RED ONE OPERATION GUIDE - Manual (Page 146)

Build 31 v31.6.16
NOVEMBER 28, 2011
© 2007-2011 RED.COM INC.
145
APPENDIX F: EXPOSURE TIPS – USING FALSE COLOR AND
ISO
Build 30 firmware introduced several new Exposure measuring tools. In the following examples, we will
show how these tools respond to a reference scene that is under-exposed, over-exposed and then cor-
rectly 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 ele-
ments 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 at 4.5K
resolution.
UNDEREXPOSURE (~ 2 STOPS)
ISO 800 - monitor output
In the image above it is fairly 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 signifi-
cant 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.