Popsys: You’re never boring; you have infectious humor! 😊Your images and stills are some of the most relaxing photography on UA-cam in my opinion-not that it’s worth much 😉. I don’t do landscape photography, but you’ve inspired me to photographically pay attention to the various lakes and mountains near me. You have a truly transcendental vibe in how you work.👍🏾
I can confirm the Popsys humor is definitely finding its way into my workflow. Even when I'm not working actually. Haven't worked in 3 months with this fckin virus anyway so I guess you could say all the time?
I would say it matters a hell of a lot when it comes to capturing images. You always want to get the maximum amount of information to make creative post-processing as easy and flexible as possible. I have plenty of photos with blown out highlights or extremely dark shadows, but it was always a *choice*, not something I had to just accept as a limitation.
@@shaolin95 haha, no, i don't see it is a problem, i understand very well, just mean some people like those old style, Sadly i am still using 5D2, you know how it look like, but i am saving up money and planing upgrade, may be 6DS, or may be go for Sony, but ....... my canon lens are hard to give up with.
Very well said James. To view a perceived limitation or constraint to make you work harder and develop skill to overcome equipment limitations is true in life in general. Also, Wales is stunning. You UK guys have some fantastic landscapes to live and work in. Thanks for your time to make the vids. Never fall asleep!
G9. Aperature priority. In Filter settings, find HDYN High dynamic, on. Simultaneous record w/o filter, on, or off. I have found this really works well in bright sunlight, for my purpose which is A3+ printing with little to no touch up required. You can set one of the buttons to shoot a one shot RAW + JPG if you want to still do post processing, which I am not great doing. I find this feature very usefull!
Very interesting. I need to think more about using dynamic range limitations to enhance my compositions. Thank you for another thoughtful and insightful video.
Thank you for confirming that I don't always have to see everything in the shot perfectly and that highlight and shadows can be advantageous for the composition. Great examples. Glad you made it back to the car ok.
Never boring. Always interesting. Loved it as I'm a hobbyist, and I always learn something from your videos. Having a "story" has been incredibly helpful.
DR isn’t just about light vs dark. But also color graduation as well. Certain color tones aren’t picked up by cameras with poor DR. Bit depth also ties in a bit here, you’re probably not going to see any camera or monitor with the ability to shoot or view high bit depth images, without also being able to capture or display amazing dynamic range.
I think it depends. If your primary viewing device cant accurately show subtle tonal transitions, then it probably doesnt matter. I went from a Canon T6 to a Nikon d610, and to me the way it handles the transition from dark to light is just phenomenally better. It also has significantly more DR, so that makes sense, and I am viewing it on an Asus ProArt monitor that makes lack of DR painstakingly obvious. The canon just couldn't capture the soft pinks and aqua colors in sunrise and sunset photos that the nikon does. That is the beauty of having greater DR. Not only better shadow tonality, but color gradation as well.
I think you'd have to have an _exceptionally_ bad display for it to not be visible. I have a Dell U2515H (a "cheap" 8-bit monitor that doesn't even have 100% sRGB coverage and is only rated for deltas of >3) and I was able to see the difference between my old D600 and my current a7III. Even my cheap phones have had a noticeable difference.
I too went from Canon 450D to Nikon D5100 and the difference was huge. Canon just had poor DR. Maybe now they're better but back then Canon had awful banding noise in shadows and blown out highlights.
You're comparing apples to oranges. The t6 is an entry range crop sensor and the d610 is a full frame better level of camera. Of course the DR is going to significantly better.
How do you like the d610? I have d5300 right now. Thinking about going full frameon a budget. D610 and d700 are the cheapest I can find. D750 too if it's worth to spend more. Does the small AF area bothers you? What about low light AF capabilities?
I never thought about dynamic range until I got me a Nikon d500. I was always hearing how they have better DR and stuff but never realized just HOW important it was until I had to bring back shadows in my sunset pictures which usually silhouette things. Good video man. Watching this as a Tropical Storm moves over us so it's entertaining and informative among the drama we're facing right now.
You have great presenter personality. Very interesting video. I did come to this video from a videographers stand point however still really worth while. Thanks for your time and energy spent making this.
I have plenty of shots that a have blown out highlights and I like them that way helps keep the subject as the focal point. Great points James, sometimes it is nice to have shadows and details but most of the time I find doing so does take the focus away from my subject.
