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really!? I'll check it out at his website.
Originally posted 51 months ago.
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dhaos007 edited this topic 51 months ago.
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i never liked his saturation being cranked up. i use his color mode though for sunsets and sunrises, and i did try his settings. its never appropriate.
for skin tones, i am using d2xmode1. works nicely.
this is using his color mode.
 -- from sharaff - (?)
this is d2xmode1
 -- from sharaff - (?)
Posted 51 months ago.
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personally I'm loving D2Xmode2 with a touch of sharpening and Saturation.
But yes Ken's over saturated photos do look exceptionally horrible.
Posted 51 months ago.
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I tried the Vivid and yes, it's too much for a lot of shots. Occasionally, it might work, but otherwise, no no No.
Will have to try the D2x mode 2 sometime.
Posted 51 months ago.
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My saturation level goes to 11. |8^)
Originally posted 51 months ago.
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WintrHawk edited this topic 51 months ago.
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the D2X mode 2 is like the standard mode on the D2X/D200/D80.
Mode 1 is neutral, mode 3 is vivid. The D2X mode 3 isn't as severe as the Vivid on the D300 mind you.
Posted 51 months ago.
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I think it was Ken Rockwell that said "The first thing you want to do is crank the Vivid up to max”.
I took his advice but soon realized for many shots it was a bit too Vivid for me. But for some shots it works well.
Posted 51 months ago.
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Inkblots10 [deleted] says:
I would imagine that if you are using Capture NX for pp, downloading these modes into the D300 isn't really necessary. Right? Or am I missing something here?
Posted 51 months ago.
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I used vivid mode for my first proper outing with the D300, as I used to find that I'd generally increase the saturation in post with the D50.
The results were pretty horrible! Reds blow out really easily and any red in the shot becomes a nasty bright blob. What's even worse is people shots with a vivid/low light/high ISO combination - the capillaries just under the skin in the face really stand out and they look badly sunburnt.
Vivid mode can stay where it belongs - filed under "Gimmicks"!!
Posted 51 months ago.
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inkblots, i shoot weddings and we try to keep PP down to a minimum. I find the D2x mode 1 very pleasent and i have to d very little PP with my 300.
Posted 51 months ago.
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Sorry to sound like a numbnut, but what is 'd2xmode1' mode?
Posted 51 months ago.
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zoom, I think they're sets of "picture control" settings: saturation, contrast, etc. They're starting point settings that you can then further tweak, the same way I have been tweaking my Standard setting a bit.
My question is, what is it going to do for me? Ho are the d2x modes different? Should I try them just for the hell of it? How do they look to you?
Posted 51 months ago.
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@.zOom,
They are picture control modes. They are available fro download from the Nikon site. I don't know if they come preloaded in newer D300s, but they did not come on the early releases.
Posted 51 months ago.
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hey they are free, they are easy to upload and they work well, why not try them?
Posted 51 months ago.
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.zOom. Nikon D300 Picture Controls Update more info there.
fotosniper Ye they are much easier to upload than importing curves. I wish there is a place where there are some custom color modes. You know personal tastes, just to check. :D
Posted 51 months ago.
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Cool, thanks guys.
Posted 51 months ago.
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Okay, I just installed them. Unfortunately, there's very little info inside the camera to show you what they are each like. If you select one and hit the minus key, it shows you a graph: saturation on one axis and contrast on the other, with each picture control mapped out on it. Otherwise, you're left to subjectively figure out how each are different from one another.
Right now I'm trying d2x3, simply because the graph says it's the most different from Standard. We'll see if I can tell the difference.
Posted 51 months ago.
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A while back I found some picture controls and tone curves that I have been using with some success. The website seems to be down however. I have exported my own copies (built on Neutral) to my personal webserver.
They can be found via this link. There are three of them which I have named Agfa Optima, Fuji Astia and Fuji Velvia. To use them, you will need to grab a CF card and create the following directory structure under the root directory of the card:
NIKON
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+-- CUSTOMPC
[1] Place all three profiles in the CUSTOMPC directory.
[2] Remove the card from your computer and insert it into the D300.
