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Leica DIGILUX 2 User Guide

1. A practical guide to the Leica DIGILUX 2 camera e How your camera works e Configuring your computer e Digital imaging basics e Printing your images e Working with raw files e Creative techniques A Center for Digital Imaging Workflow Guide www cdiny com Copyright for all text and images used in this work are retained by Scott Geffert 2004 unless otherwise marked All rights reserved No part of this book shall be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise without the written permission of the author No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of information contained herein Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein Trademarks All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately indicated Center for Digital Imaging may not attest to the accuracy of this information Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark Adobe the Adobe logo and Photoshop are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated Apple the Apple logo ColorSync FireWire AppleScript are registered trademarks of Ap
2. Overall this JPEG image file is technically exposed properly but given that the motorcycle was photo graphed in direct sunlight the silver gas tank is slightly overexposed While some adjustments could be made on the computer the best correction to this problem would be to reposition the motorcycle to avoid the direct sunlight Editing suggestions Adobe Photoshop CS If an image is poorly exposed and does not have a pleasing tonal balance work methodically from the shadow point up through the mid tone and highlight areas Your first corrections should be to the levels adjustment in the shadow area Using the RGB readouts in the Info dialog adjust the black point to read values in the 5 15 range on average Next adjust the mid tone values to the 110 127 range and the highlight if there is a bright white value in your image to a value of 240 to 245 Think in terms of a 21 step Kodak Gray scale as high lighted earlier in this chapter Tonal adjustments to your images may be directly correlated to this target to give you a road map to follow as you edit an image After the Levels adjustments the Curves dialog is used to fine tune the tonal balance of the image Qetpet Levels 9 SS 383 In this particular example the camera was aimed towards the sun on a hazy day The cameras meter bi ased exposure to the sky causing the intended subject to become underexposed Using the tonal values not color as a
3. Before touching any editing tools you should learn to evaluate an image While most people today work with color images it is important to think of all images in terms of tonal gradation In traditional film based imaging several key factors directly influenced the final quality of an image D Max refers to the most dense area of an image and D Min is the lightest tonal point in an image The Gamma slope of an image or curve relates to how tones are distributed between black and white Traditionally the Gamma for transmissive materials is 2 2 and the Gamma for reflective subjects is 1 8 While digital imaging seems complex to most people making the transition these tried and true photographic principles still remain as important as ever When you capture create or scan an image into a computer you are directly involved with tonal deci sions and your adjustments may make or break an image with equal ease When people processed film they adhered to very exacting processing times and temperatures to achieve high quality With digital im aging the same people will engage in guesswork that only leads to a frustrating experience When evaluating or editing a digital image take a methodical approach For example The darkest area of an image has a numeric value D Max represented as a value of zero 0 The light est area of your image has a numeric value D Min represented as a value of 255 As a general rule it i
4. Note You may also use a third party USB or Firewire External SD card reader Laptop users may choose to use a SD to PCMCIA adapter Connecting your Digilux 2 for direct downloading eSet the Digilux 2 to Playback Mode eConfirm that the Digilux is in the Mass Storage or PTP USB Mode This parameter may be found on the second page of the playback setup menu options eOpen the cover on the left side of the camera to expose the USB port and insert the cable to your camera and an available USB port on your computer eln a few moments the Macintosh will recognize the camera and will automatically launch the iPhoto application Note The first time you launch iPhoto by a direct camera connection the operating system will ask you if you wish to use iPhoto when connecting your camera De you want to wie Photo wher you comrect your digital camera Chew he Later Une Peete We suggest that you click the Use iPhoto button You may always change this preference down the road Once iPhoto launches you will notice an Import button on the lower right of the iPhoto window Clicking this button will begin importing all of the images from your camera to the computer By default the software is set to leave the images on your card untouched If you click the option to erase camera contents after transfer the images will be deleted from your camera upon successful down
5. computer running MAC O0S10 3 Panther Apple computer has played an important role in the photographic community as the operating system is tightly integrated with the hardware itself This integration allows us to focus on common settings that may be applied across many models While options specified in this section may translate to the PC plat form keep in mind that each PC computer is shipped with a dizzying array of software tools display cards and drivers that make it difficult to define compatibil ity within the scope of this guide The Digilux 2 and your Macintosh When working with the Macintosh computer and the Digilux 2 less is more This means that as long as your are using the latest version of the MAC OS currently version 10 3 you do not need to install any driver software to download or view images The iPhoto software application that comes bundled with every Macintosh computer is a wonderful tool for work ing with your digital images and may serve as your home base for your collection of digital images iPhoto is easy to use and is well documented so you may take the steps in our guide and build upon this basic information at your own pace iPhoto does not currently recognize the Digilux 2 raw format image files but we explain how to work with raw files later in this section You will need the following items to connect to your computer eThe USB to camera cable supplied
6. 1000164 RAW Jprivate tmp 01 Temporaryliems iPhota LIO00165 RAW private imp S01 Temporaryltems iPhota L1O00166 RAW private timp 501 Temporaryitems iPhoto LIG0016 7 RAW Whenever you see the Unreadable Files dialog you should MANUALLY copy any raw files from your card to this folder By using this method you will be able to quickly access your raw image files for editing To make accessing your raw files easier you may drag the raw file folder to the right portion of your dock This way you will not have to dig through folders on your hard drive to see your image files Note You may also wish to create a third folder for edited images in your pictures folder for images derived from your raw files This folder may also be placed in your dock for easy access You could call this folder Finals or some other meaningful name Chapter Three Digital Imaging Basics Digital Imaging Basics Before we begin discussing how to use your images on the computer we feel that it is important to under stand what is going on under the hood As we discussed in the beginning of this guide the Digilux camera delivers a processed JPEG or a raw for mat image file While we reviewed the basic concepts of how the images are created in your camera in this section we will explain how the images inter operate with your computer Bit Depth Describes how many individual tones may be stored in a digital image file In th
7. Setup from the File menu and check that the Epson 2200 is chosen and select the paper size you wish to use Page Setup Settings Format 5 D US Letter Page Artribures Paper Size 8 50 in x 11 00 in lg Orientation Te 1 Scale 100 Cancel amp OK 4 their computer workstations eChoose Print with Preview from the File menu and select the paper profile from the print space menu for the ink and paper currently loaded in your printer In the example below Epson s default profile for Velvet Fine Art Paper and Matte Black Ink has been selected Note The 2200 prints best on matte surface media the matte black ink cartridge installed You may also check Scale to Fit Media to avoid problems with sizing eClicking on the Print button in the Photoshop Print with Preview panel will take you to the Epson print dialog The settings of the Epson print dialog are critical to making a successful print eln the Epson Print dialog the first step is to verify that the printer you selected in the Page Setup dialog exactly matches Under the drop down menu marked Copies and Pages you will need to select and configure specific print options to achieve a successful print Print s z Cvs re 2200 Presets Stands Copies amp Pages W collated Cancel Print Under Print Settings select your paper type and under Advanced Settings mode se
8. and is not prone to the red eye effect Shooting portraits indoors is always a challenge as interiors are almost always mixed light situations and are also often low light situations The trick to success ful indoor portraiture is to learn to evaluate the scene in terms of camera settings Of course you may always set the camera to fully automatic flash mode but your images will be less interesting As we have mentioned before you may take multiple approaches to your picture taking sessions You may easily take a few images in automatic mode and then switch to manual mode to try some more creative ap proaches The greatest benefit to digital photography is the ability to shoot and evaluate unlimited images Here are a few guidelines you may follow as you ex plore indoor portraiture elf you are shooting in interiors with light colored stan dard height ceilings the built in bounce flash is a great tool to both help with exposure and to correct color balance Using the bounce flash helps in two ways the daylight color temperature helps insure accurate skin tones and the additional light helps enhance shadow detail elf you are shooting in large interior spaces with high ceilings the bounce flash will not be effective While using the direct flash would tend to overpower the ambient light there is another option with the built in flash By using the built in flash along with manual exposure settings you may fine tune the ba
9. gradations available in the 8bit per pixel option Adjustment Tab Controls White Balance The white balance function is somewhat self explana tory in that you may drag the temperature slider to compensate for mixed lighting conditions Enter a desired color temperature look or drag the slider to interactively control the color and tint While some image editing software tools offer the ability to force a selected point to become neutral the Adobe Camera Raw plug in does not include this function To make the best use of this tool the goal is to achieve the most natural color balance for the predominant subject in your image The example image on this page is typical of a mixed light situation The color balance has been adjusted to make the laptop appear close to it s natural aluminum color When using the white balance tool small adjust ments will dramatically alter the image so keep your adjustments to the minimum Exposure This slider adjusts the entire range of tones in the image to a lighter or darker value There is no direct correlation to photographic f stops but you may refer to the RGB value readouts to gauge the effect of your tonal adjustments Shadows This slider adjusts the value of the exported black point The numeric value under the slider does not represent any specific photographic value but you will notice that adjusting the slider to the far left will reveal deta