Really enjoy your outlook on things James, much more relatable than a lot of other channels! This one's a old but gold, I'm getting a bit fixated on dynamic range and currently not enjoying my M50.. so I am absolutely torn on a Lumix g9 vs s5 ! I do shoot a lot in low light... So m43 scares me BUT this video does change that thinking..
MORE chi·a·ro·scu·ro ... blacks giving base ... although I'll admit to often doing the drop highlights, lift shadows when I'm doing BW conversions and controlling via contrast slider or whatever filter density LR has built in (often green with people, orange / red for sky dominance ) ... but I grew up shooting zone which dictates you gotta keep details in the shadows and highlights, no "paper white" whenever possible. It's all style and preferences. I find I do 2 shot brackets a lot now - I meter using preserve highlights metering mode and the other shot is a +2... works out nicely on a D750. Only takes seconds to merge them if needed to get something better in the shadow end but usually not much of an issue... dynamic range covers it well on such a camera...
I shoot mostly video and on somewhat affordable gear for video you can't play with the shadows and highlights once the recording has been made like photographers can. You need to get it right in camera. I realized this forces you to think more about why you take that shot and what is important about it before you start rolling. Limited dynamic range simply means you will need to choose what to expose for, which means you need to know what the purpose of the shot is before you take it. It probably leads to better shots (or at least I like to think so). And a lot less fiddling and time-wasting afterwards.
super helpful. I went back and reedited a few photos and dropped the shadows resulting in decreased dynamic range but more compelling photos. was stuck in the "raise the shadows" rut.
The middle section, where you're showing adjustments to shadows and highlights and discussing options, is superb. Definitely worth a climb to the top of the mountain (so long as I'm not the one doing the climbing).
We agree again. HDR is so 2010's. We ain't meant to look into the sun and see detail and the pixies can't hide if you can see into the shadows. I lighten the mid-tones and deepen the shadows to get contrast. Don't be afraid to use those bits of blank canvas, light or dark, to emphasise your subject, just like limiting your depth of focus. This goes for landscape as well as any other genre of photography.
i agree with your argument that not all photos need a great dynamic range, raising shadow and bring down highlight. But great dynamic range give us insurance that in case we need the detail, its all there.. i shoot interior and architecture and great dynamic range is a plus and a must for me.
Great points. It makes sense to evaluate each image independently and not apply the same processing regardless. Maybe that works for most shots, but being able to recognize which shots it doesn't benefit is a critical skill. I think we photographers fall into a style that suits our processing skills, but as we grow, we need to recognize when that doesn't work, as well.
5:20am, jet lag, Popsys video, promise of sleep, oh yes just what I need! Dang it was interesting and I’m still awake. Oh well I’ll have to watch it again.
Couldn't agree more. The amount of pictures you see that have no shadows or highlights and then in the description they say I did an HDR but didn't need the others as there was enough dynamic range to ruin my shot, maybe not the last few words but we know how to read between the lines
Great video. Having a camera with great dynamic range gives you a lot of freedom, but it can't magically take better pictures for you. You have to know how, and when, to take full advantage of it.
For any hobbyists (or even professionals) that ping BOTH their shadows or highlights '50' or more, most sensors are not capable of squishing THAT MUCH data up/down into the midtones (in a realistic way). Instead, try under/over exposing and use ONE adjustment more than the other (25/75 for example) your images will look more natural. When used together, shadows and highlights cause a 'fake' low contrast / clarity effect.
I agree. On my Olympus E-M1 I have more dynamic range than I want in sunny day shots. I have to underexpose to get an image with some contrast. At night it may be different, but it's still ok to me.
You're right saying pushing shadows up and highlights down isn't always a good descision but i'd chose a camera giving me this creative choice in any case. The final choice (even a bad one) must still be guided by the photographer, not by a poorly designed camera.
Modern photography is an exercise in data gathering. Which is fine for surveillance and medical applications, but has nothing to do with eliciting emotions, which are the whole point of creative photography.
You always seem to assume an air of complacent nonchalance but actually by the time you reach the car you can see that you were just a bit concerned about getting back in time. Great video BTW - it is stunning in that area. maybe we will bump into each other on Tryfan one of these days.
