Exposure

The camera offers multiple tools to determine the current image exposure levels, and it provides the tools to adjust the exposure to the desired levels.

When using the R3D file format, you can correct color temperature and ISO settings at any time. The aperture and exposure time however, are two of the parameters that you cannot corrected later in R3D files.

NOTE: The ProRes file format burns in ISO and White Balance, and does not allow you to adjust these settings post-recording like you can with the R3D format.

While the correct exposure is always an artistic decision, there are best practices for capturing the most dynamic range while also allowing post-production to preserve the intended image information.

The goal is to reduce clipping in the bright and dark parts of the image as much as possible. Otherwise, the sensor information is lost in the overexposed and underexposed areas.

The primary tool for determining the exposure levels is the histogram. It shows the exact luminance levels of the red, green, and blue pixels after you apply the ISO and White Balance settings. Monitors have their own color gamuts and brightness levels which make the monitor less than optimal for determining the camera's exposure levels.

This camera includes a histogram, and a simple RGB raw pixel exposure meter, which allows you to determine proper exposure regardless of the set ISO or camera look (for more information refer to Histogram Page).

The histogram provides information about how the brightness is distributed in the image. This allows you to see how close a scene is to clipping in the light and dark areas, which makes it easy to choose aperture, exposure, and ND filter solutions accordingly.

False Color Exposure Tools

While the histogram provides information about the brightness distribution and clipping of the image, it does not show you the areas in the image that are near, or that have reached, clipping. For this, the camera provides image overlays that provide false colors to indicate precise exposure levels.

False Color Exposure Mode

The False Color Exposure mode overlay provides information where the image is close to clipping or already clipping in the highlights (red) and low-lights (green) (refer to False Color Exposure Mode).

Example of monitored image in Exposure Mode:

False Color Video Mode

The False Color Video mode provides more gradual information about the brightness in different parts of the image. This is helpful when you want to expose skin color at the right level, while ignoring the fact that backgrounds might be overexposed or underexposed (refer to False Color Video Mode).

Example of monitored image in Video Mode: