Normal vs D-Log

[jephoto]

I am looking forward to the day IA can set our exposure (DLog or otherwise) perfectly to expose to the right while saving our bright clouds but sacrificing bright reflections from a chrome bumper....

That’s where being a photographer comes in. (For now) where we have the experience to know the difference…

 

[akdrone]

That’s where being a photographer comes in. (For now) where we have the experience to know the difference…

Absolutely correct but photography has continued to evolve to make it possible to take better images all along the technology path. Years ago taking images of wildlife depended on your ability to pull focus manually as an animal might move along and with a simple split prism viewfinder it was no easy thing. Nor was getting exposure perfect with Kodachrome 25 where being off by a stop was a lost image and grey cards were a necessity for perfect color balance and exposure; even then it required some judgement. Cameras used to expose film, then a sensor, then two different areas of a sensor and now basic AI evaluates a scene and helps with exposure and focus using numerous areas and points. Today any "idiot" can get a good exposure and focus but of course there is a bit more to it to get a good image . True story: A (now) friend that I had recently met came over to my house for the first time. We had met on a cold night doing Aurora photography at the same place. I gave him my card ( was shooting professionally at the time) and some months later he gave a holler and came over to visit. He brought his high end Canon DSLR and complained about the "spots" on his images. He had dust on his sensor and I was going to show him how to manually clean it. I suggested he step outside and shoot the sky at F11 "whatever". He stepped outside and took a long while and I finally stepped out and said something like 'so what's up'. He asked, "how to you set it to F11. I just put the dial on green and shoot." I shot Canon so I showed him how to set it on manual and F11 etc. That began a friendship and some education on the technical side of photography. I don't look down on "green dial shooters". Any way they enjoy photography is fine with me and I look forward to even better exposures as AI further helps our photography journey.

 

[jephoto]

Agreed. Completely. Used to shoot for magazines like Country Living for interiors and they insisted on Kodachrome 25 because their art director didn’t like to crop….
Spent 25 yrs in the darkroom processing my B&W and printing.
As zen as that is, I prefer sitting at my desk with raw files and Lightroom.

I do t look down on them (Green dial shooters), just the clients who think they can have their interns shoot a job with their phone or hot shot DSLR. And have it come out with the quality a pro can bring.
But for many, Good Enough is good enough.