I still don't see an inherent limitation on a sensor as being a positive though. If the camera captures the information I can choose to use it or not as the situation calls for. I essentially have one camera. That camera serves me for vacations, pictures of the family, landscapes, cityscapes, close-ups, telephoto images of small things, telephoto images or large things that are extremely far away and possibly moving, and technical photography for work. For the latter, I take pictures of telecom closets at work. Datacenters are very dimly lit to begin with and the cabinets and much of the equipment is black or dark colors. Having detail to work with gives me options. I don't have to use the same options when taking pictures of my family even if the data in the shadows is collected if I don't want to.
It is incredibly important, it's why I shoot Nikon, and it's so much more important in location and lifestyle shooting than in landscape. But even then, I can easily take a shot with the sky blue and bring detail out in the shadows without spending ridiculous amounts of time in photoshop blending images. But, I prefer being a photographer than a graphic artist.
Yeah. Tryfan. One of my favourite mountains too. And M4/3 for summit pushes? Yep. Did that. Top video as always. Wild camp: would love to hang out as your guide and talk about various stuff 😊👍🏻
Congratulations on your new sponsor "Dynamic Range"! With the amount of times you plugged their name, you'll finally be able to stretch to a new tripod. :-)
Hahah never saw your videos before. Love your sense of humour - sometimes humour on youtube is too little, too american or too "over the top", but I feel you're just being yourself? Well cheers, keep on making the internet more interesting!
Hmm, I don't know - I find a camera that takes away all the pain of thinking about proper exposure quite nice (whatever Sony model with DRO you might think of, and it works due to the dynamic range of their sensor, and most likely their electronics behind it, too). Having blown out highlights without having realized it while shooting I find a bad thing (especially as I'm used to shoot on color negative film - try to blow out highlights on the negative with Kodak Portra 400 or Fujicolor Pro 400H), so this is my biggest gripe with my Olympus Pen F. Granted, the Lumix G9 will have a better dynamic range (as has the Olympus E-M1 MkII) and give more leeway, but it still feels uncomfortable to constantly think about not over-exposing, and having to think about bracketing is cumbersome for me. That said - I still love the Pen F and prefer using it compared to my Sony A7. So it might not matter as much as I think … ;-)
I like having almost 15 stops of dynamic range but only occasionally lift the shadows and drop highlights 100%. But it’s nice to have the ability should you need to.
If nothing else, high dynamic range is great for when you do want to shoot a bracket but can't for some reason. I find that happening a lot when I go out to shoot because of living in a city. Bracketing with moving cars and people isn't fun when you actually want them in your shot. For general shooting though, I do bring up shadows and bring down highlights, but I never do it to the point that it takes out all of the contrast. I always have a black point and a white point. Capture One's sliders thankfully work on different enough brightness levels in different ways so you can bring up most of the shadows with the shadow HDR slider, bring the darkest of them back down with the standard shadows slider, and work some brush magic without lifting a finger with the highlights HDR slider. (Before anyone says anything, I tried doing the same in Lightroom with its sliders. Never could get the same look.)
James, I'm looking to update my camera from a Lumix FZ330 bridge camera to something (Lumix preferably) with interchangeable lenses. My budget is only around £700-£800. Can you recommend anything?
I own a Nikon Df, its sensor has more dynamic range than any other camera I have ever owned. Yes it can be handy, but my favourite camera is my Leica X, which has a lot less dynamic range. Does it really matter. Only when you want to shoot in ridiculously low light - the Df will do it at will. The X will only do it if I use a tripod. I also only carry two lenses - both primes. Lightweight, go anywhere kit. I used to lug around large heavy stuff, but realised half of it stayed in my bag. So I stopped taking it. What do you really need - a camera, a back up, a wide lens, and a more zoomed prime of some kind. A series of filters dependent on what you are doing, and a tripod if you think you need it. Batteries and cards are given.
What about image black point? I see that on most of your stills on instagram you go for a soft white rolloff or a soft black rolloff, do you consider it prior taking the shot? So compensating exposure if needed?
It’s funny, I look as my initial exposure as my blank. My goal is to capture as much detail across the frame as I can, then I shape it to what I want in post. I prefer shooting as flat as I can initially, and then I can add or remove contrast to the things that I want in post. Dynamic range is a means to an end to me. I’d love to, one day, afford a camera with so much dynamic range that I never have to worry about exposure.
The constraint of a sensor should be taken as a positive. Brilliant, except that is too much work for most modern photographer. Btw, perfect images to go along with this topic.
