Q about 'macro' camera settings

[4 Scale]

Good for you!! "Barrel distortion" refers to the apparent lines in a wooden barrel when viewed from the side, the up and down bow top and bottom, and is a common problem with wide angle lenses. It's an amusing coincidence that we are discussing barrel distortion in the context of actual firearm barrels.

I think your photo is not bad. I am not familiar with your software, but a program sophisticated enough to handle distortion may have features to adjust brightness and hue i.e. improve your photo in other ways so that it is darker and has better color saturation. Look for 'brightness' and 'color' control features.

While some people may see your photo as "washed out" (slightly overexposed), I say not so fast. Slight over exposure of an object with fine detail is sometimes desirable, as it tends to illuminate and therefore bring out detail in the shadowed part of the object. A common technique is to overexpose in the camera on such objects, then "fix" the washed-out parts of the image using image processing software. In Ye Olde Days, we did this in the darkroom using what was called dodging and burning in to preserve shadow detail while striving to make the rest of the photo look normal.

All of which is a long way of saying keep trying and learning. I am continually astounded at how good cameras and imaging software have become, having spent hundreds of hours in darkrooms as a photojournalist.

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by 4 Scale

It's an amusing coincidence that we are discussing barrel distortion in the context of actual firearm barrels.

Yes, I'm all about providing amusement for the Forum.