I want to buy the Nikon D40

[YEKCIM]

The Sigma 30/1.4 has HSM, does it not? If ryley26 wanted to use AF on the D40, he couldn't use the Nikkor 50/1.8, which is a shame as that is a great little affordable lens! I have no personal experience with the Sigma 30/1.4, but from what I read it sounds pretty good.

Not trying to be a know-it-all, but with Nikon bringing out more cameras without the internal AF motor, and more and more first-time DSLR users getting them, not everyone understands the limitations of lenses not having AF-S or HSM.

You are quite correct; thank you for correcting my error. As usual, I posted w/o fully thinking it through. The Sigma with HSM would be the better option for someone with a D40/D40x/D60. Please forgive my mistake.

~Ed

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I'm going to buy the d40 soon just wondering about extra lenses. The package that is available is 18-55 and 55-200 lens for $749. I've read here many times to get the 18-135 what are your personnel opinions. I could get the camera with the package lens and buy the 18-135 oris the 55-200 similiar. Thank in advance Rich

Get the 18-135, and when you can afford it, if you feel you need more reach then get the 70-300VR. OR if you can afford it, get the 18-200VR. 18-55 is too short of focal length, IMO. Getting the 18-55 kit and then getting the 18-135 is a waste of money that can be used towards getting another lens like the 70-300 VR or 30mm1.4.

 

[handicap18]

The Sigma 30/1.4 has HSM, does it not? If ryley26 wanted to use AF on the D40, he couldn't use the Nikkor 50/1.8, which is a shame as that is a great little affordable lens! I have no personal experience with the Sigma 30/1.4, but from what I read it sounds pretty good.

Not trying to be a know-it-all, but with Nikon bringing out more cameras without the internal AF motor, and more and more first-time DSLR users getting them, not everyone understands the limitations of lenses not having AF-S or HSM.

Between Nikkor, Sigma & Tamron There are about 60 lenses that will auto focus with the D40, D40x, & D60. The biggest problem seems to surface around the 50mm f/1.8 lens because it only costs $120. Sure there are other lenses that might come in conflict, but for the most part they have an equivilent with a focus motor (granted they are a little more expensive than the AF lens).

The other big issue is with the other prime lenses. Though most first time dSLR users in the target audience for these bodies wouldn't necessarily look at primes.

I'm surprised that Tamron hasn't made their 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens with a focus motor. I'm sure that is close to happening. They've had 3 different versions of it over the last 5 or so years. Its now enhanced for digital.

Though Sigma makes a 50-150mm f/2.8 that is VERY good and not all that expensive for those that want the mid range zoom with a wide aperture.

The lack of in camera focus motor is starting to become less of an issue with Nikon. Once someone gets a 50mm and an 85mm that is f/1.8 then the issue will become almost a complete non issue.

 

[Master Mason]

The editing features on PP are very limited. I never use PP for editing. I only use it to convert the NEF images (aka: RAW) to JPEG's. I'll use lightroom or photo shop elements for editing.

Out of curiosity, why don't you use lightroom for your conversions? I import the RAW's into lightroom, tweek them, and then use the export function to create JPEGs

 

[handicap18]

Out of curiosity, why don't you use lightroom for your conversions? I import the RAW's into lightroom, tweek them, and then use the export function to create JPEGs

Lightroom makes an "auto correction" when I add the RAW images to it. The vast majority of the time I don't want this to happen. PP (and any of the Nikon software that can convert RAW) will not do anything to the image.

I haven't figured out how to get rid of that feature on Lightroom. I personally find it very annoying. I used the trial version of Nikon Capture NX which is Nikon's full/complete editing/converting software. I like, but do like Lightroom's layout and easy of use a bit better, except of course for the auto correction part.

 

[Master Mason]

Lightroom makes an "auto correction" when I add the RAW images to it. The vast majority of the time I don't want this to happen. PP (and any of the Nikon software that can convert RAW) will not do anything to the image.

I haven't figured out how to get rid of that feature on Lightroom. I personally find it very annoying. I used the trial version of Nikon Capture NX which is Nikon's full/complete editing/converting software. I like, but do like Lightroom's layout and easy of use a bit better, except of course for the auto correction part.

Are you letting lightroom convert it to a dng instead of persevering it as a raw file?

 

[handicap18]

Are you letting lightroom convert it to a dng instead of persevering it as a raw file?

Anytime I open an NEF (nikon RAW file) file it automatically "auto corrects" it, even before I do anything. I don't want my image software automatically doing anything before I even get a chance to view the image on the full screen. I'm sure there must be a way to stop it from doing this, but I haven't looked into it enough.

 

[TinksDH]

The lack of in camera focus motor is starting to become less of an issue with Nikon. Once someone gets a 50mm and an 85mm that is f/1.8 then the issue will become almost a complete non issue.

I would almost completely concur, except for the scenario of the Nikon SLR film shooter with a ton 'o glass that decides to get into digital with the D40/40x/60. However, Nikon is counting on the SLR film shooter with a ton 'o glass to get a D80/200/300, so it is probably a moot point!