A camera that captures more dynamic range is better than one that captures less, because the former gives the photographer more creative flexibility. It's the same as with shallow depth of field. One doesn't always have to use the full capabilities of the camera, but the option needs to be there. If it isn't, then the camera is limiting ones creativity. That's why more professional, larger sensor cameras are superior to entry level crop sensor cameras.
I remember a few years ago, when I came home from Glencoe, I was watching videos about the place. I started to shout for my wife to come in when I found one of your videos: this guy is making photos of exactly that waterfall, where we stopped. Since then I follow you, probably seen all of your videos, but I still don`t understand how do you appear on places like these mountaintops. You look like somebody dropped you there, or you just woke up there with no memories from the last night.
This is also seemingly limited to your talk of landscapes which I understand, sometimes having too much DR is horrible, makes the skies look super fake, but for portraits I’m telling you I can’t get enough DR. Dynamic range is not only about highlight rolloff but also color graduation, and having more gradual color shifts when dealing with certain clothing, differences in skin types, etc. all are super sensitive to minor shifts in light and color. One moment you could have beautiful skin tones, and the next, horrible. Having better DR also helps when editing skin that may be partially lit and partially unlit. It really depends.
I love Pen Yr Ole Wen, although I’ve only ever walked up to the lake then climbed up onto the summit before heading north to Daffyd... when I was last in Snowdonia I said to my wife I was going to spend the day in and around the Ogwen Valley, then the temperature went up to 27° and she wanted me back by 3 so I went round Llyn Idwal and went over to the falls on Snowdon’s Watkin Path instead... I need to find a way of moving to North Wales to be closer to it all...
Dynamic range is the most important thing though, more dynamic range more space to "maneuver", that you don't need to open shadows on an every photo is another issue, this doesn't make dynamic range less important, when you don't need bring up all the details, it's ok, very easy in LR, but what if you need? Like saying framing is not important since you can always crop and cut out parts you don't need, true, but what if you need to extend, can you add smth you didn't have originally?
Regarding bringing down highlights, another youtuber put it quite nicely: "If you think about it, the sun is actually quite bright."
Popsys: You’re never boring; you have infectious humor! 😊Your images and stills are some of the most relaxing photography on UA-cam in my opinion-not that it’s worth much 😉. I don’t do landscape photography, but you’ve inspired me to photographically pay attention to the various lakes and mountains near me. You have a truly transcendental vibe in how you work.👍🏾
Thank you so much, that's so lovely to hear!
I can confirm the Popsys humor is definitely finding its way into my workflow. Even when I'm not working actually. Haven't worked in 3 months with this fckin virus anyway so I guess you could say all the time?
I would say it matters a hell of a lot when it comes to capturing images. You always want to get the maximum amount of information to make creative post-processing as easy and flexible as possible. I have plenty of photos with blown out highlights or extremely dark shadows, but it was always a *choice*, not something I had to just accept as a limitation.
I've been thinking about this more and more ever since I saw Jamie Windsor's video on chiaroscuro. Glad to see your take on it!
With high dynamic range, you can always get rid of details in shadow and highlight, but you can’t do the reverse
Your views on dynamic range have more dynamic range.
Ha! Nice one.
Could not agree more. This trend of low contrast images..ugh. Let your shadows be shadows!
Gerald Bertram Photography nothing says average photographer like +100 shadows
@@superash82 That's not what he said😀
in a different way, more dynamic range, will reduce the contrast of the images, especially for the shadow area.
@@jxmai7687 only if you don't know what you are doing. You must be a Canon user to be claiming that more DR is now a problem not a benefit lol
@@shaolin95 haha, no, i don't see it is a problem, i understand very well, just mean some people like those old style, Sadly i am still using 5D2, you know how it look like, but i am saving up money and planing upgrade, may be 6DS, or may be go for Sony, but ....... my canon lens are hard to give up with.
Loving your channel mate! We just got a G9 so you’ve been very helpful 👊🏼
I love your mix of good information and dry humour! Always fun to watch and educational.
James, your video's are never boring.
Thanks James. Also more B-roll with examples is great. Actually educational.
Very well said James. To view a perceived limitation or constraint to make you work harder and develop skill to overcome equipment limitations is true in life in general. Also, Wales is stunning. You UK guys have some fantastic landscapes to live and work in. Thanks for your time to make the vids. Never fall asleep!
