23 replies to this topic

[Tony]

Here is a photo taken at Seaside, Oregon.  I know that we all have our personal favorites and I admit this one is for me.  However, that does not imply that I am not open to any comments and suggestions.  In truth, I am posting this one to see if the issue regarding the color red with my Nikon D70 is as pervasive as it appears.  There has been absolutely no PP for this photo.  Please feel free to critique.  This was taken with the Nikon D70 and my Nikon AF Nikkor 28~105, 1:3.5~4.5D Lens.

 

Thanks,

 

Tony

Attached Thumbnails

• 

[Nikonite]

Care to fill us in as to what is pervasive with the color red? It looks good to me, but of course I did not see the original red. If the original red was close to orange you do have a problem, but if the original red was close to Ferrari red I think you're fine!  

[Tony]

Care to fill us in as to what is pervasive with the color red? It looks good to me, but of course I did not see the original red. If the original red was close to orange you do have a problem, but if the original red was close to Ferrari red I think you're fine!  

Certainly, be glad to.  In this case, pervasive is used to describe something that stands out or overwhelms, such as: The pervasive odor of garlic.  The more I look at this shot, I can see some CA beginning from the subject's shoulders on down to the end of his sleeves.  This very bright red I believe is a clear indication of the limited Dynamic Range of the Nikon D70.  It is borderline harsh,  at least in my eyes the color red seems a bit excessive or loud.  Thanks for your comment.  Tony

[Nikonite]

You must be looking at the full rez shot? I just don't see it in the attached?

[TBonz]

You must be looking at the full rez shot? I just don't see it in the attached?

 

Did you click on the photo to open it up?

 

The red area on the image definitely appears to be over saturated...and yes, I can see some issues along the sleeves...

[Nikonite]

Of course and I'm looking at it with a 32" ASUS 2560 x 1440 monitor.

[Jerry_]

The red shirt is indeed very flashy compared to the general toning of the capture.

If this is the result of the D70 sensor&processor making it more flashy as it was in reality is hard to say, as we don't know what the real shirt looked like, as Nikonite mentioned.

However, in general, red can be a tricky colour. I have seen some sensors turning strong pink or orange tones into almost plain red - however I am not sure if it applies here.
What I see in this capture is a slight border around parts of the body (shirt, head and left leg), so I am wondering if this could result from the strength of the sunlight, even so it is on the opposite side where the sun was.

As we are in the 'Critique welcome' section:
- I don't think that the flashy red is an issue here, as it gives the eyes an object to focus on.
- lightening the shadows, just to allow to see some structure, would add
- slightly level the horizon
- the person is looking left, but positioned at 1/3 on the left of the capture. Ideally he would be sitted at 1/3 to the right when looking left, thus you would offer to see more of what he is observing

[Tony]

Great analysis, thank you all very much.  What I find puzzling, is that I had used my level on the hot shoe, and when the mercury was dead center, I tightened everything up, so I tried to straighten it more on Windows Live Photo Gallery, however it did not change anything.  The horizon I thought looked spot on, when visually measuring the evenness.  It can be deceptive when there is water on the left and terra firma on the right.  Everyone, thanks again.

 

I was just looking at the photo again, and I can now see the white piping from his left front to the back of his right ear.

Terribly disappointing since I really like the Nikon AF Nikkor 28~105mm 1:3.5~4.5D Lens.  Now I tend to wonder if the camera or the lens is suspect.  Or, perhaps both in regards to the CA.  I certainly will appreciate any input.

 

Regards,

 

Tony
 

[Ron]

All lenses have some degree of CA.You can get rid of the white piping in post although I'm not sure if Lightroom's CA module will do it either automatically or manually. But I'd try LR first. If not, you may need to take the image to a program like Photoshop that supports layers and get rid of it that way. We're talking about pixel level editing here.

 

I have spirit levels on all my tripod heads as well as one of those hot shoe levels they sell at camera stores. However, I find it's often more effective to simply pay attention to the image in the viewfinder rather than rely on levels. I also make extensive use of the built in on demand grid lines in my cameras. However, I don't know if this feature is available on the D70. If it is there should be a menu item to turn them on. I leave them on in my cameras all the time. I find them to be a big help in lining up horizons or buildings and for general composition guidance.

 

--Ron

[Jerry_]

...
I also make extensive use of the built in on demand grid lines in my cameras. However, I don't know if this feature is available on the D70. If it is there should be a menu item to turn them on. I leave them on in my cameras all the time. I find them to be a big help in lining up horizons or buildings and for general composition guidance.

--Ron

With the D5100 I occasionally use the focus points as levels; i.e. use the visible markers of the focal points to align to a straight line, if handheld

[Ron]

With the D5100 I occasionally use the focus points as levels; i.e. use the visible markers of the focal points to align to a straight line, if handheld

 

I hadn't thought of this but I can't see any reason why using focus points wouldn't work fine for keeping things level. Good idea!

 

--Ron

[Tony]

I hadn't thought of this but I can't see any reason why using focus points wouldn't work fine for keeping things level. Good idea!