 

[Furgus]

Anytime I open an NEF (nikon RAW file) file it automatically "auto corrects" it, even before I do anything. I don't want my image software automatically doing anything before I even get a chance to view the image on the full screen. I'm sure there must be a way to stop it from doing this, but I haven't looked into it enough.

When I open up my image in Lightroom it renders the jpg, (what you see on your LCD screen) first, then after awhile it does its RAW calculations and switches over the the unedited RAW image. Wonder why yours is not doing that.....

How do you have your rendering setup?

 

[Groucho]

Anytime I open an NEF (nikon RAW file) file it automatically "auto corrects" it, even before I do anything. I don't want my image software automatically doing anything before I even get a chance to view the image on the full screen. I'm sure there must be a way to stop it from doing this, but I haven't looked into it enough.

Are you sure about that?

Lightroom is starting with a basic image, it doesn't really "auto" anything unless you're using a non-default preset when importing. However, it generally doesn't import some of the camera information that the OEM program might, like sharpness levels, color curves, etc. So the initial image may look slightly different between the two programs.

Next time you try importing something into Lightroom, check to see what preset it's using. It is possible to have a preset apply an "auto tone" (which usually looks terrible, IMHO).

My usual import preset is default for most, but a few non-standard settings, which I tweak now and then. Current, it's contrast 32, clarity 8, vibrance 16, sharpening 45. I also have the camera calibration slightly tweaked, upping the saturation slightly on red and green and a touch less hue on red. I'm pretty happy with this setup.

One thing that's cool about Lightroom is that your camera calibration settings can be set to your particular camera, if you use different ones. You can even have it automatically apply different settings depending on the ISO of the imported photo. (There's some more specific info here.)

 

[Steve's Girl]

Anytime I open an NEF (nikon RAW file) file it automatically "auto corrects" it, even before I do anything. I don't want my image software automatically doing anything before I even get a chance to view the image on the full screen. I'm sure there must be a way to stop it from doing this, but I haven't looked into it enough.

I think I know what you are referring to. I have been struggling with Lightroom and my NEF images for some time. At least what happens when I open an image is that it sort of "greys out" once it has finished loading. I think that is what Furgus is referring to as the unedited RAW image. I was getting really frustrated with this because when the image first opened up, it would have the nice color I wanted and then when it "greyed out" I could not figure out how to adjust it back to what first appeared on the screen. (I'm not sure that I'm making any sense here, but I know what I am talking about!) I still have not figured this out, but have come to understand that Lightroom is giving me an image that does not have any of the settings applied to it that are applied in the camera to my jpeg images. Sometimes this is really frustrating because I actually like the colors in the jpeg image my camera creates better than the one I converted in Lightroom. I have played with some presets, but still haven't found one I am really happy with. So, I shoot in RAW + jpeg fine and sometimes I use the jpeg out of the camera and not the RAW image I have converted.

 

[TinksDH]

I don't want to get into a debate over which RAW converter is "best", and I'm sure you have aleady sunk money into Lightroom, but have you considered Capture NX? I use NX exclusively for my RAW conversion and the majority of my edits, with the exception of things that only Photoshop can do. One of the great features of Capture NX is that it applies ALL of your "in-camera" settings to your RAW file when converting. Some folks prefer to start with a "neutral" image in LR and use their custom settings to get it to where they want. I prefer to start with the "as shot" image and tweak it from there.

If you've already bought LR, this may not be an option. But if you are just trying out LR, and haven't settled on a converter yet, you may want to download NX and try it for free for 30 days...

 

[Steve's Girl]

I did try Capture NX for the 30 day trial. I didn't have a lot of time to use it during that time period and the few times I did try to use it, I found it to be rather difficult to use. Maybe if I had an NX for Dummies guide or something it may have helped, but I find Lightroom much easier. Overall, I am OK with the images in LR. Where I really struggle is getting skin tones accurate. I may get NX just for those photos. If I edit a photo in NX and then import it to LR, will LR recognize and preserve the edits I have made in NX?

 

[TinksDH]

If I edit a photo in NX and then import it to LR, will LR recognize and preserve the edits I have made in NX?

You need to save the edited NEF as a TIF and then open the TIF in LR for LR to "see" the changes. Otherwise, you'll have the same issue as you have now - LR will not read the changes in the NEF. At least this is what I understand. I have not used LR but have seen this discussed on a lot of the photo boards.

I also understand that many users of LR have created "profiles" that can loaded into LR and used to reduce the number of edit steps. You may want to search online for these, as some of the photogs I know from other forums have these profiles posted on their websites for all to use. For instance, one guy has a "Velvia" profile and he uses that to give his images a very saturated look that Velvia film is known for.

 

[handicap18]

Are you sure about that?

Lightroom is starting with a basic image, it doesn't really "auto" anything unless you're using a non-default preset when importing. However, it generally doesn't import some of the camera information that the OEM program might, like sharpness levels, color curves, etc. So the initial image may look slightly different between the two programs.