G9. Aperature priority. In Filter settings, find HDYN High dynamic, on. Simultaneous record w/o filter, on, or off. I have found this really works well in bright sunlight, for my purpose which is A3+ printing with little to no touch up required. You can set one of the buttons to shoot a one shot RAW + JPG if you want to still do post processing, which I am not great doing. I find this feature very usefull!
Very interesting. I need to think more about using dynamic range limitations to enhance my compositions. Thank you for another thoughtful and insightful video.
Thank you for confirming that I don't always have to see everything in the shot perfectly and that highlight and shadows can be advantageous for the composition. Great examples. Glad you made it back to the car ok.
Thanks Gisele! 😃
Never boring. Always interesting. Loved it as I'm a hobbyist, and I always learn something from your videos. Having a "story" has been incredibly helpful.
Yes! I'm glad someone finally said it! There are too many photographers afraid of the dark.
DR isn’t just about light vs dark. But also color graduation as well. Certain color tones aren’t picked up by cameras with poor DR. Bit depth also ties in a bit here, you’re probably not going to see any camera or monitor with the ability to shoot or view high bit depth images, without also being able to capture or display amazing dynamic range.
I think it depends. If your primary viewing device cant accurately show subtle tonal transitions, then it probably doesnt matter.
I went from a Canon T6 to a Nikon d610, and to me the way it handles the transition from dark to light is just phenomenally better. It also has significantly more DR, so that makes sense, and I am viewing it on an Asus ProArt monitor that makes lack of DR painstakingly obvious.
The canon just couldn't capture the soft pinks and aqua colors in sunrise and sunset photos that the nikon does. That is the beauty of having greater DR. Not only better shadow tonality, but color gradation as well.
I think you'd have to have an _exceptionally_ bad display for it to not be visible. I have a Dell U2515H (a "cheap" 8-bit monitor that doesn't even have 100% sRGB coverage and is only rated for deltas of >3) and I was able to see the difference between my old D600 and my current a7III. Even my cheap phones have had a noticeable difference.
I too went from Canon 450D to Nikon D5100 and the difference was huge. Canon just had poor DR. Maybe now they're better but back then Canon had awful banding noise in shadows and blown out highlights.
You're comparing apples to oranges. The t6 is an entry range crop sensor and the d610 is a full frame better level of camera. Of course the DR is going to significantly better.
@@Hatchmade That's... literally the point that's being made? That the difference is noticeable?
How do you like the d610?
I have d5300 right now. Thinking about going full frameon a budget. D610 and d700 are the cheapest I can find. D750 too if it's worth to spend more.
Does the small AF area bothers you? What about low light AF capabilities?
I never thought about dynamic range until I got me a Nikon d500. I was always hearing how they have better DR and stuff but never realized just HOW important it was until I had to bring back shadows in my sunset pictures which usually silhouette things. Good video man. Watching this as a Tropical Storm moves over us so it's entertaining and informative among the drama we're facing right now.
Thanks! Not boring at all. You have a good approach to the theme.
You have great presenter personality. Very interesting video. I did come to this video from a videographers stand point however still really worth while. Thanks for your time and energy spent making this.
I have plenty of shots that a have blown out highlights and I like them that way helps keep the subject as the focal point. Great points James, sometimes it is nice to have shadows and details but most of the time I find doing so does take the focus away from my subject.
Nice one.. And that last shot with the moon, uhf! What a treat!
Thank you! 😃
Really enjoy your outlook on things James, much more relatable than a lot of other channels! This one's a old but gold, I'm getting a bit fixated on dynamic range and currently not enjoying my M50.. so I am absolutely torn on a Lumix g9 vs s5 ! I do shoot a lot in low light... So m43 scares me BUT this video does change that thinking..
MORE chi·a·ro·scu·ro ... blacks giving base ... although I'll admit to often doing the drop highlights, lift shadows when I'm doing BW conversions and controlling via contrast slider or whatever filter density LR has built in (often green with people, orange / red for sky dominance ) ... but I grew up shooting zone which dictates you gotta keep details in the shadows and highlights, no "paper white" whenever possible. It's all style and preferences. I find I do 2 shot brackets a lot now - I meter using preserve highlights metering mode and the other shot is a +2... works out nicely on a D750. Only takes seconds to merge them if needed to get something better in the shadow end but usually not much of an issue... dynamic range covers it well on such a camera...
