D3400 Contrast / Active D lighting when shooting video

KC996

New member
Hi,
I recently bought my D3400 and am generally happy with picture quality when shooting still images.

However when shooting video I find that dark areas are far too dark and light areas are far too bright. This is most noticeable in scenes with strong sunlight which is to be expected I suppose but it still happens even in duller conditions.

I am shooting mostly in Auto mode, I notice in this mode Active D lighting is on by default but even in manual modes you only have the option of ON or OFF. Active D lighting looks like it is supposed to solve this problem but it isnt going far enough.

Is there something else I can do?

Thanks
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Hi,
I recently bought my D3400 and am generally happy with picture quality when shooting still images.

However when shooting video I find that dark areas are far too dark and light areas are far too bright. This is most noticeable in scenes with strong sunlight which is to be expected I suppose but it still happens even in duller conditions.

I am shooting mostly in Auto mode, I notice in this mode Active D lighting is on by default but even in manual modes you only have the option of ON or OFF. Active D lighting looks like it is supposed to solve this problem but it isnt going far enough.

Is there something else I can do?

Thanks
Not in regards to the Active D-Lighting setting on your D3400; that body limits the function to being either ON, or OFF, as you've figured out. More advanced bodies have different levels of Active D-Lighting that can be applied. I don't know how much the D3400 applies, by way of comparison, I would imagine it's somewhere middle of the road. That being said, it's not a sure bet that Active D-Lighting, no matter how much you apply, would be able to handle the degree of dynamic range you're dealing with. The real solution is to shoot scenes with a dynamic range your D3400 can handle.
 
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