Understanding the Color Histogram

[Vincent Grippi]

Hey all,

I am completely new to the RED ONE, so please bear with me!

I recently attended a RED ONE workshop in which we went over all of the cameras functions, accessories, workflow etc. While very informative, there is STILL something I simply don't understand...

a) HOW do you read a color histogram?
b) What is its purpose exactly? Why do we use it?
c) The instructor spoke about setting the image to b&w and "peaking your blues" to gauge focus. Why blue?

I'm sorry if this is a tired/dumb question. I simply want to learn.

Thanks!!

 

[Jonathan Cooper]

Peter did a great job of explaining this on the Scarlet user site.
http://www.scarletuser.com/showthread.php?t=567&highlight=started

 

[Vincent Grippi]

Thanks, Jonathan! This was very helpful!

 

[Cail Young]

c) The instructor spoke about setting the image to b&w and "peaking your blues" to gauge focus. Why blue?

This is actually the focus check overlay in the camera; the image is B&W and areas that are in focus are highlighted blue (was red in older camera versions)