Saturday, 10 February 2018

raw - Can I simulate Active D-Lighting on post processing?


I'm using a Nikon D5000 and I think I get more noise using Active D-Lighting on Auto. If I turn it off, how can I simulate A D-Lighting in post processing? I shoot RAW.



Answer



Active D-Lighting intentionally underexposes the image and then boosts the shadows (and applies other adjustments) hence the additional noise you're noticing. This is done to increase the highlight headroom and prevent losing information by blowing the highlights.


You can get a similar effect in most raw processing software by using custom tonecurves, or more advanced features such as fill light in Adobe Camera Raw, but if you turn D-Lighting off you must remember to underexpose as lost highlight information cannot be recovered in post!


No comments:

Post a Comment

Why is the front element of a telephoto lens larger than a wide angle lens?

A wide angle lens has a wide angle of view, therefore it would make sense that the front of the lens would also be wide. A telephoto lens ha...