Canon EOS Digital Rebel

[tkd-dev]

I have recently purchased EOS 300D/ Rebel camera kit - with 18-55mm lens.
I am experiencing a problem with images being taken too dark and contrasty.
The LCD on camera shows stunning image, however when looked at in Photoshop this image need major correction in terms of brightness/contrast.

Often resulting in dodging and burning parts of image to make acceptable.

I have used the camera in Automatic modes and have not yet experimented with Creative modes.

The LCD brightness has been set to the lowest level.

I'm sure that I am not the first to experience this problem and there must be a simply fix. Can anyone help?

Dev

[Steve Mitchell]

Can you post an example image here for us to look at?

Originally Posted by tkd-dev

I have recently purchased EOS 300D/ Rebel camera kit - with 18-55mm lens.
I am experiencing a problem with images being taken too dark and contrasty.
The LCD on camera shows stunning image, however when looked at in Photoshop this image need major correction in terms of brightness/contrast.

Often resulting in dodging and burning parts of image to make acceptable.

I have used the camera in Automatic modes and have not yet experimented with Creative modes.

The LCD brightness has been set to the lowest level.

I'm sure that I am not the first to experience this problem and there must be a simply fix. Can anyone help?

Dev

[tkd-dev]

When viewing image on LCD screen the result appears similar to pic on right, however the image on left is result in Photoshop.

I have to correct every image before sending to Photolab who print on Fuji Frontier.

Any responses welcome

[mzdial]

LCD brightness level should NOT be trusted as an exposure reading. Use the histogram to determine your exposure.

If your shots are too contrasty, I'd go in and adjust the custom settings on the jpg and turn the contrast, sharpness, etc. DOWN, and that way you can make those decisions later in Photoshop. My understanding is that the 300D uses by default, more aggressive settings compared to the 10D.

I'm not familar with the automatic modes, so I can't be of much help there.. Switch over to the P mode and let the camera make the decisions there. Perhaps the camera isn't metering properly? Shooting in manual would tell me more than letting the camera make the decision.

-- Matt

[tkd-dev]

Originally Posted by mzdial

LCD brightness level should NOT be trusted as an exposure reading. Use the histogram to determine your exposure.

If your shots are too contrasty, I'd go in and adjust the custom settings on the jpg and turn the contrast, sharpness, etc. DOWN, and that way you can make those decisions later in Photoshop. My understanding is that the 300D uses by default, more aggressive settings compared to the 10D.

I'm not familar with the automatic modes, so I can't be of much help there.. Switch over to the P mode and let the camera make the decisions there. Perhaps the camera isn't metering properly? Shooting in manual would tell me more than letting the camera make the decision.

-- Matt

I have not adjusted contrast,sharpness setting on the camera. I will try this today and get back to you.

thanks again.

Dev

[gparr]

Anders makes some good points about exposing the image you posted. As for the 300D's exposure tendencies, I have not had any problems in general. In the rare instances that I have used the automatic settings the camera has delivered properly exposed images. However, I shoot RAW and manual almost exclusively and find that I get better results if I overexpose by 1/3 to 2/3 stops and then adjust in Photoshop. Of course, for the automatic settings, that overexposure can be preset.
I also support Matt's statement about what you see on the LCD. It's not to be trusted for anything (exposure, contrast, DOF, sharpness, saturation, etc.) other than the fact that you recorded the image. Someone might correct me, but I think that's true for all digital cameras. For in-the-field shooting, the histogram is the teller of truth, as Matt stated.
I would also add that there is a learning curve with digital SLRs, both in terms of understanding the camera's capabilities and in post-processing the images to obtain what you saw in the viewfinder. Don't expect perfection right out of the box. Once you learn what the equipment can and can't do, you'll be very pleased with the results. Shoot plenty and bracket. Then study your results to determine the best settings for the results you want.
Gary

[Anders Östberg]

I second the statements about the LCD, it can really only be used to see what you got in terms of cropping, and to check the histogram. The LCD is too flattering if anything, pictures look better there than on the PC. The only other major info apart from the above I get from the LCD is that if the image looks the slightest unsharp when magnified on the LCD then it will be uselessly unsharp on the PC and has to be reshot.

[tkd-dev]

Thank you all for the very good advice, I have taken some pictures today in the P mode and in general these are better than my previous efforts.

A few were underexposed, however only minor correction required in Photshop.

With regards to file formats, I have only used Large JPEG, am I doing the wrong thing? most of you guys seem to be shooting in RAW.
I will try to use histogram to gain more info and from your comments this seems to be a good guide to exposure, do you guys use a hand held meter or rely on camera meter?