10. guide the mid tone was first adjusted in the Levels dialog It is always best to perform your initial tonal adjustments in the Levels dialog The mid tone was lightened to a value of approximately 115 In the curves dialog you may identify and alter specific points and alter the tonal distribution In this case the dark suit in the foreground was mapped to a value of 15 the monument was mapped to a value of 140 as it is lighter than 18 gray and the sky was mapped to a value of 240 to retain some detail This method of image editing is rooted in the traditional zone system of photography Lewes Channel RCA 3 pa Lawes C 1 2553 EUT S d m tpt Leves M 35 a 7 On Archival printing using the Epson 2200 printer Many digital photographers become frustrated when it comes to achieving high quality print output from To help with this situation we have outlined a step by step guide for creating high quality prints using the popular Epson 2200 Ink Jet Printer This printer utilizes high longevity pigment based inks and is perfectly suited for the Digilux 2 camera user The instructions are based on Adobe Photoshop CS and the Apple Power Macintosh computer running under Mac OS X version 10 3 3 Once you have opened and edited an image to your liking on your calibrated display and are ready to print from within Adobe Photoshop CS follow these steps eChoose Page
11. look similar to the corrected histogram from the previous test This verifies that the spot me ter is well calibrated to the ideal 18 gray value ER a am 100 0503 3A Once you understand how the camera s built in meter operates you may easily understand why automatic metering has it s limitations in scenes where tones are predominantly light or dark Experiment with us ing the various automatic metering modes using this same procedure to gain a better understanding of the exposure process As stated earlier in this guide proper exposure is criti cal to high quality digital imaging and will reduce the amount of time wasted in computer post production and printing Color balance Technically digital cameras are color blind In fact they potentially capture tones that are outside the human visible spectrum In order to create accurate color several processes are necessary The first step is neutral balance When we discussed bit depth and exposure earlier in this chapter we talked in terms of density only Since the sensor of the camera includes a matrix of red green and blue filters to build color the resulting file ultimately ends up as three individual monochromatic layers exposed through primary color filters each with it s own histogram The colors do not naturally align in any way and if you were to look at a pure raw capture file with no color balance it would appear teal or cyan in color When you select au
12. none gt acr a Cancel Selective Color Correction M Red stronger Green stron M lue _skyblue Cyan M lt none gt Magenta Magenta str amp amp Yellow lt none gt SACR O n gt Cancel Note SilverFast DCSE is a version of a more fully featured application called SilverFast DC PRO This program offers even more control of selective color including an interactive color wheel interface and the ability to alter the individual hue saturation and lightness for each color Visit http www silvefast com for more information Picture Settings Silverfast DCSE incorporates multiple methods to accomplish the same tasks For example we have identified several ways to perform color adjustments to an image in this section As the development of SilverFast began in the world of film scanning new features have been added to assist editing direct digital captures While these tasks could be accomplished us ing the more traditional tools such as levels endpoints and curves in many ways the digital image controls are faster and less subjective Pichure settings Standard aranera Brightneis IM ion u Picture Sectings Standard Advanced Enposure Canirast t _ Light Queer haluration b 7 Jh Lamin ni Serccthing Fe i Colour Noise Redaction m pesma e eeaeee Colour Temperanane imm Cobsw Tint Ex
13. of the three JPEG file format modes the captured data is temporarily stored in an internal memory buffer as the color matrix data is processed internally When you perform a custom white balance image sharpening or other in camera image adjustments the sensor data is altered as the cameras internal color LUT is remapped to the sRGB color definition and JPEG data compression occurs Once the image processing occurs the data is written to the removable media and the internal memory buffer is cleared for the next ex posure This entire process takes place in the moments after you take a picture When shooting in JPEG mode your in camera processing choices directly affect your final image quality and are irreversible JPEG compressed image files may deliver excellent results with careful attention at capture The downside of the JPEG format is that in camera mistakes in exposure and color balance that require editing on the computer may quickly degrade the ultimate image quality When capturing images in the raw file format sensor data and other descriptive information is saved ina high bit depth TIFF file format with no compression One would think that with no processing overhead this would actually be a faster process but the fact is that the data is written directly to the memory card from the camera memory buffer Essentially your camera is copying a 12MB TIFF file to your storage medium This lag time is the same as if you cop
14. scascnotiwiaprcetcoesorss neneGiencadsecnessceaeene 15 Color DAS 15 Histograms and Levels dialogs 15 DOS Re a a rs 16 Color Balance en iiien 16 ICC color Cal DEA LION 17 ICC workflow Models 2 17 Calibrating your display 45 4s sciences 18 Defining your working space 18 Evaluating your digital images 18 Editing suggestions Adobe Photoshop CS 19 Archival printing using an Epson 2200 Printer 20 Chapter Four Working With Raw Image Files Software tools for editing your raw images 23 Editing images using Adobe Camera Raw 23 Editing images using SilverFast DC 26 Chapter Five Creative Techniques Night Low Light Photography 34 Sports Photography ec sus 36 Portraiture HIDE 37 Studio Lighting re 38 BARS RENE Se 39 Backlighting in Manual Mode 41 Chapter Six Common Photographic Problems 43 Chapter One Getting to Know Your Digilux 2 Camera Getting to Know Your Leica Digilux 2 Camera Before we begin to explore the features and operation of the Digilux 2 camera it is best to understand the un derlying process of how the camera creates interprets and stores digital images Very few digital photogra phers take the time to consider the process of capture and therefore place too much emphasis on post cap ture editing o
15. that further degrade the image quality If you shoot a JPEG image and decided after the fact to shift the color balance from daylight to tungsten you will be throwing away an additional 25 of your already limited tones The raw image file is processed and stored directly from the image sensor to your memory card When opening the image into your editing application the software has full access to this original data Large moves of color and density may be applied to derive the best possible image In practical use you will learn to carefully choose the situations where you want to shoot once and edit many times Quick Tip Since shooting in raw format is slower and consumes valuable storage space You may switch to a JPEG mode while composing your image to experiment with set tings and composition Once you arrive at the settings you wish to use you may switch back to raw mode for your final capture using the function button eSet up you camera on a tripod and compose your image plug in the remote release cable If you do not have a remote release cable you may set the camera to self timer mode Choose two seconds which will allow the camera to settle on the tripod prior to taking the picture eSet the camera to daylight color balance using the function button and the selector arrows This will result in a pleasing warm tone for street lamps and car headlights etc eln automatic mode take a test image and using th
16. using the Digilux 2 camera Introduction The LEICA DIGILUX 2 represents an important juncture in digital photography To date most digital camera manufacturers have attempted to make photography easier by removing traditional photographic controls and replacing them with simplified fully automatic point and shoot controls While an argument may be made that this was a step in the right direction some thing important was lost in the process The ability to manually alter the basic photographic parameters increases the chances of creating a techni cally imperfect image but also gives the photographer full creative control The Digilux 2 gives the photogra pher the ability to explore the powerful mix of tradi tional photographic techniques and digital imaging This guide has been created to help photographers explore the wide range of creative controls available using the Digilux 2 While the camera manual clearly describes the camera functions we have structured this guide based on the various photographic situations you may encounter and the camera controls that will help you accomplish the desired effect In addition we will introduce you to some tried and true methods for working with your digital files on the Apple Macintosh computer platform using popular output devices and software applications While this guide will not replace years of experience in digital imaging it will help you get the most out of you
17. which is usually an RGB working space such as sRGB transpar ently in the background the colors from your camera are adjusted to properly display on your monitor When you print an image the colors are converted to the unique fingerprint of your printer Later in this guide we illustrate how to print on an Epson 2200 printer The diagram below illustrates the process that takes place when you open view and print an image in Adobe Photoshop Display Calibration A Digilux RAW 0 we Printer N Working Space SRGB As we stated earlier when you are working with the Digilux 2 in JPEG mode your files are automatically delivered in the sRGB color space which has become a widely adopted baseline description of color in the computer industry If you are interested in creating a custom ICC profile for your camera you would need to shoot a prop erly exposed image of a digital camera color chart and open the image in the Adobe Camera Raw or LaserSoft SilverFast software with nor custom set tings applied Using profiling software tools such as the Eye One system from Gretag Macbeth you can create a custom camera profile This profile can be manually be applied to images as they are opened The Digilux 2 camera does not support embedding custom profiles at capture The single most important thing you may do as a user is to purchase a monitor calibration device such as the Eye One Monitor
18. Disconnecting your Digilux 2 after downloading When you plugged your camera into the Macintosh the computer recognized the camera as a Mass Stor age Device You may have noticed a generic drive icon appear on your desktop called NO NAME during the connection process As with all removable media you need to properly remove the device to avoid possible data corruption If you accidentally or improperly remove your camera or media from the computer you will be presented with the following dialog Device Removal The device you removed was not property put aevary Data might hawe been lost or damaged Before you unglus your device you ens firse seleer irs iron bn the Finder and chance Ejeet fram the File meru En To properly remove the device from the desktop you may click on the NO NAME drive icon and drag it over the trash can icon on the dock The word EJECT will appear as you drag the icon over the trash can icon You may also remove the camera by double clicking on the NO NAME Drive Icon and clicking the eject button next to the device in the Finder window ia Dede gt SONIQEENT at es a Lier is Deniers l CE issue Panina Working with an external card reader or PCMCIA SD card adaptor The Mac OS and iPhoto will recognize the inserted media and will operate exactly as if you connected to the camera via the USB cable When you wish to remove the media from the card r