[3] In the Shooting Menu, navigate to Manage Picture control and select Load/Save
More information on loading Picture Controls can be found on pg. 160 of the English manual.
Posted 51 months ago.
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Cheers for those WintrHawk,
I'll be putting those to good use.
Posted 51 months ago.
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To really test out these modes, I suggest you shoot pictures in raw mode. With the latest revision of Capture Nx (1.3.2) you can easily see what each of these modes will do with your picture. Just go to Base Adjustments - Camera Adjustments - Picture control to switch between the modes.
Posted 51 months ago.
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*bookmarks thread for future reference* ;-)
Posted 51 months ago.
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WintrHawk - Great Spinal Tap reference. Just watched it this weekend. :) And thanks for the presets. I'll try them out with my new 70-200 which is 'out for delivery.'
Originally posted 51 months ago.
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louhamilton23 edited this topic 51 months ago.
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Thanks for those :)
Posted 51 months ago.
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I noticed those picture controls are from the EUROPE Nikon site, will these still work in a USA D300 body ?
Posted 51 months ago.
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no dont load them! you camera will start to spit at you and ask you why you voted for George bush. Only load good ol US of A modes that know how to chew good dip
Posted 51 months ago.
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Can I ask who is Ken Rockwell?? I have never heard of him
Is he from America???
Posted 51 months ago.
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www.kenrockwell.com/tech/00-new-today.htm
He's a guy from California with a website on photography.
Posted 51 months ago.
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Someone on the Nikonians D300 forum made a nice chart that compares the available stock settings.
Sharpness settings are absolute. Everything else is relative to some predefined built-in baseline. The +/- settings in the chart are shown to indicate how changing saturation and contrast effect each profile relative to the others. One thing this chart tells us and that might be confusing/not-obvious without it is that changes within a profile are relative to some baseline setting in that profile. For instance, if you have bump the saturation on the Neutral profile up one level to +1 and set everything else to 0, it will not produce the same result as taking the Standard profile, setting everything to 0 and bumping up its saturation level to +1. Unlike the old Image Optimization system, the values are relative to only that profile and not absolutes relative to a single baseline for all profiles.
Originally posted 51 months ago.
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WintrHawk edited this topic 51 months ago.
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WintrHawk Oh thats very helpful. I am going to import and see the results.
Posted 51 months ago.
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weired. i tried to import those files from a linux machine to the camera (card) and it doesnt show on the load from camera menu.
shows up when imported/copied from a windows machine.
Posted 51 months ago.
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Hmmm.... I just tried it from my FreeBSD machine and it seems to have worked fine.
It should be: Shooting Menu -> Manage Picture Control -> Load/save -> Copy to camera
Posted 51 months ago.
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So anybody (probably WintrHawk) know how I can import the shooting modes above into Capture NX so I can apply them post capture?
Posted 51 months ago.
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Would anyone know if it is possible to import the velvia optima and astia controls into captureNX to compare them all on one photo? Thanks in advance....
Posted 51 months ago.
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the.mightymash says:
So anybody (probably WintrHawk) know how I can import the shooting modes above into Capture NX so I can apply them post capture?
John Donnellan says:
Would anyone know if it is possible to import the velvia optima and astia controls into captureNX to compare them all on one photo? Thanks in advance....
(note the following assumes you're running the Windows version)
You have to use the Picture Control Utility. This is easily accessible from within View NX but I don't think Nikon thought to include a way to launch it from Capture NX. Furthermore, they stupidly didn't include a Start Menu, Desktop Icon or Quick Launch item for it either. But you can feel free to add a shortcut yourself. The program is typically located at: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Nikon\Picture Control Utility\PictureControlUtil.exe or you can do a search for "PictureControlUtil.exe" from the file explorer.
Originally posted 51 months ago.
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WintrHawk edited this topic 51 months ago.
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Thanks again WintrHawk.
Seems stupid that it is so easy to do via View and not possible Via Capture. Very usefull tool though.
Posted 51 months ago.
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Possible silly question, is any of this relevant for someone shooting raw?
Posted 51 months ago.
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Thanks WintrHawk.... Very much appreciated.
Posted 51 months ago.
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Chris Dion [deleted] says:
@osiris
To an extent. The raw will be saved with the current picture mode you are using but it's easily changed in Capture NX.