Although the learning curve is steep its much easier with websites like this and the help of good people out there!

Dev

[gparr]

Regarding the "few were underexposed but easily fixed . . " that what I was experiencing in general and why I now slightly overexpose. I don't know if other cameras under or over expose, but I figure it doesn't matter as long as you know the characteristics of your camera and can compensate. I had an A-1 film body that tended to underexpose so I just made the adjustment in the camera settings and never thought about it again.
I suggest you do a series of manual, bracketed shots on an evenly lit, stationary object and then evaluate in Photoshop to determine what your camera is doing. It'll give you a start toward understanding your camera's characteristics.
Though I have a light meter, I don't use it. It's easier (less hassle) to use the camera meter as a spot meter and then bracket the shot to get the right exposure.
I shoot RAW, but many shoot the large jpg format. Anders (FretNoMore) mentioned that he shoots jpg images and I'd be proud to claim credit for his images at any time. I think RAW files give you more post-processing flexibility, but they suck up a lot of storage space, forcing you to have more or larger CF cards if you do a lot of shooting. Everyone has their preferences. Try both to see if it makes a difference to you.
Gary

[Anders Östberg]

I'm primarily shooting JPEGs because I'm lazy and haven't gotten around to learn a good work flow for RAW yet, or to wait for longer download and processing times. I'm trying RAW more and more though. Apart from better image quality I've noticed it does gives you more leeway and margin - it's possible to rescue pictures that would otherwise have been too much off in exposure for instance. I think I've also felt I can get away with more than I should as I've so far mostly displayed pictures in smallish web sizes. I suspect RAW and image quality in general is more important for larger prints.
(Thanks for the praise Gary, you're too kind! )

[gparr]

I hope you don't mind my monkeying with your images (I you do, say so and I'll remove), but I ran your bradgate image through my normal process and I think it came out looking pretty nice. See what you think. Maybe it's a matter of figuring out how to post-process your images?
Gary

p.s.: As I look at it, I'm not sure I made that much of a difference, other than improving the sharpness.

[tkd-dev]

Gary,

No problem, feel free to experiment with Bradgate image. This is pretty much what I would do, I do not sharpen images at all.

Dev

[Lupe Talamantez]

mzdial,
You mentioned about setting the Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness "down". Do you mean to the minus side? If yes, which ones do I move? Contrast, Saturation, and/or Sharpness?

I have been having the same problem as Dev. My shots have been shamefully under-exposed in P mode. As with him, when the LCD shows me that I took a good shot, the PC monitor shows it danged darker than the LCD.

For most pictures, the histogram shows a high spike on the left side. If I use 420EX flash directly, of course my subjects look like they're in front of an oncoming car with high beams on.

Another question. What does Parameter 2 produce? When I do think about trying it, I don't want to gamble and lose.

In spite of these problems that surface every now and then, the Rebel is my first camera and as with my wife, it's gonna take some time to understand.

Thanks,
Lupe in San Antonio

[MatsP]

Originally Posted by Lupe Talamantez

mzdial,
You mentioned about setting the Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness "down". Do you mean to the minus side? If yes, which ones do I move? Contrast, Saturation, and/or Sharpness?

I have been having the same problem as Dev. My shots have been shamefully under-exposed in P mode. As with him, when the LCD shows me that I took a good shot, the PC monitor shows it danged darker than the LCD.

For most pictures, the histogram shows a high spike on the left side. If I use 420EX flash directly, of course my subjects look like they're in front of an oncoming car with high beams on.

Another question. What does Parameter 2 produce? When I do think about trying it, I don't want to gamble and lose.

In spite of these problems that surface every now and then, the Rebel is my first camera and as with my wife, it's gonna take some time to understand.

Thanks,
Lupe in San Antonio

I've learnt the lesson on the LCD. It's very "optimistic". I'm beginning to suspect that it's not using 8 bits per colour in the RAMDAC, but perhaps 5 or 6, meaning that the difference in levels on R, G and B is only 32 or 64, rather than the 256 that are given by a normal PC (and 1024 levels are available from professional level cards). That would explain why something that is sort of there, will look almost perfect on screen, but when you look at it on the computer, it's way darker.

A much better way to judge the exposure is to use the Histogram view (the Rebel has that, right?), and check that the histogram isn't too close to either end of the spectrum. It's still not prefect, but it's much better than the LCD by itself.

--
Mats

[mzdial]

Another thing.. What about your monitor? Is it calibrated properly, or close to right? Lots of variables.. :-)

-- Matt