19. GB is also the default color space of the Digilux 2 when in JPEG file format mode ProPhoto RGB 1 8Gamma Developed by Kodak to provide an idealized wide gamut space that would preserve the maximum range of colors while retaining compatibility with calibrated display and output devices ColorMatch RGB 1 8Gamma The color gamut and tonal balance of ColorMatch RGB were engineered to fall into line with legacy Pre press viewing and proofing standards Adobe RGB 1998 2 2 Gamma Adobe RGB formerly SMPTE 240m is a monitor based color space that is larger than sRGB and is a good choice for more advanced imaging and printing For the purpose of this guide we will adhere to the sRGB Color Space as it is the default setting for Adobe Photoshop Note When changing your color space settings you need to configure all of your editing applications to the same parameters For example if you wish to work in Adobe RGB 1998 You will need to choose this space in the Photoshop color dialog and choose this set ting when importing raw files using the Camera Raw Plug in Bit Depth EC wt Preview Repth amp Ses Channel The bit depth option gives you the ability to process images to 8 or 16 bits per pixel We suggest using 16bits per pixel when importing your raw image files By selecting 16 bits per pixel you will retain the ability to edit all 16 500 tonal gradations as opposed to the 256 tonal
20. a speed that matches your lens focal length For example 60mm 1 60th sec eUse a wider angle lens setting to minimize the effect of motion eTry using the built in Flash Fill Flash eUse a tripod or other camera support ePlace the camera on a stable surface and use the self timer to trigger the exposure or use the optional remote release cable When shooting in bright situations such as sand or snow the images appear too dark As discussed in the backlighting section earlier in this guide the camera s meter is attempting to achieve an ideal exposure balance Since the camera sees a predominance of light tones it attempts to correct this by biasing the exposure to a darker point There are several ways to compensate for this effect Suggestions eUse the EV button and the adjustment dial to add a lighter bias to the auto exposure A setting of 2 EV is a good starting point Going too far will result in blown out highlights with no data eUse the Center weighted or Spot metering modes to help the camera meter expose the subject as opposed to the background elf the above settings do not give you the desired results try manual mode but keep in mind that this will generally require more time to verify exposures as you go When shooting in dark situations such as night scenes the images look flat and too light As discussed in the Night Low Light section earlier in this guide the camera s meter is attempting to achieve
21. able process that will lead to more color and exposure The few moments of time you spend up front will dramatically reduce the time you will spend edit ing color and density on your computer and your work will be more consistent Many times a traditional portrait is an uncomfortable process for the subject If you have trouble getting people to pose for your images try exploring envi ronmental portraiture People are more comfortable in their own environments and you will find that this type of portraiture may be highly successful Before you begin Environmental portraits are often created indoors under mixed lighting conditions While you may shoot in raw mode the time delay will interfere with the spontaneity of the session Careful attention will have to be paid to the color balance settings as in JPEG mode your color and exposure decisions will be final We suggest taking several test exposures in the environment before introducing your subject so you may focus on the session once you are happy with the camera settings eSet the camera on one of the automatic modes to begin The mode you choose should be determined by the mood you wish to convey eTake a test shot of the environment without the subject if possible eEvaluate the exposure and color balance elf color balance is difficult try using the built in bounce flash to introduce daylight balanced color into the scene while still retaining the ambiance o
22. an ideal exposure balance Since the camera sees a predominance of dark tones it attempts to correct this by biasing the exposure to a lighter point There are several ways to compensate for this effect Suggestions eUse the EV button and the adjustment dial to add a darker bias to the auto exposure 1 to 2EV darker should work well Going too far will result in too much shadow density and overall underexposure eUse manual mode and bracket your exposures Keep in mind that this will generally require more time to verify exposures as you go eUse raw mode to protect as much original data as possible as you may wish to fine tune the images in Adobe Camera Raw or Lasersoft Silverfast Note When switching settings to compensate to spe cific situations it is a good practice to reset the camera back to it s normal settings when finished have ruined a good number of images by leaving custom camera Settings in place The flash overpowers the ambient light The built in flash has been designed to provide even exposure across the focal length of the built in lens for distances from approximately 3 to 10 feet In situations where ambient light is low the background will go dark If the ambient light is near the exposure value of the flash a pleasing balance will be achieved Balanc ing the two exposures may be challenging especially at dusk when the ambient light values will change rapidly There are several methods to compe
23. and Keys will find the lightest pixel in the image Note In this sample image the gray scale is not valu able for density adjustment due to the lighting condi tions at capture outdoor open shade The scale may still be used to verify color balance Image auto adjustment CET OE H vial Gi SilverFast DCSE There are several methods of adjusting shadows in Silverfast The quickest method is to select the Automatic Highlight Shadow Midtone adjustment button This tool analyzes the image by locating the bright est and darkest pixel within the frame selection then establishes a proper mid tone value This adjustment will also remove any color casts in the image to ensure that your blacks and whites remain neutral By crop ping into specific areas of an image you may leverage this automatic adjustment process to quickly correct difficult images Note If you wish to adjust density only while retaining the existing color cast of the image hold the shift key while clicking on the Automatic adjustment button The tones will be adjusted but color balance will be maintained Manually editing an image in SilverFast DCSE After evaluating this image we know that the front of the boat in the lower right is the darkest point we also know that this boat is pure black Generally when edit ing we would want this area to have only a few values to retain some future editing flexibility We also know that the color va
24. can be quite daunting The good news is that you may save any or all of these settings as you find parameters that work consistently for your images Settings saving Once you have arrived at the combination of settings you wish to apply to future images you may save the settings by clicking on the arrow button adjacent to the Settings pop up dialog Clicking this button will give you the choice of the following options Load Settings Loads previously saved settings Save Settings Saves new presets When selected you will be prompted to give the settings a name Set Camera Default This option saves all current pa rameters as a camera default As images from the same camera type are opened you could select Camera Default from the settings menu to apply the same set tings to any number of images It is a good idea to save the settings as a backup with a meaningful name as if the application becomes corrupted you will lose your default settings Reset Camera Default This option clears all adjust ments and restores an image to the parameters used at capture This is an important setting to be aware of as you may easily create presets that will degrade image quality This is your option to start from scratch Editing images using Lasersoft Silverfast DCSE If you do not have Adobe Photoshop CS and wish to edit your raw image files Leica has bundled a very powerful tool from Lasersoft Imaging While the interfa
25. ce is quite different than what you may be used to Silverfast is an extremely powerful tool and is part of a family of software modules that may be used with a wide range of scanners and cameras from different manufacturers Once you learn about the capabilities of SilverFast you may upgrade to the full version of SilverFast DC Pro for even more control Silverfast has some distinct advantages over using the Camera Raw plug in especially in the areas of toning and image neutralization We will focus on these key features to help get you started with the application We suggest that you explore using this bundled applica tion as you will find in certain circumstances it will be indispensable Setting up Silverfast DCSE After installing and registering the application there are some initial settings to be aware of before you set out to edit your first image file Launch Silverfast by clicking the Silverfast icon in the dock You will be presented with the following dialog SF Launcher v2 0 5 SilverFast Launcher Plugin SilverFast LEICA DC SE E 6 2 0r3 SE Del Folder Macintosh HD Applicat SilverFast Application v Open automatically a Start Choose the Open Automatically check box and click Start to launch the application When you first open the application you will be presented with a light table view of your image folder Unlike Apple s iPhoto or the ACD browser applicati
26. der of Center for Digital Imaging Inc a New York City based technology consulting firm specializing in digital photography and imaging workflow A graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology Scott has been involved with Photography since 1976 and the Apple Macintosh computer platform since 1984 Early in his career Scott worked in photo labs sold lighting equipment Balcar and created the country s first dedicated digital imaging sales center for New York s Ken Hansen Photographic in 1989 In 1996 Scott and his partner Howard Goldstein created Center for Digital Imaging Inc a company dedicated to building digital imaging workflow solutions for the commercial photography market Known for maintaining the highest quality standards and process control CDI has been retained by leading art institutions photographers and corporations to develop and support digital imaging initiatives CDI has produced seminars and training materials for various manufacturers and trade organizations and in 2003 CDI was invited to produce the Digital Learning Center at the Photo Plus East photography trade show in New York This event highlighted the workflow of The Metropolitan Museum of Art one of CDI s first clients CDI has been retained to produce the 2004 event This book is Scott s second field guide project More are planned for the future Center for Digital Imaging Inc www cdiny com