I shoot mostly video and on somewhat affordable gear for video you can't play with the shadows and highlights once the recording has been made like photographers can. You need to get it right in camera. I realized this forces you to think more about why you take that shot and what is important about it before you start rolling. Limited dynamic range simply means you will need to choose what to expose for, which means you need to know what the purpose of the shot is before you take it. It probably leads to better shots (or at least I like to think so). And a lot less fiddling and time-wasting afterwards.
super helpful. I went back and reedited a few photos and dropped the shadows resulting in decreased dynamic range but more compelling photos. was stuck in the "raise the shadows" rut.
The middle section, where you're showing adjustments to shadows and highlights and discussing options, is superb. Definitely worth a climb to the top of the mountain (so long as I'm not the one doing the climbing).
Cheers John, and agreed! 😃
It's very interesting how much your opinions and views change over time. And very impressive
We agree again. HDR is so 2010's. We ain't meant to look into the sun and see detail and the pixies can't hide if you can see into the shadows. I lighten the mid-tones and deepen the shadows to get contrast. Don't be afraid to use those bits of blank canvas, light or dark, to emphasise your subject, just like limiting your depth of focus. This goes for landscape as well as any other genre of photography.
I needed this video. Ever since I've bailed out of Adobe and switched to Capture One I miss exposure blending, time to change things up it seems.
i agree with your argument that not all photos need a great dynamic range, raising shadow and bring down highlight. But great dynamic range give us insurance that in case we need the detail, its all there..
i shoot interior and architecture and great dynamic range is a plus and a must for me.
Great points. It makes sense to evaluate each image independently and not apply the same processing regardless. Maybe that works for most shots, but being able to recognize which shots it doesn't benefit is a critical skill. I think we photographers fall into a style that suits our processing skills, but as we grow, we need to recognize when that doesn't work, as well.
Thanks i never thought of it like that. Great.
Really enjoyed this one. Glad you made it back to the car.
I actually love underexposing my shadows in street photography or blowing out highlights to really bring out the subject. Great video!
5:20am, jet lag, Popsys video, promise of sleep, oh yes just what I need! Dang it was interesting and I’m still awake. Oh well I’ll have to watch it again.
Good video James, very informative.
Mike
Good point! I totally agree.
Couldn't agree more. The amount of pictures you see that have no shadows or highlights and then in the description they say I did an HDR but didn't need the others as there was enough dynamic range to ruin my shot, maybe not the last few words but we know how to read between the lines
I was in Norway this summer and totally improved on my all time best images. The trip was totally unbelievable! No, I didn't go to Lofoten.
Lots of good info today Mr Popsys, very much on point. :)
Cheers mate! 😃
Good points on dynamic range. I shoot mostly B&W and care more about tonal range.
Very well said James, I hope peeps are listening! Cheers.
Thanks 😃
Another video that makes you think and question yourself and the "truths" we tell ourselves and others about photography. 👍
Your pictures are awesome! I dont know how you do it, but I love your style of photography. :-)
Great video. Having a camera with great dynamic range gives you a lot of freedom, but it can't magically take better pictures for you. You have to know how, and when, to take full advantage of it.
For any hobbyists (or even professionals) that ping BOTH their shadows or highlights '50' or more, most sensors are not capable of squishing THAT MUCH data up/down into the midtones (in a realistic way). Instead, try under/over exposing and use ONE adjustment more than the other (25/75 for example) your images will look more natural. When used together, shadows and highlights cause a 'fake' low contrast / clarity effect.
Always interesting! Rock on!
Thanks 😃
Excellent vid :)
I agree. On my Olympus E-M1 I have more dynamic range than I want in sunny day shots. I have to underexpose to get an image with some contrast. At night it may be different, but it's still ok to me.
Very relaxing. Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
You're right saying pushing shadows up and highlights down isn't always a good descision but i'd chose a camera giving me this creative choice in any case. The final choice (even a bad one) must still be guided by the photographer, not by a poorly designed camera.
Best of you is your humour...I 💓 it
😃 Thanks!
Modern photography is an exercise in data gathering. Which is fine for surveillance and medical applications, but has nothing to do with eliciting emotions, which are the whole point of creative photography.
You always seem to assume an air of complacent nonchalance but actually by the time you reach the car you can see that you were just a bit concerned about getting back in time. Great video BTW - it is stunning in that area. maybe we will bump into each other on Tryfan one of these days.
