auto or manual screen setting ?

[Mark Moreve]

Hi
What are most people doing Auto or manual on the rear screen setting & if manual what number. Does it just depend on the ambient viewing light when watching your footage / photos back?
Thanks
Mark

[Daniel Browning]

Originally Posted by Mark Moreve

Hi
What are most people doing Auto or manual on the rear screen setting & if manual what number. Does it just depend on the ambient viewing light when watching your footage / photos back?
Thanks
Mark

One idea is to throw a black cloth over your head and look at the LCD screen (using manual brightness) to get consistent brightness and viewing conditions no matter what the ambient light levels are. However, given that exposure control is a gamble anyway, I haven't worried about inaccuracies introduced by LCD brightness.

[Mark Hahn]

Originally Posted by Daniel Browning

One idea is to throw a black cloth over your head and look at the LCD screen (using manual brightness) to get consistent brightness and viewing conditions no matter what the ambient light levels are. However, given that exposure control is a gamble anyway, I haven't worried about inaccuracies introduced by LCD brightness.

I agree about the black cloth, but only for shooting an indie where matching scenes is important. For stills, the LCD auto-brightness with the exposure sim has worked so well it has never occurred to me to change anything.

[Daniel Browning]

Originally Posted by Mark Hahn

For stills, the LCD auto-brightness with the exposure sim has worked so well it has never occurred to me to change anything.

I prefer to use the histogram instead of the review image to judge exposures for stills.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Originally Posted by Daniel Browning

I prefer to use the histogram instead of the review image to judge exposures for stills.

We use the histogram for stills and video. We do that by taking a live view photo with the desired video settings and confirming the histogram. We also use an expo disc (diffuser) for setting the white balance. We take a photo with the disc from the target point of view, then select that photo for the WB correction. Later, when we look at the histogram, we can confirm if the WB is reasonable.

[Mark Hahn]

Originally Posted by Jon Fairhurst

We use the histogram for stills and video. We do that by taking a live view photo with the desired video settings and confirming the histogram. We also use an expo disc (diffuser) for setting the white balance. We take a photo with the disc from the target point of view, then select that photo for the WB correction. Later, when we look at the histogram, we can confirm if the WB is reasonable.

I must admit I exaggerated. I use the histogram and then trust the expo sim when things are working well.