Hi K-H,
It's m43rds sensors that are most likely to benefit from ETTR.
And it seems Godfrey also came to that conclusion often using +0.3 to +1.0EV.
With my M9 -0.3EV was standard and I can't recall the same kind of noisy results as I found with my EM1.
So for my EM1 it's now standard 0EV and when required I won't hesitate to go for +0.3 or +0.7EV.
That said one should also consider what kind of metering mode is used.
Mmm, time to do a bit of experimentation ...
Kind regards.
Photos from any digital camera benefit from proper exposure. Most manufacturers figure that the majority of users shoot JPEGs and calibrate the metering to protect highlights. The histograms, etc, are generally working and calibrated to look at the JPEG previews, and are not telling you what the raw files are getting unless you know the differentials.
When you're capturing raw files, you need more exposure. It's that simple. Whether you call it ETTR or proper exposure, the principle is identical. Proper exposure for a digital image is setting the Zone IX exposure range just shy (about half a stop) of sensor saturation.
My Olympus E-1 typically underexposes by almost a whole stop if I use a gray card. The JPEGs look fabulous, the raws get a little noisy that way. My Panasonic G1 not only had more accurate ISO markings than most, it had nearly spot on metering ... with the result that casual users overexposed all the time on the JPEGs. The raw files were near spot on. Later Panasonics went more conservative just like Olympus.
A friend with a Nikon D200 ages ago complained with how noisy his images were at ISO 400. I did some calibration testing and found that the meter needed a +0.7 EV baseline adjustment to expose properly. He couldn't believe the difference ...
Just enough exposure to do the job is always the best policy. The top end of a digital sensor has a hard limit (saturation), the bottom end (blackpoint) is always a soft limit based on how much noise is acceptable; you can shove it all over the place. The distance between saturation and black is the sensor's total dynamic range at that ISO setting.
What I do with my E-M1 is set up the JPEG rendering specifics to push the histogram (based on the raw thumbnail) so that it matches what I see in the .ORF files in Lightroom as closely as possible. Careful juggling of saturation, contrast, and sharpening will net a JPEG that looks almost identical to my .ORF preset defaults in LR. Once I have that calibration in place, I can rely upon the in-camera metering and histogram display to give me what I expect in the raw files. I don't care what the JPEGs look like most of the time...
Just keeping it simple.
G