Brilliant !
Thanks so much :)
Yea you should camp up there. Need to get the obligatory feet sticking out of the tent sunset shot though 😝
Thanks for the eye opener, I'll try your eye shutter tonight!
😃
You are a fantastic man :) Well said
Thank you 😃
I still don't see an inherent limitation on a sensor as being a positive though. If the camera captures the information I can choose to use it or not as the situation calls for.
I essentially have one camera. That camera serves me for vacations, pictures of the family, landscapes, cityscapes, close-ups, telephoto images of small things, telephoto images or large things that are extremely far away and possibly moving, and technical photography for work.
For the latter, I take pictures of telecom closets at work. Datacenters are very dimly lit to begin with and the cabinets and much of the equipment is black or dark colors. Having detail to work with gives me options. I don't have to use the same options when taking pictures of my family even if the data in the shadows is collected if I don't want to.
Interesting point of view. Awesome location!
One of my new favourites 😍
I'm waking up with this video 🙈
It is incredibly important, it's why I shoot Nikon, and it's so much more important in location and lifestyle shooting than in landscape. But even then, I can easily take a shot with the sky blue and bring detail out in the shadows without spending ridiculous amounts of time in photoshop blending images. But, I prefer being a photographer than a graphic artist.
Very interesting topic and point of view.
Thanks Paula!
Yeah. Tryfan. One of my favourite mountains too. And M4/3 for summit pushes? Yep. Did that. Top video as always. Wild camp: would love to hang out as your guide and talk about various stuff 😊👍🏻
Congratulations on your new sponsor "Dynamic Range"! With the amount of times you plugged their name, you'll finally be able to stretch to a new tripod. :-)
Hahah never saw your videos before. Love your sense of humour - sometimes humour on youtube is too little, too american or too "over the top", but I feel you're just being yourself? Well cheers, keep on making the internet more interesting!
Hmm, I don't know - I find a camera that takes away all the pain of thinking about proper exposure quite nice (whatever Sony model with DRO you might think of, and it works due to the dynamic range of their sensor, and most likely their electronics behind it, too). Having blown out highlights without having realized it while shooting I find a bad thing (especially as I'm used to shoot on color negative film - try to blow out highlights on the negative with Kodak Portra 400 or Fujicolor Pro 400H), so this is my biggest gripe with my Olympus Pen F. Granted, the Lumix G9 will have a better dynamic range (as has the Olympus E-M1 MkII) and give more leeway, but it still feels uncomfortable to constantly think about not over-exposing, and having to think about bracketing is cumbersome for me. That said - I still love the Pen F and prefer using it compared to my Sony A7. So it might not matter as much as I think … ;-)
Did you get any shots of the stone pathway, round the 6:30 mark? Looked like a good opportunity
Thank you Sir! RockOn those jelly lega.
Very interesting James. Need to take your wise words on board. Editing some photos at the moment. Nice one.
Cheers Steve, enjoy!
@@JamesPopsysPhoto Images looking much better James. Thanks for that simple tip.
James! Thanks for the sleep-aid. 😉
What five lenses did you have on you? At a guess, the 12-60 and something ultra-wide for the video?
Good short and sweet. At least you were not wearing flip flops on that hike.
I like having almost 15 stops of dynamic range but only occasionally lift the shadows and drop highlights 100%. But it’s nice to have the ability should you need to.
If nothing else, high dynamic range is great for when you do want to shoot a bracket but can't for some reason. I find that happening a lot when I go out to shoot because of living in a city. Bracketing with moving cars and people isn't fun when you actually want them in your shot.
For general shooting though, I do bring up shadows and bring down highlights, but I never do it to the point that it takes out all of the contrast. I always have a black point and a white point. Capture One's sliders thankfully work on different enough brightness levels in different ways so you can bring up most of the shadows with the shadow HDR slider, bring the darkest of them back down with the standard shadows slider, and work some brush magic without lifting a finger with the highlights HDR slider. (Before anyone says anything, I tried doing the same in Lightroom with its sliders. Never could get the same look.)
James, I'm looking to update my camera from a Lumix FZ330 bridge camera to something (Lumix preferably) with interchangeable lenses. My budget is only around £700-£800. Can you recommend anything?
