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Picture control question - Nikon D500
Oct 1, 2017 13:00:10 #
I am an amateur photographer who is attempting to learn the multitude of setting options within my new Nikon D500. Most of what I shoot involves birds/wildlife so I set my picture control to Neutral. My question involves the layer of adjustment options for sharpening, clarity, contrast, brightness, saturation and hue. I post process my photos using Lightroom 5 / Topaz plugins and I shoot in JPEG fine. Should I make any adjustments in the camera or simply leave it for post-processing? Thanks so much in advance for your suggestions!
Oct 1, 2017 13:03:17 #
Picture control settings allow you an almost unlimited gamut of .jpg settings, proper use of which will eliminate almost all the need for any post processing adjustments.
Keep in mind these settings have no effect on Raw images at all.
And what makes you select Flat???
Keep in mind these settings have no effect on Raw images at all.
And what makes you select Flat???
Oct 1, 2017 13:05:08 #
ShaKato wrote:
I am an amateur photographer who is attempting to ... (show quote)
With this camera you owes to shoot raw if you are going to PP your captures.
The real question is 'should I use the camera to adjust'? The answer is 'No'.
Why would you use a camera with limited capabilities instead of the full power of a computer (whatever it is)?
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Oct 1, 2017 13:11:44 #
Thank you for your response. I am not using the flat setting but rather neutral. The D500 offers standard, neutral, vivid, monochrome, portrait, landscape and flat. I took Steve Perry's advice for settings and went with the neutral setting. Just wasn't sure if I should make adjustments within that for the other options or what is best. I read an article where someone recommended increasing the sharpness to +5 but I thought that would turn my bird photos to "stone." ???
Oct 1, 2017 13:14:22 #
Thanks so much. You brought up an interesting point regarding RAW........I suppose I should take the next step and give it a shot. :-)
Oct 1, 2017 13:15:14 #
Thanks so much. You brought up an interesting point regarding RAW........I suppose I should take the next step and give it a shot. :-)
Oct 1, 2017 14:41:23 #
ShaKato wrote:
I am an amateur photographer who is attempting to ... (show quote)
To build on Ron's advice, you have an amazing camera, why use it like a point and shoot. You already know how to adjust your raw images since you are using Lightroom. I would turn off jpeg and just shoot raw from now on. You'll appreciate the ability to push your exposure settings to greater limits, and have more control over things like sharpening and noise, than you have now with jpegs.
You may want to take it a step further and start doing things in Photoshop. The creative possibilities are endless, and as good a Lr is, it is not considered a platform for producing finished images. It gets you to excellent proofs in record time, but I have yet to see a single image that could not be improved upon with even a simple and short trip through Photoshop (or other pixel-level editor).
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Oct 1, 2017 16:12:44 #
ShaKato wrote:
Should I make any adjustments in the camera or simply leave it for post-processing?
Yes. Ditch JPG and start working with RAW (Nikon NEF) images. The effectiveness of Lightroom, Photoshop and Topaz are magnified 100% with RAW.
Oct 2, 2017 06:49:35 #
Gene51 wrote:
To build on Ron's advice, you have an amazing came... (show quote)
And all this time I have been under the impression that Lightroom is slicker than greased owl sh$t. Best I now subscribe to CC Lr/Ps for $120 a year. ~FiddleMaker
Oct 2, 2017 06:54:15 #
rgrenaderphoto wrote:
Yes. Ditch JPG and start working with RAW (Nikon NEF) images. The effectiveness of Lightroom, Photoshop and Topaz are magnified 100% with RAW.
In the past I would keep memory card #1 for raw (NEF) files and card #2 for JPGs. But now I keep both for Raw only. Card #2 is only a backup. I don't need a card for JPG because Lightroom converts my edited images to JPGs before I export out of Lightroom.
Oct 2, 2017 07:07:47 #
For the best out of your images and with processing Shoot in RAW (NEF) THat is what I do and I use the neutral setting also. To get the best upgrade to CC and have all the latest in LR plus you can have the advantage of layers in PS
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Oct 2, 2017 07:08:10 #
To answer the question, I use neutral and plus 5 for sharpness when shooting jpeg. http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-topic-list?usernum=4763 a link to several thousand photos using this setting.
Oct 2, 2017 09:11:45 #
With the investment you made, I would definitely learn to shoot and edit raw (NEF) files..I have the same camera, and a few lenses..The one I use it with the most is my Tamron 150-600mm zoom for nature..The combination ROCKS when you shoot and edit in Adobe camera raw in Photoshop cc 2017..BTW, only $10/month USD for the photographers and worth every penny!!
Oct 2, 2017 16:11:51 #
Thanks so much for all of your responses! I shot in RAW this morning and was very pleased with the results I got PP. I also began to "dabble" in Photoshop but admittedly have a lot to learn in that arena. Will look into tutorials to become better acquainted with it. Really appreciate your valuable input.
Oct 2, 2017 16:26:30 #
I recommend RAW and jpeg. I'm shooting with a d500. Serious work use the RAW files and tweak them all you want. Then when you have a shot you want to post of FB or one of the other social sites, just pop in the jpeg card and send it as is. Or you can load it into your RAW processor and tweak it if you insist.
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