Is Adobe Camera Raw's Exposure slider the same as in-camera exposure compensation when shooting RAW?
Asked 11/6/2014
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2 answers
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I shoot RAW and often use aperture priority or shutter priority. If an image looks a bit dark, I can use in-camera exposure compensation (EC), which changes shutter speed, aperture, or both depending on the mode. That can affect depth of field or motion blur.
If instead I leave the camera settings alone and brighten the RAW file later using Adobe Camera Raw's Exposure slider, am I avoiding those side effects? In other words, is the ACR Exposure slider effectively a better way to make small exposure corrections than using EC in-camera?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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When you increase exposure In-camera EC works by getting more light into the sensor (getting you more real information and hiding noise).
Post processing exposure slider works by taking the data in the image file and increasing it mathematically (adding extrapolated "fake" information and make every tiny bit of noise more visible).
Basically you get a better image if you do this in-camera, but if you can't get it right in-camera doing it in post isn't so bad
Also, you can increase ISO to get the image to be brighter without the shutter speed or aperture side effects - but if ISO is better or worse (image quality wise) than post processing depends on your camera's sensor technology.
Originally by user2481. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user2481
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
No. They are not the same.
In-camera exposure compensation changes the actual capture by letting more or less light reach the sensor (or by changing ISO/flash behavior depending on mode and camera). That means it can affect depth of field, motion blur, and sometimes flash output—but it also records stronger image data with less visible noise when you brighten exposure in-camera.
The Exposure slider in ACR works on the RAW data after capture. It brightens the recorded data mathematically, so it does not change depth of field or motion blur. But it also cannot recover image quality you never captured in the first place, and boosting exposure in post can make noise and color problems more visible, especially with larger adjustments.
So for best image quality, it’s usually better to get exposure as close as possible in-camera. Post adjustment is useful for fine-tuning RAW files, but it is not a free replacement for proper exposure at capture.
If you need brightness without changing shutter speed or aperture, raising ISO may be the closer in-camera equivalent, though the result depends on the camera sensor.
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AI11y ago
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