I want to buy the Nikon D40

[emmabelle]

Emmabelle -

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

I think it's actually funny, maybe I should change the title?

 

[Tinkermom3]

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.

As I had mentioned in a previous post earlier on in this thread, the only way to get your NEF converted and have all the "in-camera" settings applied is to use NX or PP. I believe the only information that the 3rd party converters are capable of reading is WB.

Another thought would be why not try going to an all-jpeg workflow? If you are pretty much happy with how your shots look when applying "in camera" settings, and you find that you do minimal tweaking from that point on, shooting jpegs instead of NEFs and using something like Photoshop Elements may be better suited for what you are trying to accomplish. Unfortunatley, you have two choices when shooting RAW - use NX/PP to get all your in-camera settings applied, or use another RAW converter and find your own pre-sets that closely approximate the in-camera settings. I know of many Nikon shooters that shoot RAW and use pre-sets in LR and they are more than satisified with the results.

Although I use NX, I will readily admit that NX does not have as smooth a workflow as LR does, and can be a bit cumbersome on older machines that may have a slow processor and/or only 1 gig of RAM. I had to install 2 gigs of RAM and had to upgrade my older processor to get NX to run well, particularly when using D-Lighting or noise reduction. I have a lot of time and learning invested in NX, and have created a fair amount of batch settings that minimize my editing time, so I have no desire to switch to another RAW converter. However, if I were just starting out, I would seriously consider LR, and download and try as many pre-sets as possible, as the front end of LR is so much better than the browser built into NX, or View NX for that matter.

 

[TinksDH]

As I had mentioned in a previous post earlier on in this thread, the only way to get your NEF converted and have all the "in-camera" settings applied is to use NX or PP. I believe the only information that the 3rd party converters are capable of reading is WB.

Another thought would be why not try going to an all-jpeg workflow? If you are pretty much happy with how your shots look when applying "in camera" settings, and you find that you do minimal tweaking from that point on, shooting jpegs instead of NEFs and using something like Photoshop Elements may be better suited for what you are trying to accomplish. Unfortunatley, you have two choices when shooting RAW - use NX/PP to get all your in-camera settings applied, or use another RAW converter and find your own pre-sets that closely approximate the in-camera settings. I know of many Nikon shooters that shoot RAW and use pre-sets in LR and they are more than satisified with the results.

Although I use NX, I will readily admit that NX does not have as smooth a workflow as LR does, and can be a bit cumbersome on older machines that may have a slow processor and/or only 1 gig of RAM. I had to install 2 gigs of RAM and had to upgrade my older processor to get NX to run well, particularly when using D-Lighting or noise reduction. I have a lot of time and learning invested in NX, and have created a fair amount of batch settings that minimize my editing time, so I have no desire to switch to another RAW converter. However, if I were just starting out, I would seriously consider LR, and download and try as many pre-sets as possible, as the front end of LR is so much better than the browser built into NX, or View NX for that matter.

Sorry about that!

 

[Groucho]

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 think Steve's Girl already said it - but more likely, what's happening is (for better or for worse) the opposite of what you're thinking. When you look at the RAW on your camera LCD, it's applying the in-camera adjustments - saturation, color curves (natural, vivid, etc), sharpness, whatever. Nikon's software recognizes those settings (usually hidden in a proprietary "MakerNote") and applies those settings as a default when importing the Raw.

Lightroom, on the other hand, does not apply those settings; instead it uses the camera's profile (from Adobe Camera Raw) and the default (or modified) color curves, saturation, etc that it has. So you're truly seeing a more "raw" photo.

Now, there's two problems... one, if you're shooting in a "vivid" (or whatever your camera calls it) color mode, that's going to give a much more vibrant look than "natural", which is closer to how Lightroom will apply it by default. Judging by the shots you posted, I'm pretty sure that you are using vivid - the photo of your daughter really shows reds that I'll bet are a lot more vibrant than they are in real life. Anyway, you can attempt to recreate the "vivid" setting as a preset in Lightroom; in fact, I'm sure some already have done this.

Second, the camera profile itself is probably a little off. Adobe Camera Raw is notorious for turning reds into oranges - they seem to be very conservative on the color settings. Try doing a little Google searching for an ACR calibration for a D50 - someone has probably already taken a Gretag Macbeth chart and used that to calibrate ACR. (There's a script that will do this automatically for you.) There will be slight differences between different D50s, but probably very slight. This will go a long way towards bringing back the reds and giving you deeper greens.