 

--Ron

After a lot of searching on Windows Live Photo Gallery, I did locate an icon that led me to the formal straightening adjustments.  With that and my level up on the screen, I was able to make a proper adjustment.  Interesting enough, the top of the concrete barrier is not exactly level.  This could be the result of settling I would imagine.  I am certain that I would not be able to eliminate the piping on Windows Live Photo, or on FastStones Image Viewer.  I have a great deal of apprehension when it comes to flubbing things up.  Of course, it may well have a return to original feature that would save my bacon sort of speaking.  Well, once again, many thanks.  I am planning to post a sample of how my K100D Super with the Pentax 18~55 mm kit lens handled the red poinsettias.  I will do that now.  Tony

[Ron]

I really think you need to move on from Windows Live Photo. If you want an inexpensive photo editor you might look into Adobe Photoshop Elements. The current version is 14, I believe and, depending on your computer hardware and operating system, may be incompatible. However, earlier versions are still readily available on places like Amazon for very little money. Elements is, for many people, the only image editor they need. It features many of the same tools as the full version of Adobe Photoshop and comes with a version of Adobe Camera RAW which has, depending on your Elements version, many of the same tools as Adobe Lightroom's Develop module. It's also an excellent way to learn how to use things like adjustment layers because it has full and semi auto modes that can do many retouching jobs for you. Lastly, it can be pretty cheap. I've seen Elements for as low as US$40.

 

--Ron

[Merco_61]

Another good editor that renders Nikon files better than most is Capture NX-D. It is not as good as NX2 was, but it is free. The only problem is that it won't handle Pentax raw files, but RawTherapee can do the conversion and Capture works with .tif or .jpg files.

[Ron]

Of of these days I gotta try NX-D. I've never used Capture NX but I did have View NX-2 installed on one machine. I was mostly underwhelmed.

 

--Ron

[Merco_61]

I am a bit underwhelmed by the UI, but it is possible to learn it's quirks and the end result is worth it. There are quite a lot of things missing from NX2 as they were Nik patents, but the fact that Picture Controls and Active D-lighting are rendered correctly makes it the best current choice for NEFs IMNSHO.

[Tony]

I really think you need to move on from Windows Live Photo. If you want an inexpensive photo editor you might look into Adobe Photoshop Elements. The current version is 14, I believe and, depending on your computer hardware and operating system, may be incompatible. However, earlier versions are still readily available on places like Amazon for very little money. Elements is, for many people, the only image editor they need. It features many of the same tools as the full version of Adobe Photoshop and comes with a version of Adobe Camera RAW which has, depending on your Elements version, many of the same tools as Adobe Lightroom's Develop module. It's also an excellent way to learn how to use things like adjustment layers because it has full and semi auto modes that can do many retouching jobs for you. Lastly, it can be pretty cheap. I've seen Elements for as low as US$40.

 

--Ron

Okay, at this juncture I feel as though I am kicking a dead horse.  If we go back to the photo at the top, we can see the piping that actually begins on his left front hairline and continues down the sleeve of the shirt.  In addition, there is no piping on the left side of his face.  I'm sure that is because of his light skin color.   So, it isn't just red that the D70 has a problem with.  My thinking is that this is a fluke of some kind because of the very harsh sunlight that day.  According to the post on the bench, you can see the shadow indicating that the sun was just about at 45 degrees and that it is bearing down hard.  Essentially what this is telling me is that I should beware of dark colors with this type of light condition.  I have to say I am really bonkers over the D70 and even more so with the 28~105mm D lens.  Thanks again to everyone for all the help.  

 

Regards,

Tony

[Ron]

What kind of sharpening tools do you have in your software? Can you dial it back a little or is it an all or nothing deal? The white piping is, I believe, an artifact of over sharpening. So,if you can dial it back a little the piping might go away or at least be diminished a bit.

 

--Ron

[Tony]

What kind of sharpening tools do you have in your software? Can you dial it back a little or is it an all or nothing deal? The white piping is, I believe, an artifact of over sharpening. So,if you can dial it back a little the piping might go away or at least be diminished a bit.

 

--Ron

I tried both Windows Live Photo Gallery and FastStones Image Viewer.  Neither worked at all.  Well, that is it for me regarding this issue.  I will just have to locate PP Software that can eliminate CA.  Thanks again to everyone for all the help.

 

Regards,

 

Tony

[Merco_61]

Tony, I took the liberty of downloading your photo to check the EXIF to see if something in your camera settings could explain the edge sharpening artifacts. Capture NX2 and NX-D reported that you use the scene mode Landscape, which sets sharpening to Auto in the D70. Photoshop reported that the sharpening was set to 2, which is maximum. This would explain the oversharpening as your software probably sharpens for screen automagically every time you save the jpeg in post on top of the already aggressive sharpening in camera. 

To get better, more predictable results, try using only the basic modes (PASM) with Image enhancement (p. 56 in the manual) set to Normal, at least in high-contrast situations. With the Vari-programs, you leave too much up to the camera. Remember that the computer in your camera can't read your mind as to what is important in the scene. 

Using the Landscape Vari-program can also explain the vivid, oversaturated colours you experience as the camera cranks the saturation way up to cut through ground haze and get nice, vivid greens and reds when used with a wide angle and long distances.