Why do I see banding in smooth sky gradients during long exposures on a Nikon D7100?
Asked 11/17/2015
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2 answers
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When I shoot longer exposures on my Nikon D7100, smooth areas like the sky sometimes show visible stepped gradient transitions instead of a smooth glow. I didn’t notice this with my previous camera.
I wondered if it was caused by camera settings. In one quick test, enabling Active D-Lighting and lowering exposure compensation seemed to help, but I’m not sure because the scene was different.
I’ve also checked the original NEF file, so I’m trying to understand whether this is a camera issue, JPEG/preview processing, display limitations, or something else. What typically causes this kind of banding, and how can I reduce it?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
1
It's banding. There's a big potential for banding to be created when you edit color/exposure of an 8-bit (jpeg) file... especially in dark areas as there is already a lack of color/information in those areas.
There is also the potential for banding when an image is resized or viewed at a size smaller than 100% due to compression.
And there is also the potential that the banding you are seeing is due to a monitor/gamma limitation and it isn't actually in the image.
The common/quick method for eliminating banding is to add noise to those areas.
Originally by user70370. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user70370
8y ago
0
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What you’re seeing is most likely banding/posterization, not a fault specific to long exposure or necessarily a camera defect.
Common causes:
- Editing or viewing an 8-bit JPEG, especially in dark gradients like sky
- Preview-generation or resizing artifacts in software
- Monitor/gamma limitations, where the display shows steps that aren’t really in the file
- Normal tonal quantization in smooth gradients, which can become more visible after exposure/color adjustments
Because your JPEG/preview may not match the NEF exactly, the issue can appear stronger in software previews than in the actual image. That’s why some people see it in apps like ViewNX or Capture One but not as clearly elsewhere.
To reduce it:
- Work from the RAW/NEF file rather than JPEG
- Avoid heavy adjustments to dark smooth gradients if possible
- Check the image at 100% and on another monitor/app to rule out preview/display artifacts
- If needed, add a small amount of noise/dither to smooth areas; this is a common way to hide visible banding
Active D-Lighting may change tone mapping and make the effect less obvious, but it doesn’t mean the camera is defective.
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