Zebra Stripes
A live-view overlay of diagonal stripes marking areas above a set brightness threshold, used to judge exposure before the shutter fires.
Measured in
IRE or %
In depth
Borrowed from video, zebras are more useful than a playback histogram because they work in real time and are spatially precise. Setting them to about 70 IRE marks correctly exposed Caucasian skin; setting them to 95-100 IRE marks impending clipping. Many cameras allow two thresholds at once for exactly this pairing.
Examples in practice
A videographer sets zebras to 70% and adjusts the key light until stripes just appear on the subject's forehead.