27. device independent process using color targets spectral data capture and a data structure that could be tagged to an image file as a finger print or road map This group was named the International Color Consortium ICC and the ongoing work of this industry group has made great strides to manage the communication of color through standardized methods generally categorized as ICC profiling or ICC color managed workflow The basis of the ICC model is that all devices in the workflow need to be non subjectively characterized via hardware measurement devices and reference color targets with known spectral values When an ICC profile is created the differences between the actual and measured digital values are compared The color shifts are measured and stored so other devices in the process may properly interpret the data to produce accurate color If you are using any modern computer system and application software you are using color management by default In the Apple OSX operating system color management is tightly integrated at the core of the system using Apple s ColorSync technology which is ICC based In the ICC workflow the camera or scanner has an input ICC profile your display has a unique ICC profile and any or all of your printers have a unique profile as well When you open an image in Adobe Photoshop or any other ICC aware application the software trans lates the color of the file to your working space
28. e density information of an image A lower setting 0 applies no smoothing and appears grainier especially in the shadows A higher setting 100 ap 100 Full fa plies maximum smoothing and will tend to distort Is similar to Luminance Smoothing in that it alters the information by over averaging The default setting is 20 processing algorithm to reduce noise The primary and is effective for most applications There are many difference is that this process specifically alters pixels variables across a collection of digital images so we with color value anomalies These anomalies occur due suggest testing before applying any changes to the color matrix on the CCD itself Sharpening and Scaling in Silverfast silwerbast DL SE wh Irs SilverFast DCSE General Frame Densirometer Image Mode 48 gt 24 Bit H Filter None H Image Type Standard H Harme Sei Lire Original Scale w Output oo BS ro us af gA 1000 cs Quigpeut resobuticun Mbt Photo Print 14 14 E i ja z300 Quit 7 Open Pods Once you have edited an image there are a few optional steps to take before your image file is ready to be processed Silverfast can apply image sharpen ing and perform image scaling to optimize the file for specific output devices Sharpening Image Sharpening settings are chosen under the Filter popup menu under the Frame tab on the main SilverFast window If None is select
29. e quick review feature check the resulting image Look at the color balance exposure and overall image sharpness elf the resulting image looks acceptable set the camera to raw file format and take a second image This will allow you more flexibility for editing down the road With the previous steps as a starting point you may wish to set the camera to Manual mode to dramatically alter the scene eSwitch the shutter speed dial to 2 and set the aper ture to Automatic eSet the White Balance to Daylight eUsing the selector dial for shutter speeds take a se ries of images ranging from 1 2 second to 8 seconds As the aperture is in automatic your exposures should be fairly consistent If you wish you may switch to manual aperture for even more control eWhen using manual aperture you may select the image histogram view to evaluate your exposures by pressing the display button until the histogram ap pears The data points should be distributed evenly between the shadow left and highlight right You will notice that the histogram will change color as an image becomes grossly under or over exposed Variations of aperture and shutter speed will dramati cally alter the mood of your night and low light pho tography When used in combination with the built in flash the possibilities are endless Sports Photography At first glance the Digilux 2 does not appear to be a camera well suited to sports action photo
30. e case of the Digilux 2 the 12 bit capture depth yields 4096 individual tones per color channel Bit depth has a direct impact on the usable dynamic range or difference between the lightest and darkest point that may be recorded by the sensor JPEG files reduce the bit depth to 8bits per pixel 256 tones 0 2048 4096 Black Middle Grey White Color Space Describes the potential range of color information that may be stored in a digital image file Usually expressed as a pre defined ICC International Color Consortium color profile Most consumer and professional digital cameras that record in the JPEG file format utilize the SRGB color space as the default color definition sRGB is the default color space of Adobe Photoshop and is the assumed color space for many common output devices While sRGB has become the industry standard it is not capable of containing all of the colors that may potentially be captured with the camera s sensor For the purposes of this guide we will base the examples on the sRGB color space If you wish to explore working with alternate color spaces for your workflow you will need to capture in the raw file format mode A more detailed description of the ICC color workflow model may be found later in this chapter Histograms and Levels dialogs In order to give users a graphic representation of cap tured tonal values most digital cameras including the Digilux 2 incorporate a levels dialog The l
31. eader or PCMCIA slot follow the same process as disconnecting the camera for ejecting removable media Working with raw image files We have mentioned the benefits of capturing raw im age files throughout this book As raw image files do not automatically download to your computer when you connect the camera we have outlined a process you could follow to manage your collection of images Downloading raw files to your computer When set to raw file format mode your Digilux 2 captures a raw file as well as a JPEG file with the same name and a different extension This is useful because iPhoto and most other image browsers will not be able to create a thumbnail of the raw file Since the import process automatically moves all of the JPEG im ages to your computer and may delete them from your card as part of the process your card will be left with just the remaining raw files As we mentioned in the instructions for downloading images in the previous section Apple s iPhoto will present the following warning dialog when it encoun ters the unreadable raw format image files We suggest that you create a new folder in your Pic tures folder called raw Images ar Unreadable Files Unreadable Files 5 The following files could not be imported they may be an unrecognized file type or the files may not contain valid data private tmp 01 Temporaryitems iPhote L1000162 RAW private tmp S01 Temporaryltems iPhatasL
32. ecise control of the metering area Only the area in the small cross hairs is utilized for exposure evaluation Using spot metering mode you may literally pick individual items in a scene to expose to In this example the spot meter exposed for the dark shirt resulting in an image that is too light overall Spot metering is accurate but may be dif ficult to use in fast paced shooting situations Average metering mode supplemented with the built in flash helps strike the right balance between the sub ject and background Using the flash output EV control you may adjust the fill flash exposure to reach the desired subject brightness To evaluate exposure in the various modes you may position your camera frame your subject and press the shutter halfway to hold the setting when the desired exposure is achieved Pressing the shutter all the way will take the picture Once you let go of the shutter button the process begins again Backlighting in Manual Mode In some ways challenging lighting situations are best approached using manual exposure While it may take a few moments to think out the approach you wish to take the resulting image will be tailored to your specific creative goals Using Manual Exposure mode you may find the best exposure for the scene by simply taking several images and adjusting the aperture as needed When reviewing your images you may use the image histogram display as a guide to the tonal distribution t
33. ects it is easier to pho tograph the action coming towards the camera than it is to capture subjects passing across the field of view While you may pan along with the action your chances of catching the action will be diminished For most sports action shots using this technique you should be able to capture three images in a sequence A telephoto image from a distance a medium telephoto image as the subject nears the camera and possibly a third wide angle image as the subject passes the camera Using this method your chances of capturing a satisfying image will be greatly improved Advanced sports photography Taking the process to the next level is as much about knowing the sport than the particular camera settings Base your approach to camera parameters on the feel ing you wish to convey It takes a lot of experimenta tion to find the right mix but most users of the Digilux 2 made the purchase decision based on just this type of photographic challenge Some general tips to follow eTo freeze action set the shutter speed between 1 500th sec to 1 2000th sec leaving the Aperture ring on A eTo explore motion blur effects set the shutter speed between 1 30thsec To 1 8th sec leaving the Aperture ring on A eUse the Spot AF function to help track fast moving subjects in the center of the frame Combine the built in flash to help freeze action or to enhance the subject definition when using slow shut ter s
34. ed the file will not be altered If Sharpen USM is selected you will be presented with an interactive sharpening dialog None Note More Auto Sharpen More Auto Sharpen More Auto Sharpen Auto Sharpen Preset sharpening settings may be selected or custom settings may be previewed and applied If uncertain check Auto Sharpen Less Auto Sharpen Less Auto Sharpen Less Auto Sharpen Sharpen USM Descreening GANCH Customizing sharpening settings Descreening is useful when copying half toned artwork Click on the Preview button in the Sharpen dialog then click anywhere in your image the software will present a preview of the final file with the current settings Adjust the intensity for the desired level of sharpening Confirm by checking several areas Sharpen USM not Sharpened Sharpened y 7 1 A Sl lx Preview Monochrome Unsharp Masking Parameters Intensity y ad 9 Auto Auto Sharpen Cancel Scaling for output WEB Internet 72 dpi Newspaper 85 dpi Magazine 133 dpi Standard Print 150 dpi Art Print 175 dpi Photo Print 300 dpi Under the Output Resolution popup menu you will be presented with a list of preset output resolutions For most applications we prefer to leave the settings at the default Photo Print 300DPI but if you are inter ested only in web graphics choosing WEB Internet 72DPl setting
35. equivalent to traditional photographic filtration When using this feature we suggest testing several images Advanced Picture Settings Luminance Smoothing example In certain circumstances where the subject matter contains high frequency repetitive patterns such as mandai advanced 0 None hair text window screens and textiles undesirable artifacts may occur These artifacts are often referred to as color moire patterns A lower setting 0 applies no smoothing and will show the most color artifacts A higher setting 100 applies maximum smoothing and will tend to de saturate colors in certain areas Brightrets IMiianel F e Contrast a i G h lation F 7 6 a Luminance Serecihing roy Colour Noise Redwection 5 Color Noise Reduction sample 20 Default Adjusting the mid tone brightness is essentially a Gamma adjustment In other words moving this slider changes the lightness of the mid tone in relation to the highlight and shadow points Using this tool is the equivalent of moving the mid tone slider in the Levels dialog mentioned earlier in this section You will notice that when you change this slider the Levels dialog will become highlighted 100 Full Moving the slider to the right increases color satura tion to the left decreases color saturation This is a subjective adjustment Luminance smoothing alters the processing algo rithm to reduce noise which appears as grain in the Luminanc
