Can I get some histogram help, please?

[Brian Farmer]

Hello fellow Fs100 users. I am on a quest to figure out how to use the damn histogram. I do love this camera. But when paired with Franks G-Log Ultimate profile that he specifically says to "set your black levels a hair above zero IRE (or until the histogram touches the left side)". What dose that mean? Someone else has asked this question with no response. Also, how does one read the histogram? What should the histogram look like when there is prefect exposure? I do have the Vortex Media DVD. But they do seem to brush over the histogram part. Thank you in advance!

[Luc De Wandel]

The histogram gives you an idea of the brightness and contrast of the scene. When filming a scene with a lot of contrast, the histogram (let's call it 'the white mountain range') will fill the whole horizontal width of the graph, while when there's little contrast - say in fog - it is only a 'single mountain top'. The idea - put very simplified- is to get the 'mountain range' right in the middle of the histogram mini-screen. Then whites and blacks will be exposed correctly. Even if the graph is only a 'small bump', in low-contrast situations, adjust exposure so that the 'lump' is in the middle of the screen.

This is not the sensitometric explanation, but a simplified one. Let me know if you found it useful!

[Oren Arieli]

You can find plenty of tutorials online describing the use of a histogram. Understanding Histograms

But I do wish that Sony had given us the option for a waveform monitor (and vectorscope) with these cameras. I would gladly pay extra for those features.

[Woody Sanford]

Originally Posted by Brian Farmer

Hello fellow Fs100 users. I am on a quest to figure out how to use the damn histogram. I do love this camera. But when paired with Franks G-Log Ultimate profile that he specifically says to "set your black levels a hair above zero IRE (or until the histogram touches the left side)". What dose that mean?

The first adjustment in the picture profile is the black level. Watch your histogram as you adjust it up or down. You will see the left of the scale move to the left limit of the graph with a minus number or away from it with a positive number. You just don't want your blacks crushed so that you don't get detail in the shadows.