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bayphotoclub
Forum Admin
Canada
19 Posts |
 Posted - 05/01/2006 : 09:29:02
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This Sunday I went out with Martin J and we had a great chat about RAW and impage manipulation. The bottom line is that even though my camera does not shoot RAW I can create better pictures by turning off the in camera functions (contrast, sharpening, colours etc) and manipulating them in my photo software (I use Fireworks and Corel Paint both of which have levels, curves, contrast and saturation controls).
In camera the pictures look a little flat, but my Nikon 7900 (7.1 mp) has a good dynamic range and by turning off the in camera processing the image is not artificially bumped to maximize saturation. When I looked at the levels graph in Fireworks I noticed that the dynamic range was, typically, more in the middle and did not have blown highlights or black regions. To me this means that I can shift the colour spectrum around more without losing the colour relationships that maintian the picture integrity (if you get my meaning).
For me, the net results were that in my recent posts the images are more vibrant in the areas I wanted (not what the camera thought I wanted). You can see this here: http://www.bayphotoclub.com/index.php?action=display&cat=146&v=357
Please feel free to add your thoughts or comments here.
Mike D
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Manfred Meilinger
Administrator
Canada
9 Posts |
Posted - 10/13/2006 : 10:26:20
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Hi Mike,
I’m doing exactly the same thing with my new FZ50. Sharpness, Saturation & Contrast at Standard. Noise reduction on low. I’m very happy with my new toy. It is no match for a DSLR at high ISO. My favorite setting are Aperture Priority at F5.6 at 100 ISO. This gives me excellent outdoor image quality. I have taken the advise given by Bruce at our last meeting. To lock exposure at the highlights and pull out the shadow details later. Making dynamic range a non issue. Work’s great for me. I will post some shots using this technique from the Cheltenham Badlands shortly. I’m not a Pro and have no intention of becoming one. My reason for buying the FZ50 was mainly functionality, 35-420mm range & the glass (Leica). One more reason, there is absolutely no colour fringing of any kind. This has always bugged me, since it is hard to remove. Leica sells the exact same camera with small cosmetic changes for $150.00 more. If it’s good enough for Leica to put their Company Logo on it, it’s good enough for me. There are some images in my Fall Colour gallery a DSLR can simply no get. Like close to ground level. On the other hand in indoor image quality the FZ50 is simply a dead duck, at anything over ISO 200.
Cheers
Manfred
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Tip: turn off in camera processing
