Operation Guide

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APPENDIX H: EXPOSURE – USING FALSE COLOR AND ISO

NOTE: The following section uses a RED ONE camera display to illustrate exposure tools;

however, the same principles apply to RED DSMC camera systems.

RED DSMC cameras provide several advanced exposure indication tools. In the following examples, we

will show how these tools respond to a reference scene that is under-exposed, over-exposed and then

correctly exposed. Each scene will have its unique characteristics so the “correct exposure” is a matter

of judgment, balancing the desire to avoid clipping any highlights and also avoiding underexpose of

elements in deep shadow – which may therefore be prone to noise when developed in post-production.

The following reference scene includes highlight and shadow elements and was shot at ISO 800.

UNDEREXPOSURE (~ 2 STOPS)

ISO 800 - Monitor Output

In the image above it is obvious the camera is under exposed. The initial clues are the monitor is very

dark, and the histogram is justified to the left. Also note that red bar at the left edge of the histogram and

the vertical color stack to the right of the histogram is only at grey. These indicators are saying a

significant amount of the senor’s RAW data is “in the noise” and that the peak level of the sensor’s RAW

data is at a very low level – in fact less than halfway.