One other thing to double-check is that your JPGs are output in the sRGB colorspace, not AdobeRGB. This will suck some vibrance out of your photos, leaving them somewhat dull and flat. I had this issue recently and it was causing me all sorts of frustration.

When all is said and done, I'm still frustrated by ACR sometimes, but I have gotten pretty good results recently, and I am sure that when tweaked properly, it can do about as well as any other raw converter.

 

[Berni'sDH]

Sorry about that!

Hello TinksDH,

I appreciated your comments. as I am just beginning to attempt to learn using the many features in Capture NX. As you have said, I find the user interface somewhat less intuitive than that of Lightroom, and more difficult to master an easy workflow in NX. I have also downloaded and tried a number of Lightroom presets created by various individuals that I have found on the internet, and have had some limited success using those to acheive the final effects I desire in processing my NEF's. You had commented in your post that you, "have created a fair amount of batch settings that minimize my editing time" in NX, and I have begun to work on experimenting with using a few settings my own. Would you be willing to comment more on some of your hard-earned experience with determining what batch settings worked best for you, and maybe even sharing what some of those specific settings that you settled on were?

I wish to thank you in advance for any help and assistance you might be willing to provide me and fellow Nikon users on this board! If it is of any help, I currently own a D70s, and am thinking of upgrading to a D300 sometime in the future.

Thanks again!

~Alan

 

[TinksDH]

Alan/Bernie'sDH

I just got to the boards late this evening and just saw your message. I am getting ready to go out of town until late Friday evening, and will not have time to post much between now and then. When I get back, I can PM you some tips that I have found helpful in getting the most out of NX with the least amount of pain. Like I said, I am fully committed to NX at this point, as I have been using Capture/Capture NX for over 2 years and have gotten my workflow down to where I THINK I know what I am doing!

If you want to continue to to develop your NX skills, I highly recommend picking up an e-book by Jason Odell titled "The Photographer's Guide to Capture NX".

http://www.luminescentphoto.com/

It is WELL worth the $25. By buying it, you get his first edition, as well as 2 suppliments, access to his batch settings that he developed for NX, as well as any additional suppliments that he will put out. To be honest, I used his batch settings as the basis for mine, and just tweaked them to my personal preference.

I also suggest hanging out on Nikonians.org, specifically their digital processing and workflow forum:

http://www.nikonians.org/forums/dcboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=196

Finally, if you haven't upgraded to NX 1.3, I highly recommend you do. With the introduction of the D300 and D3, Nikon created new presets found in the "Picture Control" feature in the edit list. The original "legacy" settings are still there, which allow you to change sharpening, color mode, contrast, etc., but there is also a new feature which gives you access to 6 or so "presets" identified by such names as "vivid", "neutral", etc. Jason talks about using them in his 2nd e-book suppliment, and I have found them to be a major time-saver.

So now I have (for me) what is the best of both worlds by using NX - I can apply all my in-camera settings when I convert from NEF to jpeg, which is great for "snapshot" type things where the in-camera settings are "good enough", or I can use the new Picture Control pre-sets (as well as make my own) to be used as starting points for doing more elaborate post-processing. The Picture Control presets have saved me bunches of time - 1 or 2 clicks does everything from saturation, levels/curves, sharpening, hue, and gets most of my images 90% there in 15 seconds.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Alan/Bernie'sDH

I just got to the boards late this evening and just saw your message. I am getting ready to go out of town until late Friday evening, and will not have time to post much between now and then. When I get back, I can PM you some tips that I have found helpful in getting the most out of NX with the least amount of pain. Like I said, I am fully committed to NX at this point, as I have been using Capture/Capture NX for over 2 years and have gotten my workflow down to where I THINK I know what I am doing!

Hi TinksDH, could you PM me the info as well? I need to start figuring out some of this stuff, so now's as good a time as ever.
Thanks, I would really appreciate it !
DSF

 

[LETSGOFAM]

We just came back from the camera store and (intending on buying a point and shoot) well......we looked at the DSLR's just to see what they looked like and guess what? We now are deciding to possibly buy the Nikon D40 or the Nikon D60 kit with the 18-55 vr and 55-200 vr lenses. Then came home to do some learning on the internet and happened to see that the DIS had a thread on it! Well since our first trip to WDW is coming up, I am checking out these threads all the time and was happily surprised to find this thread. I honestly am learning all about cameras, in the past just used p & s and scrapbooked. I thought a small one would be best for WDW but when we looked at the DSLR's we loved how fast they were, but not the bulkiness. So do you all take your cameras on all the rides? We have a nice film SLR but want a digital instead and already have a Kodak digital that doesn't have IS and my pictures tend to be blurry...grrr.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

