Picture controls D300s

Eddy

Hi All:
Is anyone using Vivd/standard on the D300s, Picture control settting, if so what settings do you use, I would like totry some of them,
Thanks

Eddy

Matthew Saville

Hey Eddy!

Yes, I love setting the D300 (I don't have an "s") to use the different picture controls. I use Vivid a lot, and also I use the Monochrome feature a lot.

Of course, I'm more brave with these settings when I'm shooting RAW, because otherwise there's NO going back lol, if you shoot a JPG image in monochrome, it's monochrome forever. But with RAW, what I've been doing is usually browsing my photos in Nikon's browser program, (but NOT their clunky editor, ew!) ...Nikon View NX2. It's fast, if your computer is fast, and it allows you to see the in-camera processing even on RAW images. It's like Photomechanic but a better interface, IMO. Then after you flag your keepers / rejects in View NX2, and maybe export a few JPG's that look really good "SOOC", ...then you can just fire up Lightroom / Bridge / Aperture normally, and post-process the original RAW files like you normally would.

Even if you DON'T use Nikon View NX to sort your photos, and you completely forfeit all your in-camera processing after download, it's still COOL to shoot with "Vivid" or "monochrome" picture controls to impress people while you're on-location still. With older DSLR's, the LCD screens were a complete joke, they were tiny and the colors looked terrible. Now, with Vivid mode and a couple bumps to the contrast and saturation, a properly exposed and well-lit image can look GORGEOUS right there on the back of the camera!

If you're shooting JPG, however, I recommend using the D2X modes more than the others. I like D2X MODE 1 for indoors and low-light candids, (Or monochrome) ...and D2X MODE 3 for outdoors, details, and other nature-y shots.

Good luck!
=Matt=

Eddy

Thanks Matt, How about the settings as in sharpness , hue and contrast are those left @ deafault, I read that ppl up the sharpness to at least 7 and contrast and hue to -1. some trickery going on ya with the camera.

Matthew Saville

Eddy wrote: »

Thanks Matt, How about the settings as in sharpness , hue and contrast are those left @ deafault, I read that ppl up the sharpness to at least 7 and contrast and hue to -1. some trickery going on ya with the camera.

If you're shooting RAW and not using the in-camera sharpening for ANY purpose, then yes it's safe to turn it way up in-camera so that you can confirm focus easier. However if you plan on shooting JPG, or if you plan on shooting RAW and sorting in View NX and maybe exporting directly to JPG, then I can only recommend leaving the sharpening at absolute zero. Yes, images look soft at first, but the DETAIL is all there, and post-capture sharpening is still the best. In-camera sharpening just butchers fine detail, and if you shoot JPG there's no way to get it back.

As far as hue is concerned, sometimes I'll tweak it if I'm in a really funky lighting situation, but hardly ever. For contrast, though, yes indeed I like to crank it up. If I'm shooting RAW and not worrying about the in-camera processing affecting the images in Lightroom / Bridge, then crank it as high as you want, just remember that it will make highlights appear to blow out much earlier than they actually are blowing out on the RAW capture. When shooting JPG though, I never go higher than +1 or +2 in either contrast or saturation.

Good luck!
=Matt=