Describe Tone Mapping and the film's new place in the manual

The Light group gains `Tone Mapping`, and a film stock now takes its place at the end of the chain rather than sitting after exposure (D19). Say what the two sliders do and why every adjustment above them works on the scene, highlights beyond white included. The pictures still show the old rendering and are re-recorded separately.
2026-09-27 16:52:56 -04:00
parent 0682d05f95
commit 0d9feb0556
2 changed files with 23 additions and 2 deletions
@@ -174,6 +174,15 @@ the strip at its head narrows it to one group.
 Exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, blacks, whites and a tone curve.
 Hold `Before` to see the photograph as it was.
 `Tone Mapping`, last in the group, is how the scene is fitted onto the
 screen, and it runs after every other adjustment. `White Point` says how many
 stops above middle grey reach white — raise it to bring a bright sky back
 from white, lower it for a brighter, punchier picture — and `Contrast` sets
 the slope of the curve between. Every adjustment above it works on the scene
 as the camera recorded it, highlights beyond white included, so pulling the
 highlights recovers what the sensor caught rather than what the screen could
 show.
 ![Raising exposure, pulling the highlights, lifting the shadows, then holding Before](media/develop-light.gif)
 ### Looking closer
@@ -269,7 +278,9 @@ opacity are in the panel. Heal blends; clone copies.
 The `Film` chooser at the head of Adjust applies a spectral simulation of a
 named stock; below it, the print exposure and push controls a film has and a
-sensor does not. The list opens over the column and scrolls on its own — by
+sensor does not. A stock takes the place of `Tone Mapping`: it is the last
 thing that happens to the picture, so every other adjustment decides the
 exposure the negative receives. The list opens over the column and scrolls on its own — by
 wheel, drag or flick, or with `Up`, `Down` and `Enter` — down to the
 black-and-white stocks at its end.
@@ -263,6 +263,14 @@ the strip at its head narrows it to one group.</p>
 <h3 id="light">Light</h3>
 <p>Exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, blacks, whites and a tone curve.
 Hold <code>Before</code> to see the photograph as it was.</p>
 <p><code>Tone Mapping</code>, last in the group, is how the scene is fitted onto the
 screen, and it runs after every other adjustment. <code>White Point</code> says how many
 stops above middle grey reach white — raise it to bring a bright sky back
 from white, lower it for a brighter, punchier picture — and <code>Contrast</code> sets
 the slope of the curve between. Every adjustment above it works on the scene
 as the camera recorded it, highlights beyond white included, so pulling the
 highlights recovers what the sensor caught rather than what the screen could
 show.</p>
 <figure><img loading="lazy" src="media/develop-light.gif" alt="Raising exposure, pulling the highlights, lifting the shadows, then holding Before"><figcaption>Raising exposure, pulling the highlights, lifting the shadows, then holding Before</figcaption></figure>
 <h3 id="looking-closer">Looking closer</h3>
 <p>Double-click for 1:1; drag to move about; double-click again to fit. The
@@ -329,7 +337,9 @@ opacity are in the panel. Heal blends; clone copies.</p>
 <h3 id="film">Film</h3>
 <p>The <code>Film</code> chooser at the head of Adjust applies a spectral simulation of a
 named stock; below it, the print exposure and push controls a film has and a
-sensor does not. The list opens over the column and scrolls on its own — by
+sensor does not. A stock takes the place of <code>Tone Mapping</code>: it is the last
 thing that happens to the picture, so every other adjustment decides the
 exposure the negative receives. The list opens over the column and scrolls on its own — by
 wheel, drag or flick, or with <code>Up</code>, <code>Down</code> and <code>Enter</code> — down to the
 black-and-white stocks at its end.</p>
 <figure><img loading="lazy" src="media/film.gif" alt="Opening the film list, scrolling it, choosing Velvia, then holding Before"><figcaption>Opening the film list, scrolling it, choosing Velvia, then holding Before</figcaption></figure>