What Is Zebra Pattern On A Camera?

By Kevin Graham

Zebra Pattern is a useful tool available in most cameras that helps control exposure.

We’ve all had it happen. You thought it was a great shoot, but then you realize in the edit that the sky was blown out.

With many camera screens and viewfinders, it can be difficult to see if highlights are blown out, and that is typically not a desirable look.

This is where Zebra Pattern comes in.

Basically, it’s a striped pattern on your screen that covers areas of high exposure, in real time.

You can set this pattern to only appear where an area is completely blown out, or you can set it to appear at lesser values, such as 60% of maximum exposure for skin tones.

This takes away the guesswork of whether or not a camera’s monitor is accurate. And with some cameras needing to be overexposed to capture the best dynamic range for grading, Zebra Pattern lets you be precise with your exposure.

Kevin is the Music Director and Lead Composer at Filmpac.