36. erfect exposure When working with a digital camera you are essentially working with a very accurate light meter Try this exercise 1 Set your camera on a tripod in Manual Mode and set the metering mode to the center weighted metering mode 2 Place a Kodak 18 gray card on a white background and photograph the scene under a consistent light source Outdoors in daylight is ideal 3 Using the camera s Aperture and Shutter speed dials to adjust the exposure until the camera s built in meter indicates 0 this represents the ideal 18 value 4 i ii 1 2 4 gt CRIER Po ee EEE 4 View the image histogram on the display The image that appears should look something like the following picture The histogram is telling us that the camera exposed the image slightly dark in an effort to balance out the white background The peak in the histogram is shifted to the left of center The Peak represents the 18 middle gray card Under Exposure MF11 1 1000 FIRE MAY 2008 5 Adjust your exposure until the peak of the histogram is centered in the histogram window Ideal Exposure 6 Notice that the white board is now white and the gray value is also lighter In this example the differ ence in exposure was one full stop 7 Place the camera in automatic mode and select spot metering 8 Make sure the gray card is in the center of the frame and take a picture You will notice that the histogram will
37. evels display on the Digilux 2 or any other image editing application is a histogram that indicates the frequency of captured tones from dark to light usually presented with the darkest point on the left and the lightest point on the right il i In the example below we photographed a Kodak 18 grey card against a grey background You will notice that the peak in the middle of the camera histogram display represents the gray values The peak is high because there are many gray tones in the image If the scene included black or white subjects the histogram would indicate peaks to the left and right of the middle gray values The images below represent the gray scale image his togram in Adobe Photoshop LaserSoft SilverFast and Adobe Camera Raw Each application interprets the data slightly differently but the general shape and balance remains the same across all applications Exposure Exposure in digital photography is elusive for many users Often times an image will look different across several computers and output devices This variance leads people to second guess their work and is the most difficult part of the digital imaging experience for the vast majority of digital photographers The histogram is your key to interpret the quality of your captured images While most users rely on the automatic exposure features of the camera we will show you a tried and true technique for finding the p
38. f the environment Backlighting is a very common photographic situation yet many photographers shy away from backlit situa tions as achieving a proper exposure may be difficult The problem stems from a general over reliance on automatic focus and exposure systems on today s cameras The manual controls of the Digilux 2 allow you to take a new approach to backlit photography In this section we will give you some pointers on backlit photography using both automatic and manual expo sure modes If you are interested in using the Digilux in automatic mode for quickly evolving photographic situations there are a few things to keep in mind Camera meters are based on the principle that a typical scene has an average gray balance between light and dark In a perfectly average scene the middle gray point is equivalent to an 18 gray card This is why when you point an automatic camera towards a white wall the wall will always photograph as a gray tone It is also why when you shoot predominantly dark scenes the images always appear lighter than expected Once you start to think in terms of how the metering process works you quickly realize why Leica included three metering modes and two auto focus modes in the design of the camera Average metering mode looks at the entire scene to evaluate the tonal range If the scene is predominantly light the meter will tend to under expose the subject Spot metering mode gives you pr
39. from Gretag Macbeth or the Moni tor Spyder from ColorVision or the Monaco Optix display calibrator system We suggest calibrating your display to 6500k and 1 8 gamma These settings are options in all of the mentioned products The second most important factor in your workflow is defining your working RGB Color space in all of your editing applications Since color management is based almost entirely on input to output relationships the path needs to be free of unnecessary color transforma tions By default Adobe Photoshop is set to sRGB Using these default settings if Adobe Photoshop encoun ters an image that has a color profile other than sRGB it will honor the embedded profile Please check to see that your Photoshop color preferences are set as pictured below If you change your working space in Photoshop keep in mind that all other applications that support ICC profil ing should be set to the same working space for RGB images so color is not inadvertently transformed While larger color spaces are preferable for certain higher level applications the fact is that the Digilux 2 camera was not specifically designed to meet the needs of this sector of the photographic marketplace The following screenshot represents the default color settings of Adobe Photoshop CS If you do use a larger working color space on your computer simply allow Photoshop to convert the color from sRGB to your defined worki
40. graphy As we set out to create this guide we quickly discovered that the short shutter delay fast auto focus and optical performance all contribute towards the ability to capture very well defined images of even the most fleeting moments Based on these experiences we have outlined some ef fective baseline settings to help you get started With these starting points as a guide you may experiment with your own configurations as the possibilities are almost endless Basic sports photography When creating images of sports the option of using the raw file format while possible is not preferable due to the increased storage times between captures This makes your initial camera settings critical as those set tings will be permanently processed into the resulting JPEG image files eSet the camera to JPEG mode best quality eSet the Shutter Speed dial to a 1 500th to 1 2000th of a second eSet the Aperture ring to the A position eSet the Focus ring to the AF position Composition tips When composing your subject practice filling the frame by zooming in as far as possible This serves two practical functions you will be using the full resolving power of the camera s sensor and you ll be able to zoom out as your subject comes closer to the camera Try to keep the subject centered in the frame as you follow the action so the auto focus will have a higher probability of tracking the subject When shooting fast moving subj
41. il and usually noise in the shadows for your image Moving the slider to the right will clip the black tones of the image to absolute black This tool is extremely useful for fine tuning the tonal weight if your image is for high quality reproduction Brightness The word brightness is misleading in the sense that this slider is actually affecting the mid tone density while retaining the shadow and highlight values of the image Traditionally this adjustment is referred to as Gamma This is one of the most useful tools you may use to fine tune the tonality of your image Contrast This adjustment acts upon the tones falling in the high light and shadow areas by compressing or expanding the information Use this control sparingly as you will have more subtle control by using a combination of the Exposure Brightness and Shadow controls Saturation The saturation slider enhances colors in the image Use this tool sparingly and only after making adjustments to density and contrast Adding too much saturation in this tool will result in images that may look bold on screen but will be difficult to print Detail Tab Controls While JPEG files are sharpened in camera as they are processed raw files are unsharpened Working with unsharpened raw files takes some testing to find the best mix of settings Under exposed scenes and night shots will inherently have more digital noise and will begin to break up if too much sha
42. ined Image before and after manual shadow highlight midtone adjustments ma Mid tone Balance adjustment Between the black and white triangles on the icon you will see an eyedropper tool This tool allows you to pick a neutral point in the image Click once on the eyedropper then click any area of the image that you wish to be neutral of color This tool does not alter density but is extremely useful to improve the color balance of your images SilvewF ase CAL SE wht rh SilverFast DCSE Manual Level and Curve adjustments Often times the application of automatic image adjust ments will over enhance an image Silverfast has the ability to fine tune the image density via an interactive levels dialog Clicking on the Levels icon will reflect the effect of the automatic highlight shadow adjustments Clicking on the Curves icon will reflect the effect of the automatic highlight shadow adjustment The individual tools in SilverFast inter operate to give you multiple options for making image adjustments Using the automatic settings as a guide you may alter Levels and Curves values to improve image quality Levels and curves adjustments are essential to any image editing session Gaining an understanding of the operation of these tools will allow you to quickly fine tune images for high quality reproduction The follow ing section will review the process of editing levels and curves as well as the key features
43. ined in this of the Leica Digilux 2 is a powerful combination overview Chapter Four Working with Raw Image Files Software tools for editing your raw image files There are two ways to open and edit your Digilux 2 raw files Adobe Photoshop CS incorporates a plug in called Adobe Camera Raw This software interprets the image data and allows you to make a wide range of image adjustments not possible with the JPEG file format The second approach is to open the raw files in LaserSoft SilverFast DCSE which comes bundled with the Digilux 2 camera While both solutions work quite well we feel that the Adobe Camera Raw is the cleanest path to creating successful edits Silverfast DCSE on the other hand has several unique tools that make it attractive for certain specific tasks and of course as a bundled application it is free to use for Leica Digilux 2 owners Editing raw image files using Adobe Camera Raw Before you begin working with raw files you will need to make sure that you have the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw installed in your computer The updates are available on the Adobe web site Versions earlier than 2 1 of this software will not recognize the Digilux 2 raw file format Follow the instructions on the Adobe website for installing this software Once you have installed Adobe Camera Raw soft ware you may double click on a raw file or drag it over the Photoshop app
44. lance be tween ambient light and the flash exposure Studio Lighting eSet the Digilux to Flash Mode eSet the camera to any shutter speed you may sync up The Leica Digilux 2 may be used in conjunction with to 1 2000 sec electronic studio flash lighting equipment for an even eSet the aperture to a middle Aperture f 8 higher level of control for portraiture or still life appli eSet the camera ASA to 100 cations When using external lighting manual exposure ePosition your lighting and place the Kodak gray card mode operation and the histogram will allow you to in the scene quickly establish the proper exposure To configure the eTake a test exposure and make a visual evaluation Digilux 2 for studio lighting follow these steps of the image on screen Adjust the light power light distance or aperture until the scene looks properly You will need the following items exposed ea Kodak 18 Grey Card mere ea Hot Shoe to PC adaptor or a radio remote unit eTo fine tune the exposure choose the image histogram from the display menu The peak of the histogram should be centered between the darkest point left and the lightest point right of the image histogram eSet the camera to manual white balance mode You will be prompted to capture an image of the grey card Once you capture the grey card image every subse quent image will inherit the proper color balance Using the above procedure will help you establish a repeat
