gray" that area becomes. At some point, when the slope
becomes negative, you get solarization. I tried to keep my curve
as steep as possible with the exception of the higher tones.

If the +7 curve seems to overexpose, the +0 curve I made looks
almost exactly the same as the camera's normal exposure, but with a
higher red and yellow saturation and more contrast without
sacrificing shadow detail.

Hope my curve helps out!

I've uploaded your curve to my camera (the +0.7 "less" one). If I
understand well, it is the same as your 0.7 curve with a bit less
contrast. Is that right ?

If yes, it seems that this one will be perfect in most situations.

On a technical point of view, how did you construct your curve ?
It seems that you surimposed something like a gaussian curve to the
standard "ramp" curve at the middle tone's level. Is that right ?

By the way, it's great job !

I don't have the curve in mind but I guess that if we don't want to
have "erratic/inappropriate" colors, the curve should be a
bijection (and, especially, to one y point corresponds only one x
coordinate. Is it the case for your curve ?

Regards,

Fred.

--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

 

[Apolinario]

The curve I think is best and that I use is the same one you are using, the +0.7 less curve. Please let me know, however, if you think it overexposes. I still haven't tested it out on a gray card. I think once I do that I can know for sure that my curve does what it's supposed to do.

I will adjust the 4th point.
You just wrote that you also use the 0.7 curve. Is it the "normal"
one or the "less" one (the one which I prefer) ? Or is it another
one that you call "slightly more shadow detail +0.7 curve" which is
not on your site yet ? It it's a new one, what excatly differs from
the "less" curve ?

Regards.

Fred

Anyways, in constructing my curve, they key assumption I made was
that we can see contrast better in low-mid tones . I'm not sure if
this is true, but it allowed me to increase the slope of the curve
(adding contrast) without clipping highlights. I may have lost
some contrast in highlights, but it seems to me that ccd's can't
resolve contrast in highlights all that well anyways, so lack of
contrast wouldn't be as noticeable.

By the way, in that curve you're using, you might want to lift the
4th point from 156 to 165. I noticed a slight graying of areas
where the sky was about to be clipped. Basically, there was not
enough contrast at the midpoint. Lifting it brought back the
contrast and seemed to clean up the lighter tones even better.
I'll upload my updated curves tomorrow or over the weekend.

Finally, about the bijection point, yes, my curve has no two same y
points. In general, the smaller the slope is between two points,
the more "gray" that area becomes. At some point, when the slope
becomes negative, you get solarization. I tried to keep my curve
as steep as possible with the exception of the higher tones.

If the +7 curve seems to overexpose, the +0 curve I made looks
almost exactly the same as the camera's normal exposure, but with a
higher red and yellow saturation and more contrast without
sacrificing shadow detail.

Hope my curve helps out!

I've uploaded your curve to my camera (the +0.7 "less" one). If I
understand well, it is the same as your 0.7 curve with a bit less
contrast. Is that right ?

If yes, it seems that this one will be perfect in most situations.

On a technical point of view, how did you construct your curve ?
It seems that you surimposed something like a gaussian curve to the
standard "ramp" curve at the middle tone's level. Is that right ?

By the way, it's great job !

I don't have the curve in mind but I guess that if we don't want to
have "erratic/inappropriate" colors, the curve should be a
bijection (and, especially, to one y point corresponds only one x
coordinate. Is it the case for your curve ?

Regards,

Fred.

--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

 

[Apolinario]

I just did another quick test, out of curiosity, to see whether my curve overexposes or is right now. I took a photo of a wall with minimal tonal variation using the Nikon's normal curve. If it were to expose correctly, the histogram would be a bell shaped curve centered at the midpoint. It's simply what camera meters were designed to do. Well, the curve is at about the 96 mark (1/8th less than the center). I then took a photo using my curve. It's centered right at the 128 mark (dead center). I then took a photo with the default normal setting but this time with a +0.7 EV adjustment. The histogram was centered at just above the center mark.

Although this is only a single sample test, I am pretty sure I would get the same results with more samples since the wall I took a photo of was evenly lit. I used matrix metering, however, since the wall was evenly lit, it shouldn't matter. I have concluded that Nikon's default normal curve does in fact underexpose. I also have good evidence that my curve corrects this almost perfectly, however, I haven't proven this completely since the curve I made is not linear. I think the tonal areas where my curve may have trouble is in high tones. But for now, I'm pretty much concluding my tests so I can go on and enjoy taking photos. Plus, my NC3 trial ended! I'm pretty much stuck with this one curve until I purchase NC3.

Hmmm, it just occured to me that Nikon's intentional underexposure does indeed hold highlights down, however, could it also be that Nikon did this on purpose to make us buy NC3?

Stop! If your only complaint about the D100 is the underexposure
issue, don't sell your D100's yet! I just made a custom tone curve
that simulates +0.7 EV without clipping highlights. I just took
several photos using my new curve. I shot first at the normal tone
setting with the camera's programmed exposure. Then I shot with my
custom tone curve with the programmed exposure. Finally, I shot
with the normal tone at +0.7 and the photo looks almost the same as
my custom tone shot except for that the skies are not as blown out
in my custom shot. I took several other shots to confirm this and
all results are the same. Later tonight, I will post the results.
I think most of you will be pleased.

FYI, I had read the translated French solution to D100 exposure
problems after I had made these curves and found that it explained
in a couple of pages what I had taken 1000 shots to discover, that
the problem is not underexposure, but rather a compression of the
image's tonality towards
the darker values. The trick is to increase the tone of the darker
values without changing the lighter values and without losing
contrast.

Other curves I have seen in the past increase the darker values,
however, they lack contrast. I have two other curves, one is a
+0.0 EV that simply cleans up whites and increases contrast
somewhat, but doesn't have too much effect on overall brightness (I
will post photos I had taken yesterday using this curve tonight as
well). I also have a +1.0 EV that really brightens up the photos
and increases contrast, however, I think it is overkill. I will
upload all my curves to my website as well for anyone to download.

Stay tuned!
--
You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind

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You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind