On 11/4/06, Tom C <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > If I take a RAW .PEF file and adjust exposure -1 and +1 stop, saving each as > another .PEF in Adobe Camera Raw, would that not for all intents and > purposes, be the same as having taken three separate exposures at -1/0/+1 ?
Somewhat yes, somewhat no. Depends on what the highlights and shadow areas in the picture look like. To further explain: 1. Camera raw has some ability to "fudge" blown-out highlights. When you go beyond the range of the digital sensor, you're always going to lose some information. Camera raw attempts to put some of that back at least. It's not perfect, but it can be enough to salvage a blown-out shot. 2. On the shadow end of things, if the shadows are completely blocked up (black), nothing is going to get you any more information out of them. By "developing" in camera raw for the shadows, you may get yourself image data that is easier to work with WRT shadow details that are there. The technique you are talking about is usable to a certain extent though. If you have a high-contrast scene, it can be useful to save time in post-processing, or to simply make things easier in the realm of dodging and burning. Remember though, if the information isn't there in the original exposure, nothing is going to bring it back. A VERY good primer on the subject is located here: http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/pdfs/highlight_recovery.pdf -Mat -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