Next time you try importing something into Lightroom, check to see what preset it's using. It is possible to have a preset apply an "auto tone" (which usually looks terrible, IMHO).

My usual import preset is default for most, but a few non-standard settings, which I tweak now and then. Current, it's contrast 32, clarity 8, vibrance 16, sharpening 45. I also have the camera calibration slightly tweaked, upping the saturation slightly on red and green and a touch less hue on red. I'm pretty happy with this setup.

One thing that's cool about Lightroom is that your camera calibration settings can be set to your particular camera, if you use different ones. You can even have it automatically apply different settings depending on the ISO of the imported photo. (There's some more specific info here.)

Here is one image I tried real quick. Not the best example because in this particular case the Lightroom image looks a little better.

This image was converted with Nikon's Picture Perfect. No other editing was done. This is how the camera took the picture:

This is the same image, but converted with Adobe Lightroom. I did not do ANYTHING to this. After I loaded the image and before I could click on to view it full screen Lightroom darkened it automatically. I will tell you that before I opened the image I went to Edit> Preferences then clicked on Presets. The box next to "Apply Auto Grayscale Mix When Converting To Grayscale" was checked. I unchecked it. Non of the other boxes were checked. I don't know what other things to check or uncheck.

I would say that in about 98% of the images I have loaded into Lightroom have been "darkened". A few times, like the file above, it looks better, but the VAST majority of the time it just looks dark. Almost like 1 or 2 stops exposure compensation has been added. So I would then have to go and edited them back to how it was shot in camera. Thats just to much work. I should be able to open the file in Lightroom and see it exactly how it looks on the camera's LCD. This is how it is with Picture Project and Capture NX. I just haven't gotten around to buying CaptureNX.

Like I had said in an earlier post. I don't want my ediiting software doing things automatically. I really like the layout and ease of use of Lightroom. But I don't use it very often because of this auto feature it does. Maybe its just from my camera. I don't know. If someone can suggest other things to check and make changes to I would appreciate it.

I also went in an unchecked Enable Filters. That didn't do anything.

If I can find out how to correct this issue I would use Lightroom exclusively.

 

[handicap18]

Here is another example where the Lightroom converted file is, IMO, to dark. The light on this day was AWESOME. Really brought out the colors, especially the reds and blues.

This is the Lightoom converted file:

This is the Picture Project converted file:

I had this image enlarged to 12x18 and is hanging in our hallway. It looks awesome. I had the PP version enlarged. The LR version is way to dark, especially the shadows. It also dulled the red of the fishing shack and the lobster boat.

 

[Furgus]

Take a look at this from the Adobe Help Forums.

http://www.adobeforums.com/webx?14@@.3c0649a7/0

Also I think you ahve a D50 and here is a nice little setup for D50 Presets in Lightroom. I have not tired it yet, but I will in the next few days.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/adobe_lightroom/discuss/72157604046755433/
If you can't see that link, let me know and I will email it to you.

 

[emmabelle]

Good ole Rockport, I have that picture taken with my Canon sx100. Maybe I should brighten my picture. It looks kind of dull next to yours.

 

[emmabelle]

Here it is a little brighter. I like it better.

 

[Steve's Girl]

This is the same image, but converted with Adobe Lightroom. I did not do ANYTHING to this. After I loaded the image and before I could click on to view it full screen Lightroom darkened it automatically. I will tell you that before I opened the image I went to Edit> Preferences then clicked on Presets. The box next to "Apply Auto Grayscale Mix When Converting To Grayscale" was checked. I unchecked it. Non of the other boxes were checked. I don't know what other things to check or uncheck.

I would say that in about 98% of the images I have loaded into Lightroom have been "darkened". A few times, like the file above, it looks better, but the VAST majority of the time it just looks dark. Almost like 1 or 2 stops exposure compensation has been added. So I would then have to go and edited them back to how it was shot in camera. Thats just to much work. I should be able to open the file in Lightroom and see it exactly how it looks on the camera's LCD. This is how it is with Picture Project and Capture NX. I just haven't gotten around to buying CaptureNX.

Like I had said in an earlier post. I don't want my ediiting software doing things automatically. I really like the layout and ease of use of Lightroom. But I don't use it very often because of this auto feature it does. Maybe its just from my camera. I don't know. If someone can suggest other things to check and make changes to I would appreciate it.

I also went in an unchecked Enable Filters. That didn't do anything.

If I can find out how to correct this issue I would use Lightroom exclusively.

Hey Kyle -

I have spent hours researching this and am quite honestly still frustrated. But what I have learned is that Lightroom is not applying any edits. It is just giving me the RAW file to apply my own edits. The PP or NX version is actually applying edits based on the settings in my camera. Lightroom ignores all in-camera settings. It is up to me to apply edits in LR and quite honestly I suck at it and can never get the results I want. I usually think that the edits the Nikon software applies based on my in-camera settings is better than what I do. However, LR is really useful when the WB or exposure is way off.

Emmabelle -

Sorry to totally hijack your thread! Congrats on the new camera.