Does changing my camera LCD brightness affect the actual photo or exposure?
Asked 3/18/2011
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My DSLR lets me change the brightness of the rear LCD. If I make the screen brighter or darker, does that change the photo itself or the exposure the camera records? I'm worried that a brighter LCD could make images look better than they really are, so they may appear darker later on my computer. Is there a correct way to use the LCD brightness setting, and should I compensate exposure based on it?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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The LCD brightness is in no way related to the photographs taken by your camera.
It's usually just a way of saving some battery power as well as being able to bring down the brightness in dark locations.
However, it may cause you to think your photo is unexposed when it potentially isn't, if used on a low brightness setting. In this case, it's better to check the histogram. Mine is at the default (halfway) brightness.
Originally by user609. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user609
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Changing the LCD brightness does not change the photo file or the camera’s actual exposure. It only changes how bright the preview looks on the camera screen.
What it can change is your judgment: a bright LCD may make an underexposed image look fine, and a dim LCD may make a good exposure look too dark. Because of that, don’t use LCD appearance alone to judge exposure. Use the histogram instead.
Practical tips:
- Leave the LCD at a moderate/default setting, or adjust it for the ambient light.
- In dark places, a very bright LCD can dazzle your eyes and make composing or manual focusing harder for a moment.
- In bright conditions, a dim LCD can hide issues like blur, focus errors, or distracting elements.
- A brighter LCD also uses a bit more battery power.
So: no exposure compensation is needed just because you changed LCD brightness. Set the screen for comfortable viewing, and rely on the histogram and image review details rather than the screen brightness alone.
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