Posted 51 months ago.
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I have a stupid newbie question regarding the saturation settings. Do the saturation setting and sharpness settings make a difference if you only shoot in raw format. I thought that the raw is just that a raw image that the camera sees without the camera making any modifications to the image. I am just wrong or plain stupid?
Posted 51 months ago.
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If you use Capture NX or View NX, then even if you have shot in RAW, CNX or VNX will initially apply the Picture Control to the image. You can of course change this but it's a nice way to jumpstart your developing workflow. I try and keep my Picture Controls straight even though I shoot in RAW because it allows me to better visualise (if I'm inclined to chimp on the LCD) what the images will look like after processing and it gets me close off-the-bat when I start my workflow. Sometimes the image looks good enough that I can simply export without having to do much processing.
Posted 51 months ago.
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I pretty much shoot everything straight then apply changes in Capture NX if I want to tweak the RAW a lot. I do use the D2X modes as well.
As for Ken Rockwell, he is rarely on my radar at all.
Posted 51 months ago.
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So, does this mean it is possible to create custom modes to simulate black and white film types?
Posted 51 months ago.
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For those of us using Capture NX for our RAW editor it has plenty of relevance. The picture controls almost half workflow time. It's useful having several presets to work from. The best thing is if you don't like the way one picture control has turned out you can just swap to another with the click of a mouse.
rpscott123, the saturation and sharpness settings also apply to Jpeg, only difference is you can't change the picture control used afterwards. RAW is the image that the camera sees but it's not with out modification. No compression is used, so all the original data is there. This means with the right software all the modifications can be, well unmodified or changed.
Posted 51 months ago.
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Wilton, yes. It'll take some effort to do it yourself, but if you search the web hard enough I'm sure you'll find some has done some already.
Posted 51 months ago.
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WintrHawk checked your modes. great. The Fuji Velvia is pleasing. I have been using it even before, it works great for macros I have to say.
The other modes I checked for macro today, not as pleasing as Velvia. But I only took one shot, from each. Will check on other subjects.
Thanks by the way.
 -- from sharaff - (?)
Shot from Nikon D300 AF-S MICRO NIKKOR 105mm at f/5.6 ISO 250 WB Auto.
Color Mode Fuji Velvia.
Processing Photoshop CS3 to change image size and contrast adjustment and vignetting effect
Posted 51 months ago.
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Picture controls only matter if your using Nikon Capture I take it? if you use Aperture or Lightroom they don't read the picture control settings??
Posted 46 months ago.
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For landscape i use LANDSCAPE mode which is available to download for D300. For portrait, i use the PORTRAIT mode with +1 in sharpness for d300 or D2Xmode 1
D2xmode 3 is also good for landscape.. but i found the former have better sharpness and saturation.
Posted 46 months ago.
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I tend to like the D300's Vivid setting mashed against the +3 wall for certain landscape shots whereby I am out for effect. Such as:
But for portraiture work I tend to use the Neutral setting for an overall comfort factor. IMHO.
Posted 46 months ago.
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yo Wizard, you have to try the new portrait mode. its amazing and way more pleasent than neutral
Posted 46 months ago.
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Hmm, apparently this thread is a no-joke zone. Sigh.
Posted 46 months ago.
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No one here shooting in just RAW? Though picture controls were not relevent in RAW
moonraker
Posted 46 months ago.
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moonraker, i dont shoot everything in raw, when im out shooting pics of family in normal lighting conditions in more colloquial situations i just shoot Jpegs. I also like to get things right in camera most of the time
When im in a fine art/ long exposure mode then yes RAW all the way
Posted 46 months ago.
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hmmm, I followed the instructions as indicated above but these will not load to my D300. Can anyone help a Mac User with this?
Thanks
Posted 46 months ago.
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Okay, I must of not seen the part where you have to rename the file to PICCON01.NCP then it loads fine.......thanks anyhow.
Posted 46 months ago.
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fotosniper...
Thanks for the portrait mode info.
Posted 46 months ago.
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i ignore ken rockwell,he's over the top with his reviews and biased to say the least..
Posted 46 months ago.
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