EXIF info getting ommited

[karenoliver]

Originally Posted by grahamhgraham

Look at it this way; when you watch a program or movie on the telly or at the cinema, would knowledge of the type of equipment used to make it, substantially expand your visual experience & understanding of the theme & plot?

Didn't think so.

Actually, I did an A level in film studies a couple of years ago and I can't even watch a film now without thinking , Mise-en-scène, camera angles, light, space etc... I actually am interested in the technical aspects of film making. Photographers are interested in the technical ins and outs of shots if its a shot they would some day like to achieve themselves. Nothing wrong with asking " How did they do that?", looking at exif data can facilitate learning.

Karen

[dan123]

Im gunna Agree with the others on this, exif info is great, esp to begginers like me and others, we can see how shots were created techniqely, everyone learns a lot from this info. And i love working out what goes on in movies eg stunts and CGi its really interesting, and a nice way to learn,

dan

[KeithT]

Graham, there are two schools of thought on this one. Most uninformed viewers see only the image and fair enough that's fine for them. But for those who are learning about photography the exif data helps them to understand just that bit more about how an image was taken (not why it was taken). It might be part of competition rules to add exif data too, for whatever reason. Having the capability of reading the technical info via exif data adds another dimension to the learning curve of students, so you shouldn't dismiss it out of hand.

Having worked in the film industry for the first half of my working life, the extras you get with a DVD are as important to me as the movie itself.

[F11]

Agree with your view Cathus - if I like a shot I look to see what aperture, speed etc it was taken at. I find it invaluable. Maybe people who choose to omit it (and I personally haven't done this) are afraid of someone replicating their skills, kind of keeping it close to the chest, a secret thing only they know about... Maybe I'm being too synical, but hey hoo that's what I feel

[grahamhgraham]

Art is in your head & heart. So good luck to you all with your exif data. And let me know when you have the killer shot hanging on your wall with an EV chart next to it explaining what the picture means.

[Cathus]

Let us know how successful your art is when you haven't aquired the skills to use the equipment to achieve it

[Markulous]

I always strip my EXIF but that's partly historical (it used to take up precious bytes in Save For Web when allowable filesizes were smaller) but mainly as I don't take images to teach photography, I take them for myself and paid work. If anyone takes sufficient interest to want to know (like they ask) I'll tell them!

[KeithT]

My take is simple. In the old days of film I would spend time writing the data down in little books for reference later. A friend of mine went further than that and can tell you when he took a certain slide or negative, the year, day, date, and hour. He can also look up the film stock used, lens, aperture, shutter speed and weather conditions that prevailed at the time. Some of his work goes back to the late 1960's, but everything is logged and numbered meticulously for future research. Now we have all the info we need for our own use within the image file and for me that's a godsend, as I don't have to carry those daft little pocket books around anymore.

[lesrhar]

Originally Posted by grahamhgraham

I couldn't care less what camera was used. Or what the f stop was. Or the length of exposure.

Let's assume two images of comparable quality, of a bird landing on a twig.

One is taken with a point-and-shoot where one cannot change lenses or set aperture and f-stop, the other with a Canon 1d MkIV fitted with a fast zoom.

According to you, both photographers have the same level of skill and the camera makes no difference.

Just imagine what photog A could achieve with photog B's equipment...

When it comes to competitions, where you're judging a photographer's skill, it makes a big difference knowing what equipment and settings were used.

And BTW, yes, knowing how a TV show was produced does make it more enjoyable.

Les