45. lect your print DPI 1440 is excellent for all round work as it produces excellent print sharpness while keeping print times reasonable Presets Standard Prine Seringas Faye Setup Media Type Automatic Custom Advanced Settings Print Quality 1440dpi ma M High Speed Flip Horizontal Preview Save As POF x Cancel Print eUnder Color Management choose No Color Adjust ment While this does not sound logical at first keep in mind that the color transformation has already taken place within Photoshop via the selected Paper Ink profile By choosing No Color Adjustment you will en sure that the color transformation is not applied twice Note We suggest trying the Velvet Fine Art paper to get started Once you are comfortable with the pro cess you may visit the Epson web site for additional paper color profiles and further instructions Whatever paper you choose to print on always make sure that the paper profile and the paper type are correctly matched Most Epson and third party ink jet media include directions for the appropriate paper type settings Experiment with several types of paper and settle on two types to keep your output predict able The Digilux 2 is capable of producing excellent image The wide tonal range of the Epson 2200 quality when combined with a high quality printer like printer combined with the high resolving power the Epson 2200 and the instructions outl
46. lication icon to open the file As the file opens the Camera Raw application will intercept the file and present you with an editing dialog The Camera Raw interface is very straightforward but at the same time it offers a wide range of adjust able parameters A key feature is the ability to save one or all of your adjustments as presets for future images Using these presets you may customize the tools to liking for various photographic situations We have outlined the basic steps to configure and save a preset for the Digilux 2 You may use the instructions as a jumping off point for your own custom edits Color Space ime foot by 1320 n 240 siselsfinch Color Space refers to a pre defined definition of the palette of colors available for the processed digital image file As the raw image file contains uninterpreted image data the captured colors are undefined and in many cases contain colors outside of the human visible spectrum When you choose a particular color space you are essentially giving the captured data a road map to predictably process the color information You will notice a list of color spaces under the Space option on the lower left of the Camera Raw interface window The four options are SRGB 1EC61966 1 2 2 Gamma The default color space for most digital camera and printers It was engineered to give pleasing results across a wide range of input display and output devices sR
47. load eiPhoto will present a confirmation dialog giving you a second opportunity to delete the original images from the camera card Choose Delete Originals Confirm Mowe Are you ture you wand to delete the orignal photos on the camera alter import in Cancel import Keep Originals Delete Originals 4 Once the downloading process is complete your images will be shown in a contact sheet view and all iPhoto functions will be available diae Peo Laren Ge Lee hue Fetes fc Lie Wand em nf ia During the download process all of the transferred images are placed in the following default location on your host computer Macintosh HD Users Your Home Folder Pictures iPhoto Library Within the iPhoto Library your images are parsed into folders based on the capture date Note As iPhoto only recognizes the JPEG format Digilux 2 images any raw files will be skipped and will not be deleted from your card The following dialog will verify the skipped files 1e Unreadable Files Unreadable Files 5 The following files could not bt imparted they may be an unrecognized file type or the files may not contain valid data private tmp 01 Temporaryltems iPhote L1000162 RAW private tmp S01 Temporaryitems iPhata L 1000164 RAW private tmp 01 Temporaryltems iPhoto L1000165 RAW private imp S01 Temporaryltems iPhota L 1000166 LAW fporivate tmp 501 Temporaryitems iPhoto LIG0016 7 RAW
48. lues need to be equal in order to in sure that our digital prints do not have any color casts in the shadows Lets shoot for RGB values of 5 5 5 The quickest way to edit an image is to begin with the shadow point and work methodically up the tonal scale to the whitest point making decisions along the way based on the cumulative results of each adjustment If you make a mistake you may always undo the last step by pressing Command Z SilverFast incorporates many tools that may be used to fine tune an image Each tool offers automatic as well as manual controls allowing you the freedom to experi ment with several editing approaches This flexibility is what makes SilverFast such a powerful image editing tool Seat DESE v6 2 05 SilverFast DCSE Shadow adjustments To automatically adjust the shadow point of your im age Click once on the black triangle and then select the darkest point in your image The selected shadow point will be adjusted to an RGB value of 5 5 5 Highlight adjustments To automatically adjust the highlight point of your image Click once on the white triangle and then select the lightest point in your image The selected shadow point will be adjusted to an RGB value of 249 249 249 Note If you wish to adjust density only while retaining the existing color cast of the image hold the Shift key while clicking on the Automatic adjustment button The tones will be adjusted but color balance will be mainta
49. n the computer In this brief overview you will quickly learn that a high quality digital image starts in camera not in your computer Once you famil iarize yourself with the camera functions you will be amazed at the quality that may be achieved with little or no editing on your computer The Digilux 2 is equipped with a 5 0 Mega pixel sensor 1900X2560 individual CCD sensor elements are ar ranged in an area array At its most simplistic level of function the individual sensor elements may be com pared to individual analog light meters Light passing through the lens energizes individual sensor elements which create analog voltage signals These signals are translated to digital values via an integrated A D con verter using a linear transformation at 12bits per pixel This means that each individual sensor element signal may translate to any of 4096 individual tonal values from light to dark per color channel Color information is gathered at capture via a matrix of primary color filters on the surface of the sensor This color information is applied to the original capture data via a complex algorithm that interpolates color in formation and assigns color values to each pixel While digital cameras are generally compared by how many pixels are on the sensor very few digital photographers realize that the real quality lies in optical design and the quality of software engineering applied to the raw sensor data When shooting in any
50. ng space Color Settings Settings North America General Purpose Defaults Ha C Weekday Spaces Cancel Artosorenedd Ghote BCE AGE ECS 1866 21 Load OMYE US Web Coated MO F scsi ce tae Get Gain oe Sw dl Preview d Polki ac trene Embedded Prone Hy ASK When Cernay AG When Pamirig Ask whan Opening once renal Tunesie Claus General puncake color settings hor mider oke ha railiny a reres Aihe t A T pur SUCK in Mith Aeria When evaluating your images always look at tonal values first Beginning with the shadows of the image look for clues to tonal accuracy For example In the following image the shadow inside the rear wheel is pure black We may assume this is our D Max point The values should read 0 to 5 points The pavement in the sunlight is a good indication of neutral exposure values On a sunny day expect a value of 110 to 127 and a neutral color balance near equal RGB values The white areas with detail should have a value of 240 to 245 This is a critical value to keep track of since once a white with detail is overexposed there is no way to get the information back A raw file format image will be more forgiving but this is not a good practice The spectral highlight on the gas tank will read an RGB value of 255 255 255 this means that this is the absolute whitest part of the image There is no usable information in this area and if printed these areas will have no density
51. ng levels first then use tone in the highlights curves to fine tune your images Global color correction Using the Global Color Correction tool you may alter the overall color balance of an image using an interac tive hue wheel interface Simply click and drag the slider until the desired color balance is achieved Global Color Correction The slider above the OK button allows you to modify the intensity of the effect If you wish to reset to where you started click on the reverse arrow button on the lower left of the window Global Color Correction Cancel Note If you are not using a properly calibrated display and printer these subjective adjustments may not repro duce faithfully on output The Global Color Correction tool is best for creative effects as opposed to color accurate imaging Selective color correction Often times you will want to alter the relationships between colors or the balance of specific colors in an image Selective Color Correction is the tool in Silverfast to perform these tasks The easy to use interface simply offers you pull down menu items for each color family Selecting the various options will al low you to quickly make the sky a darker blue or a skin tone warmer while leaving other colors untouched Selective Color Correction E lt none gt lt none gt E lt none gt Cyan E lt none gt Magenta M lt none gt EIRE amp E Yellow wo lt
52. nsate for the dif ference between the flash and ambient light eTry using the Flash EV control to lower the flash power eSwitch to aperture priority and select a wider aper ture eSwitch to full manual mode and select a longer exposure time shutter speeds below 1 30th sec will begin to introduce a motion blur effect You may also experiment with the second curtain flash sync to alter the effect of the flash portion of the exposure eUse the optional external flash unit eTry the A s Flash Mode which is optimized for use with slower shutter speeds 28mm 1 0 Sec f 7 1 Manual Exposure ASA100 50mm 50mm 1 60 Sec Sec f 2 1 f 3 2 Manual Exposure Manual Exposure Flash Direct Flash Direct 1 EV ASA 100 ASA 100 When first heard of the Digilux 2 camera expected the camera to be decent but was pleasantly surprised by the flexibility of the camera s built in controls and excellent image quality have used digital cameras since the late eighties but cannot remember a camera that has struck such a perfect balance between ease of use and photographic flexibility don t know if it s the manual focus the built in fill flash or the manual exposure controls but this camera has allowed me to create images that are well beyond what would expect from a camera in this price range Scott Geffert About the Author 2003 Robert Kim Scott Geffert is the president and co foun
53. o focus mode rotate the focus ring to the AF or AF Macro setting The focus ring has a locking button to ensure that the focus mode is not inadvertently changed when shooting The AF mode provides rapid focussing from 60cm to infinity The AF Macro setting provides auto focus across the camera s entire focus range from 30cm to infinity Setting the aperture and shutter controls to the A position enables the automatic exposure mode The Aperture ring has a locking button to ensure that the mode is not inadvertently changed when shooting The camera will find the best combination of aperture and shutter speeds based on the metering mode selected see metering modes If you would like control of focus depth of field by forcing a fixed aperture select the aperture you wish to use and the Digilux 2 will find the correct shutter speed based on the metering mode selected see metering modes If you would like to experiment with the effects of mo tion in your scenes set the aperture ring to the A po sition and select the desired shutter speed The Digilux 2 will find the correct aperture based on the metering mode selected see metering modes In low light vari ous shutter speeds may be combined with the camera s flash modes for a wide range of in camera effects When in automatic mode the color temperature of the light falling on the camera s white balance sensor is constantly measured until the moment your sh
