Dino Saga 060709___Photo-Windows | FerrariChat

Dino Saga 060709___Photo-Windows

Discussion in 'Corbani's Corner' started by John Corbani, Jul 9, 2006.

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  1. John Corbani

    John Corbani Formula 3
    Honorary Owner

    May 5, 2005
    1,153
    Santa Barbara, CA
    Full Name:
    John Corbani
    #1 John Corbani, Jul 9, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Dino Saga 060709___Photo-Windows

    I’ve been chiding folks about pics from inside tinted car windows. Thought I would expand a little on the subject and offer a few work-arounds.

    Virtually all cars now come with some tinting. May be easier on the eyes, and the human brain corrects colors on the fly, but cameras are just plain confused. To top it all off, tinted windows become better reflectors of the dash at the same time they cut down on the light. Pictures get reflections, lousy color, worthless contrast. Color can be played with and contrast can be increased. But you quickly run out of signal to play with. There is only so much that can be done in an editor. You have to get the best possible shot in the camera. This applies even more to video where color correction is difficult for most.

    Kill the reflections! The easiest way to improve the chances of the camera getting a decent image is to eliminate the unwanted light. Use lens hoods, visors, Black Velvet! Go to your local craft shop and buy a yard of black velvet. Then get some rubber non-skid matting. Mat goes on dash, velvet goes on mat, reflections disappear. Contrast is back. If it is an open car, you will have to improvise some sort of tiedown. Bad to have velvet drape the driver by accident. 3M blue tape sticks, comes off clean.

    Lock down the exposure if at all possible. Auto exposure systems have a terrible time with mixed sky and terrain. With the camera bouncing around. Take a picture with the car stopped and the camera pointing in the general direction of the general terrain at the general zoom setting. Get the exposure details(speed & F stop) that give you a well exposed shot and lock them into the camera. Settings will last for an hour or so most days. Sky color will stay constant and life will be easier while moving.

    Now you have a shot at color correction. Camera is happier and gives you a closer match to start with. Most window tints are a green/brown. Blue is knocked way down and red a little more than green. If you have a neutral grey tint, all colors are killed equally and there is no color problem. You just have to kill reflections.

    I used my wife’s Nisan windshield for the sample pics. Camera was on Auto white balance. Auto is the same as Sunlight and better than Fluorescent. I let the camera try to help on color! Camera is not an issue. Every digital camera has the same problem.

    Bottom line: you can color correct for tinted glass if you get rid of extra light. Clean the windshield, cover reflective surfaces. Remember that nothing beats black velvet as a light trap. We will all appreciate your pictures more as a result of these few simple things.

    Of course, the best way to go is to hold the camera above or outside the glass. Or shoot through an open window to a mirror that is outside. You can reverse the picture in the editor. Both of these ideas get somewhat impractical if you are trying to catch Karim, in corners, in a 430, and are the cameraman riding shotgun. But those would be the shots!

    John
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