Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/04/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The histogram is just a multi-spot meter on steroids. All you need to do with it is make sure that the "mountains" don't go past 100%, so your highlights won't get blown. On many digital cameras, if you don't use the histogram, you get blown highlights if you believe the camera's meter. Even in relatively flat lighting. Shooting such cameras is like shooting Kodachrome 25 at high noon in southern California. The histogram lets you get the highlights under the barrier. The Digiluxes 1 and 2 seem to give us about 1/2 a stop more "headroom" built in to the metering. so you may not need the histogram under normal circumstances. You will probably still need it with contrasty situations like rim light or backlight unless the matrix metering is very smart. As for the viewfinder issues, I was just suggesting that projected LCD-based framelines might be a cost-effective way to have an M-like viewfinder in a digital camera, Many of us dislike EVFs and those squinty zoomy optical finders. The information needed to generate and move the framelines is already available in the camera, and a mass-produced LCD matrix should be cheaper to produce than the mechanically-coupled stuff in M viewfinder. The nice thing about digital viewfinder clutter is you can turn it off, provided the manufacturer gives you a steenkin' off button. :-) Using a histogram is really no techier than making the little red LED light up--just tweak the aperture dial until the "mountains" move to the left of 100%. Then make it disappear, and shoot away until things change. --Peter Ted said: > So why dig up histograms and other wiggilies that the techie people > keep doing with film and mm thingies to sort out lenses. Take pictures > and stop screwing around! B. D. said: >I have to say that I'm amused by the fact that on the one hand, people talking about wanting a camera that works like an M, doesn't have all the digifoldarol, etc. etc., and on the other someone's asking for a histogram superimposed on the viewfinder - talking about digifoldarol and not destroying the entire idea of that bright, clear, uncluttered viewfinder....:-)<<< Nathan Wajsman replied: > Not me, B.D., I don't want any histograms or anything else. My ideal digital camera would be just like an M, with a pure, optical,unadulterated viewfinder. All the electronic info can be relegated to the LCD.<<