Compare Settings / Results on wife's Nikon 3100 v. My Nikon 7200: At the risk of showing my total status as a Novice (it is easier to admit this up front, then we get that...

James L.

At the risk of showing my total status as a Novice (it is easier to admit this up front, then we get that behind us...), I want your help on comparing my wife's camera results with her Nikon 3100, compared with my Nikon 7200.

See the attached images. Both are at the same spot, taken within minutes of each other. Neither camera has a filter of any type. We both use aperture priority.

You can see that her picture has more color and contrast. To me, the shots cannot compare.. hers is much better. I have tried to compare our settings on both cameras. Have checked things like white balance, etc etc. There is no PP in either picture.

We find this outcome to be common... in general, her photographs are much better than mine.

Can some of you fine experts give me an idea of why we have this result ? I love the features of my camera and I know the potential for its use is huge, but I am both disappointed and perplexed about this obvious difference in image quality.

Thank you for any positive hints and advice.

James

ELNikkor

In the "Set Picture Control", it is possible that you are using a different choice, such as she might use "Standard", or "Vivid", and you might use "Neutral", or "Portrait". Even within those, it might be that her "Saturation" level is set higher than yours.

James L.

Wow, I will check those asap !! Many thanks ElNikkor !!

jsmith218

I agree, picture control.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

James - first, for this question and for any similar analysis based on images, you MUST post an original image from the camera AND store the image (store original) so others can download and inspect the EXIF data in the image. This post just provides images for viewing but provides no ability for detailed analysis of technical details of the camera and exposure settings when the image was created.

The difference in the images likely comes from adjustments made (or not) made in the White Balance and / or vibrance and / or saturation. These settings can be viewed from the EXIF data in the image. But, as mentioned before, you didn't provide these details by failing to store the original...

If the results from the D3100 are desired, you can adjust the default settings in the D7200. But again, we need to know where you're starting from with the settings in the D7200 ...

d3200prime

Could your wife be shooting JPEG and your shooting RAW?

custodian Loc: New York

wow your wifes is definitely more vibrant!

James L.

No, both shooting in JPEG. I plan to start RAW after a bit...

d3200prime wrote:

Could your wife be shooting JPEG and your shooting RAW?

krl48 Loc: NY, PA now SC

Under a partly cloudy sky, lighting changes can happen quickly. It's easy to see that in the 2nd picture, you and your wife are in a cloud's shadow, altering the overall lighting of the picture, and likely the camera's settings.

IMHO, for a better comparison, you and your wife should stand side by side and take the same picture at the same moment, and then post those two pictures, storing the original, so viewers can examine the EXIF data and offer some advice and opinions on what's going on.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

James L. wrote:

At the risk of showing my total status as a Novice... (show quote)

I prefer setting the level to normal, natural, or whatever they call it. Since I usually shoot raw, it doesn't matter. If you want great color right out of the camera, select Vivid. Ken Rockwell does that.

"I set my Canon point-and-shoots (like my A70) to "Vivid." My Casios are saturated already, so I leave them at "0.""
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/color.htm

A good video -
https://www.creativelive.com/courses/nikon-d7100-dslr-fast-start-john-greengo?via=site-header_0

This will make you feel good about owning one.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d7200.htm

Settings -
http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=2425215&seqNum=8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfYv8nrzNyU
https://www.everythingd7000.co.uk/your-2nd-ten-settings/

James L.

Wow, lots of information here... many thanks !! I have now set the camera to Vivid... I think that by itself will make quite a difference....

wingclui44 Loc: CT USA

ELNikkor wrote:

In the "Set Picture Control", it is possible that you are using a different choice, such as she might use "Standard", or "Vivid", and you might use "Neutral", or "Portrait". Even within those, it might be that her "Saturation" level is set higher than yours.

I may think the problem was the different exposure on both picture, yours was a little over, you can compare the color of the sky. Her one was just right. When taking the metering, you both may used different metering mode with your camera. Looks like she took the reading from the sky and the mountain top, and you took the reading from the person's clothing (it was darker, it coursed the sky and the other area over exposed)

Pixelpixie88 Loc: Northern Minnesota

Let me add to this..my own personal preference is yours from the D7200. The colors are more natural looking. The greens are great. The sky could have a little more blue but still looks good. The other has a little too much saturation. If you have a software program for photos, (which you'll need for RAW) you could up the saturation a little on yours. Just remember, sometimes "less is more".

lamontcranston

Pixelpixie88 wrote:

Let me add to this..my own personal preference is yours from the D7200. The colors are more natural looking. The greens are great. The sky could have a little more blue but still looks good. The other has a little too much saturation. If you have a software program for photos, (which you'll need for RAW) you could up the saturation a little on yours. Just remember, sometimes "less is more".

I agree with that. My Sony A6000 has a "Vivid" setting that you can adjust up or down in increments of +.1 or -.1 within the Vivid setting. I'll bet your Nikon cameras have the same option. Get into the menu and check it out. You can adjust your camera menu for any level of saturation/exposure that you prefer. I prefer letting the camera adjust the saturation/exposure rather than having to do a lot of post-processing.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Is it possible that with your wife's photo the camera is metering on the entire landscape while in your photograph the camera is metering on the couple. I believe it would give two different exposures. I agree with another poster that you need to stand side by side, make sure you are photographing the same scene with the same lens focal length, same settings and THEN compare. What you have shown us is somewhat apples to oranges as it is not the same scene.

Dennis