54. o insure the best output quality Manual Exposure with Fill Flash Due to the extremely wide tonal range of backlit scenes it is often helpful to use the built in direct or bounce flash to provide more detail and control of color balance in the shadow areas of your image It takes practice to find the right mix of settings as there are almost unlimited variables but the following steps will be useful as you begin testing this approach Using the Aperture and Shutter Speed controls and the image preview histogram display find an exposure point where the histogram is balanced between dark and light tones Once you arrive at a balanced exposure turn on the built in flash and take a picture If the flash exposure is too bright you may try the bounce flash position to provide indirect lighting The flash exposure may be controlled by pressing the EV button on the back of the camera three times and using the control dial to lighten or darken the flash exposure You may have to also adjust your aperture and or shutter speed to fine tune the overall exposure balance Evaluate the image and the effect of the flash fill You will notice that the foreground will have considerably more detail and the color balance will be neutral If you want a more dramatic effect you may choose to manually set the color balance to different settings When photographing in this mode you are in full control of the camera and the only guide is the mood y
55. of SilverFast DCSE Level adjustments Curve adjustments If the automatic adjustment resulted in an overly dark The Curve adjustment dialog alters tones that fall image you may click on the left black triangle and between the darkest and lightest points of the im drag it to the left until you reach the desired shadow age Begin by adjusting the contrast slider to add or value The same adjustments may be made to the high reduce overall contrast You may then make minor light and mid tone values Moving the white triangle adjustments to specific areas of the curve to tone the to the right will increase highlight density and moving image When adjusting curves make small changes and the gray mid tone triangle to the left will lighten the evaluate the image as you go Avoid creating curves mid tones moving the slider to the right will make the that move in too many directions as this will quickly mid tones darker degrade your image data By dragging the Highlight Shadow and Mid tone ad Start by sliding the Contrast slider to the right to add justment sliders you may adjust the overall density of contrast and to the left to decrease contrast The an image In this example the shadow point was moved curve may be fine tuned by clicking and dragging spe to the left to allow more tone in the shadows and the cific points on the tone curve or by entering numeric highlight point was moved to the right to allow more values We suggest adjusti
56. ons Silverfast will read your Digilux raw files and will create preview icons automatically Selecting your raw image folder Earlier in this guide we suggested creating a folder in your user gt pictures folder named raw files Using the navigator button on the upper left of the light table window you may browse your computer s hard drive to locate your own raw file folder When you select the folder containing your raw image files Silverfast will show a thumbnail view of all of your images You may also access raw files directly from a connected camera or an SD card via an external card reader aoe Virtual Light Tabie LUCA OC SE SilverFast Qvir Cle MMA A iris Opening an image to edit The easiest way to open an image from the light table view is to double click on an image This will automati cally bring up the editing window About Silverfast Some of the features in Silverfast are similar to the Adobe Camera Raw software tools In this overview we will highlight the specific tools that could be used to improve an image While the software has many more features we feel that this overview will give you a working understanding of a typical editing session Scan Pilot Scan Pilot is a tool that is supposed to help you walk through the editing process We suggest that you click on the Prefs button and unclick the Open at Startup selection and close the Scan Pilot window Evaluating an image
57. or Automatic Flash Five modes 71 EXPOSURE Za AUTO BRACKET i i k e FRAMES D SETY Digital controls Digital Controls are unique to digital photography Used properly the various parameters may make or break the success of a digital capture in the JPEG mode White Balance Contrast Settings Manual Color Temperature File Compression Black amp White or Color Mode Sharpening Saturation PRRESIZE EX 4 105 0406 CEJW BALANCE SE zuan K SELECT RESIZE Keep in mind that when shooting in JPEG file format all of the digital controls of your camera permanently alter the captured image data While you may edit images on your computer even minor adjustments to color density and image size will quickly degrade the final image quality When shooting in JPEG mode we strongly recommend that you review your images using the cameras display for exposure and color PLAY 1 2 Bm ROTATE On PROTECT 3 DPOF PRINT EA SLIDE SHOW b AUDIO DUB SELECTED SETA EXITI SETUP PE W BALANCE EI CE ETIPICT SIZE sis QUALITY ais RE CRT D MEN You may switch between capture and playback modes using the selector on the rear of the camera or you may temporarily jump into a quick preview mode by using the quick selector button This feature is very useful when you are trying to confirm focus of other camera settings Automatic Settings If you wish to set the camera to aut
58. or balance to your specific lighting When you select the custom white balance mode you will be prompted to take a picture When this exposure is made the camera adjusts the color values to be equal for red green and blue channels resulting in a neutral white point This balance setting will be held for subsequent image captures until the process is performed again or until the battery is removed EV exposure compensation When automatic exposures are thrown off by predomi nant light or dark areas in relation to your subject the EV compensation control is the best way to compen sate Pressing the EV compensation button on the back of the camera will bring up an on screen window Turn ing the control dial adjusts the exposure bias lighter or darker in 1 3 stop increments 7 EXPOSURE ESFLASH Flash exposure compensation When working with the built in flash in the direct or bounce position you may vary the output of the flash unit to match your ambient light exposure level The menu is accessed by pressing on the EV button three times The selection will toggle through the three menus options of EV adjustment bracketing and flash EV adjustment When the flash EV adjustment is selected you may use the control dial to bias the flash exposure in 1 3 stop increments Chapter Two Configuring Your Computer Configuring Your Computer This guide has been created specifically for use with the Apple Macintosh
59. ou wish to achieve Spending time with this type of photography is infinitely more rewarding than sitting in front of the computer trying to re create what could be done much more naturally in camera Chapter Six Common Photographic Problems Common Photographic Problems While we have tried to anticipate the types of photog raphy you may encounter in the creation of this guide it is almost certain that you will run into situations where what is happening with your captures simply does not make sense After spending many hours with the Digilux 2 have collected a gallery of failed images These images are valuable as they indicate what went wrong based on exposure color balance and other capture parameters stored in each image file When a picture is not suc cessful you will learn quickly what settings to avoid and with some further testing you will improve the quality in future sessions under similar conditions Vibration Often times you will take a picture that appears sharp and bright on the display only to find out after the fact that the image is not sharp due to motion at capture prefer to zoom into the image on the camera display just to be sure that the focus is sharp If an image appears blurry in most cases this is caused by low light levels in programmed auto exposure mode Suggestions eAdjust your ASA upwards i e 100 to 200 eSwitch to Shutter Priority automatic mode and set the shutter speed at
60. peeds You may also try the second curtain sync Portraiture Tips The 28 to 90mm 35mm equivalent lens of the Digilux 2 is ideal for photographing people The wide angle view coupled with fast auto focus accurate auto exposure and virtually noiseless operation allow you to capture the most fleeting of moments For more formal portraiture the longer focal lengths and manual controls give you the freedom to be creative While an entire book may be dedicated to just portraiture we will focus on a handful of techniques well suited to the Leica Digilux 2 When shooting outdoors there are a few tips to follow that will help make a more pleasing portrait eUse Aperture Priority exposure mode to the widest aperture possible Even at the widest aperture the Digilux will have more depth of field than an equivalent 35mm lens due to the smaller than 35mm sensor eIn most cases the Auto or Daylight color temperature settings will be best eManual focus mode will give more control elf shooting in shade you may use the built in flash as a fill light elf possible situate yourself in an area that is shaded from direct sun to reduce the effects of flare and try not to have your subject in the open sunlight eTry to keep distracting objects in the background from competing with your main subject ePractice using the bounce flash as a fill light to add to the shadow exposure The bounce flash adds a nicer catch light in the eyes
61. ple Computer Inc Leica DIGILUX 2 and the Leica logo are registered trademarks of the Leica Camera Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp Warning and Disclaimer Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible but no warranty or fitness is implied The information provided is on an as is basis The author and the publisher shall have neither the liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information con tained in this book For Instructors We have created this guide as a tool to assist people with the learning curve associated with making the transition to digital imaging While the book is primarily focused on the Leica Digilux 2 many of the computer and third party components are useful for any digital workflow If you would like to reproduce this book in whole or in part for classroom use contact Scott Geffert at Center for Digital Imaging Inc P O Box 4495 Grand Central Station NY 10163 or via e mail scott cdiny com Center for Digital Imaging Inc also offers customized training and presentations for schools cultural institutions and corporations Special Thanks to The staff at Leica Camera USA Jeff Hirsch and the staff of Fotocare Robert Kim Photography Tiffany Hodges James Troost Ryan and Sawyer Geffert Peter Geffert Mom amp Dad My Wife Rita All images in this book were created