I own a Nikon Df, its sensor has more dynamic range than any other camera I have ever owned. Yes it can be handy, but my favourite camera is my Leica X, which has a lot less dynamic range. Does it really matter. Only when you want to shoot in ridiculously low light - the Df will do it at will. The X will only do it if I use a tripod.
I also only carry two lenses - both primes. Lightweight, go anywhere kit. I used to lug around large heavy stuff, but realised half of it stayed in my bag. So I stopped taking it.
What do you really need - a camera, a back up, a wide lens, and a more zoomed prime of some kind. A series of filters dependent on what you are doing, and a tripod if you think you need it. Batteries and cards are given.
I'm just watching this video while waiting to get my hair cut. So exciting. 🤣
In a previous video you said that you don't like tripods. How are you bracketing then?
What about image black point? I see that on most of your stills on instagram you go for a soft white rolloff or a soft black rolloff, do you consider it prior taking the shot? So compensating exposure if needed?
do you have any videos on exposer? cos my photos are always WAY blown out... I have to stop taking them in the middle of the day lol.
It’s funny, I look as my initial exposure as my blank. My goal is to capture as much detail across the frame as I can, then I shape it to what I want in post. I prefer shooting as flat as I can initially, and then I can add or remove contrast to the things that I want in post.
Dynamic range is a means to an end to me. I’d love to, one day, afford a camera with so much dynamic range that I never have to worry about exposure.
No worry, that camera is not out yet.
what lens were you using I have a g9 as well!
The constraint of a sensor should be taken as a positive. Brilliant, except that is too much work for most modern photographer. Btw, perfect images to go along with this topic.
Love your off-mainstream views - there are too many UA-cam sheep. More power to you, and more videos please.
🤗🤔😐😶😯😧😵😴🤤....😲😳what did I miss? Lovely shots!
😂😂
James Popsys thought you’d appreciate that 😁
Agree, i'm quite disappointed when i have photos that don't need shadow recovery.
I know I have been guilty of those extremes on the sliders. I'm trying to get better and this video has been the perfect ... RetsetVX nod's off ... xD
Well, I would like to have a camera with good DR, than not...right?
James, do you like blue? :) great videos dude!
A wee bit! 😂
A camera that captures more dynamic range is better than one that captures less, because the former gives the photographer more creative flexibility. It's the same as with shallow depth of field. One doesn't always have to use the full capabilities of the camera, but the option needs to be there. If it isn't, then the camera is limiting ones creativity. That's why more professional, larger sensor cameras are superior to entry level crop sensor cameras.
where do i get that hat ??
I did fall asleep. Came back and watched it all though.
Dynamic range is important as well as good postprocesing
I remember a few years ago, when I came home from Glencoe, I was watching videos about the place. I started to shout for my wife to come in when I found one of your videos: this guy is making photos of exactly that waterfall, where we stopped. Since then I follow you, probably seen all of your videos, but I still don`t understand how do you appear on places like these mountaintops. You look like somebody dropped you there, or you just woke up there with no memories from the last night.
5:46 My takeaway from this video Lumix = Pain. Got it.
This is also seemingly limited to your talk of landscapes which I understand, sometimes having too much DR is horrible, makes the skies look super fake, but for portraits I’m telling you I can’t get enough DR. Dynamic range is not only about highlight rolloff but also color graduation, and having more gradual color shifts when dealing with certain clothing, differences in skin types, etc. all are super sensitive to minor shifts in light and color. One moment you could have beautiful skin tones, and the next, horrible. Having better DR also helps when editing skin that may be partially lit and partially unlit. It really depends.
I love Pen Yr Ole Wen, although I’ve only ever walked up to the lake then climbed up onto the summit before heading north to Daffyd... when I was last in Snowdonia I said to my wife I was going to spend the day in and around the Ogwen Valley, then the temperature went up to 27° and she wanted me back by 3 so I went round Llyn Idwal and went over to the falls on Snowdon’s Watkin Path instead... I need to find a way of moving to North Wales to be closer to it all...
Moving back there is my plan too mate! 😃 Sounds like a great day that!
Dynamic range is the most important thing though, more dynamic range more space to "maneuver", that you don't need to open shadows on an every photo is another issue, this doesn't make dynamic range less important, when you don't need bring up all the details, it's ok, very easy in LR, but what if you need? Like saying framing is not important since you can always crop and cut out parts you don't need, true, but what if you need to extend, can you add smth you didn't have originally?