62. posure When opening raw file format images the exposure tool has full access to the entire 12 bit capture bit depth It is possible to improve images that were inad vertently under or over exposed Light Source The most useful feature in the Picture Settings dialog is the Light Source tool In the drop down menu you will see multiple light source options and a custom option If you choose Custom and then click on the eyedropper tool your cursor will change to a gray triangle when it is positioned over your image Select an area in your image that is neutral in tone and the software will force the point to become neutral The Color Tempera ture readout will reflect the actual color temperature Clicking on a known neutral area in your scene will create a custom color temperature white balance Color Temperature If your color as captured is not satisfactory and your image does not include a neutral area to assist in creating a custom adjustment you may slide the color temperature slider or enter the approximate color temperature of the lights your subject was illuminated with during capture For example If you scene was illuminated using tungsten lighting try setting the color temperature to 3200k Color Tint Used primarily as a creative control the color tint slider simply biases the Hue of the entire file This is the equivalent of a color correction gel in traditional photography However there is no numeric
63. r Digilux 2 purchase We hope you enjoy using this guide Scott Geffert President Center for Digital Imaging Inc Table of Contents Chapter One Getting to Know Your Digilux 2 Camera HOW your Camera WOrkS 44 48 ire 6 Raw A AO 7 Camera capture parameters 7 Analog controls sssseseseesesesseseseseesesesessesee 7 Digital CRIS ne cesse a msn 7 Capture and playback review 8 Automatic Settings Atomatic FOCUS scsi es 8 Program auto exposure 8 Aperture Priority auto exposure 8 Shutter Priority auto exposure 8 Color BANC D ei 8 Manual Settings MandatiOCRs ee doc sanceavesoesvevesteetoosaesseree 9 Manual exposure 22s cc especie ccccectesigenepteerenccseanietes 9 Custom white balance 25228 9 EV exposure compensation sssssssseseecsosesesoso 9 Flash EV exposure compensation 9 Chapter Two Configuring Your Computer The Digilux 2 and your Macintosh 11 Connecting the camera for direct downloading 11 Disconnecting the camera after direct downloading ssesesssosesssscersrosescererereseere 12 Working with an external card reader or PCMCIA AGADIR 12 Working with raw images 13 Downlodaing raw files to your computer 13 Chapter Three Digital Imaging Basics Bit DEP
64. rpening is applied Outdoor images and lighter scenes may be sharpened more aggressively Sharpness The Sharpness slider has a range of 0 to 100 with a de fault setting of 50 These numbers mean nothing other than the relative amount of pixel sharpening that is ap plied 0 represents no sharpening and 100 represents maximum sharpening Luminance Smoothing The red green and blue values of a digital file are seen by the computer as three gray scale layers of tonal information As the cameras sensor captures images through a matrix of color filters the resulting gray scale layers of the image contain missing information When sharpen ing is applied this missing information is enhanced Lu minance smoothing slightly blurs and smooths out the individual tonal transitions while retaining color values Use this adjustment sparingly as the image may end up looking unnaturally soft Color Noise Reduction As you sharpen images created with single shot CCD sensors you begin to see the effects of the color filter matrix and the effects of the mathematical algorithm used to process the captured data The digital artifacts are enhanced and appear as magenta and green speckles This slider will seek out the color saturated anomalies and will de saturate them resulting in a smoother more photographic image Storing and Applying Settings across multiple Images Obviously with all of these controls the process of editing raw files
65. s safe to retain some values in the highlight and shadow of an image such as a value of 5 15 in the shadow and a value of 240 245 in the highlight If you were to pho tograph a properly exposed 18 gray card the value would be approximately 127 in a 1 8 Gamma configura tion and 110 in a 2 2 Gamma environment If you look at the individual red green and blue values of the same 18 gray card you will note that the values are equal red 127 green 127 blue 127 This indicates that the area has absolutely no color bias and is neutral balanced D Min Red 255 Green 255 Blue 255 With these markers in mind you may begin to properly interpret any image Let s look at a typical editing session Many of these same tasks may be performed in any image editing software Example Silverfast Editing Session Open an image in Silverfast Make note of the numeric values in the densitometer as you move the cursor through your image Evaluate the shadow point Find the darkest value in the image Are the values close to zero Are the values very different between the individual RGB readouts Look for values that are between 5 and 15 Pressing the Control Option keys will find the darkest pixel in the image Evaluate the highlight point Find the lightest value in the image Are the values close to 255 Are the values very different between the individual RGB readouts Look for values between 240 to 250 Pressing the Shift Comm
66. to color balance or any of the manual color balance settings in camera you are artificially defining the neutral point or white point of the image This is accomplished by shifting the image histogram data so that all three layers align at a fixed point in such a way that the defined point has no color bias When you perform a custom white balance the camera simply uses the white point of your scene as opposed to a hypothetical pre determined white point When working with raw captures you may manually alter the white point after capture as you are working with the entire set of captured data When shooting in JPEG mode your color decisions need to be accurate the data is specifically processed to the chosen white point and further post capture adjust ments will quickly degrade the image quality If in doubt about color it is best to capture several images and discard the outtakes once you have a chance to review your work Just because we have defined an accurate neutral point in our image this does not necessarily mean that colors may be reproduced correctly As cameras computer monitors software applications and printers may vary wildly from brand to brand and even within the same brands and models there needs to be some definition of color from device to device Several years ago the computer and printing industries got together and formed an independent committee to establish a method for describing color in a
67. tripod High capacity memory card to store raw image files Technical Note When creating night shots we suggest that you capture in the raw format While this will slow down your cap ture process and consume quite a bit of storage space you will benefit from having full access to the captured image data when you edit your image on the computer For example when you shoot in any of the JPEG image modes your image data is processed according to the color exposure set at the time of capture In addition color data is constrained to the sRGB color definition which clips information and the image degradation of the JPEG compression will add additional noise and distortions Why raw mode While under most circumstances the in camera conver sion to the JPEG file format is more than adequate night shots push a digital camera as well as traditional film to the limit If you open a Jpeg file of a night shot and make even small adjustments to levels curves or color balance you will quickly see the image degrade Any noise grain in the shadows will be exaggerated and color banding uneven gradations will be more prevalent The reason for this loss of quality is due to the fact that while the camera sensor initially captures 12bits per pixel 4096 individual gradations per color the in camera JPEG processing re maps tones down to 8bits per pixel just 256 individual gradations In ad dition JPEG compression creates artifacts
68. utter is released If you shoot under mixed lighting conditions the color balance may be set to one of five color tem perature presets These color presets may be manually adjusted to fine tune the color response Additionally you may choose to set a custom white balance see performing a custom white balance Manual Settings Manual focus Manual focus is one of the joys of using the Digilux 2 camera Simply turn the focus ring past the automatic lock and you are free to focus from any distance from two feet to infinity To assist with manual focus the Digilux 2 is equipped with a digital focus magnifier This unique feature may be enabled under the camera s setup menu When the focus magnifier is enabled each time you move the focus collar on the lens you will be presented with a real time window showing your image detail in the center of the frame As soon as you touch the shutter button the frame is returned to the full view Manual exposure Setting BOTH the aperture and shutter dials on a setting other than A places the camera in Manual mode When using the manual controls you may use the camera s meter and histogram to evaluate the exposure 7 i l 2 en HE MF11 1 ca 1 41 11 MAY 20048 Custom white balance If you use an 18 grey card to set your exposure under controlled lighting situations you may choose the custom white balance setting to allow the camera to automatically conform col
69. will reduce the resolution for faster performance If you would like to scan to a specific output size unclick the lock icon over the DPI dialog and the locks next to the output resolution entry fields and enter the desired output size Click the entry field locks but leave the DPI lock unlocked As you crop your image you will notice that the software will automatically keep the proper aspect ratio and resolution When finished enter a filename and click Process to save your file Original Scale 1 4 141 reh Ee 185 1 3 Q 110 rh it eo STI i Output resolution Miiat Other E LE Output Chapter Five Creative Techniques Night Low Light Photography 1 fi R k L Many digital cameras perform poorly in low light situ ations The Digilux 2 performs quite well in low light and opens up a wide range of creative opportunities Shooting at night presents a number of technical chal lenges that require you to plan your approach to ensure that your efforts are rewarded with the best possible digital image files When photographing in low light you will get surpris ingly decent images using the camera in full automatic mode but the real fun begins when you take control of the camera in manual mode where you may define the color exposure time and aperture Before you set out to begin photographing at night we suggest that you bring along a few items Remote release cable Lightweight
70. y a raw file to your desktop computer from the storage medium Raw data format The benefit of capturing raw data is simply that you may compose and capture images and rest assured that you will be able to reinterpret the data with little or no loss of quality Capturing in the raw format mode of any digital camera is similar to shooting color nega tive film as opposed to color transparency film Color negatives may be printed interpreted in many ways as transparency film is more literal and is less forgiving in terms of exposure As the raw format does not lend itself to everyday capture situations we prefer to use the feature when shooting in more challenging situa tions such as night shots and studio still life images where absolute quality is required Camera capture parameters The Digilux 2 has a wide array of capture parameters We have broken these down into two categories analog and digital Analog settings directly affect the raw image data and thus are critical to high quality imaging Digital parameters come into play primarily for files captured in the JPEG modes as the decisions you make at capture are permanently processed into the result ing files Analog controls Analog controls are the same controls that one would use for traditional photography These controls are critical to both raw and JPEG file format capture Shutter Speed Manual or Automatic Aperture Manual or Automatic Focus Manual

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