We just came back from the camera store and (intending on buying a point and shoot) well......we looked at the DSLR's just to see what they looked like and guess what? We now are deciding to possibly buy the Nikon D40 or the Nikon D60 kit with the 18-55 vr and 55-200 vr lenses. Then came home to do some learning on the internet and happened to see that the DIS had a thread on it! Well since our first trip to WDW is coming up, I am checking out these threads all the time and was happily surprised to find this thread. I honestly am learning all about cameras, in the past just used p & s and scrapbooked. I thought a small one would be best for WDW but when we looked at the DSLR's we loved how fast they were, but not the bulkiness. So do you all take your cameras on all the rides? We have a nice film SLR but want a digital instead and already have a Kodak digital that doesn't have IS and my pictures tend to be blurry...grrr.

I take mine on all the rides. I bought an Optech camera pouch and it adds little to no weight. I bought the largest size to accommodate a long 70-300VR zoom lens, but I still use the pouch even when I have a much shorter lens on it. It's about $24 at Adorama and B&H. I simply put my other lenses in a ziplock bag and carried it in my fanny pack. I use the D80 w/ 18-135 lens and I carried my 50mm f1.8 prime lens for low light/ ride photos. I don't think it's too heavy to carry around my D80 and it weighs more than a D40. I also bought an Optech camera strap and I LOVE IT! It really does make the weight of the camera feel more evenly distributed so it's like you don't even feel the weight of the camera when carrying. If you're going to be using this camera for your first trip to WDW, I would buy it ASAP and practice practice practice and post questions here and on other photo boards to get answers you need before your trip. Good luck!

 

[emmabelle]

I was wondering how to take my camera on rides like Space Mountain and RnR. I did buy a camera carrying case, but it still seems that it won't protect the camera enough.

 

[LETSGOFAM]

I take mine on all the rides. I bought an Optech camera pouch and it adds little to no weight. I bought the largest size to accommodate a long 70-300 zoom lens, but I still use the pouch even when I have a much shorter lens on it. It's about $24 at Adorama and B&H. I simply put my other lenses in a ziplock bag and carried it in my fanny pack. I use the D80 w/ 18-135 lens and I carried my 50mm f1.8 prime lens for low light/ ride photos. I don't think it's too heavy to carry around my D80 and it weighs more than a D40. I also bought an Optech camera strap and I LOVE IT! It really does make the weight of the camera feel more evenly distributed so it's like you don't even feel the weight of the camera when carrying. If you're going to be using this camera for your first trip to WDW, I would buy it ASAP and practice practice practice and post questions here and on other photo boards to get answers you need before your trip. Good luck!

thanks for the info, will either the 18-55 vr or 55-200 vr lens work during low light? or am I not considering the right things needed to get good pictures in the evening/night. newbie here. what is a prime lens?

Never mind on the prime lens - just read up on it!

 

[LETSGOFAM]

Also DisneySuiteFreak: what kind of pouch do you have?

 

[scottie]

I also bought an Optech camera strap and I LOVE IT!QUOTE]

Just curious on what strap you went with?

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I was wondering how to take my camera on rides like Space Mountain and RnR. I did buy a camera carrying case, but it still seems that it won't protect the camera enough.

I either wear the camera and hold on to it or put it in the pouch that is in front of you when you sit down to ride. Honestly, for the most part I keep it on me and it becomes an extension of my body. I feel like it gets less bumped around than if I put it in the pouch on the really crazy rides like Space. I'm also usually holding it in one hand to take pictures with during the ride (no flash of course). If I wear it and hold it in one hand (while keeping the strap around my neck), it's safer than putting it in the pouch in front of me.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

thanks for the info, will either the 18-55 vr or 55-200 vr lens work during low light? or am I not considering the right things needed to get good pictures in the evening/night. newbie here. what is a prime lens?

Never mind on the prime lens - just read up on it!

The kit lenses will probably take photos with low light but only with a tripod and long exposures because they don't let in enough light. I shot all of my DL photos w/ 18-135 kit lens handheld and the 50mmprimes. Some of the night photos using the kit lens really needed a tripod, but I only brought mine out for F! and Fireworks. (Too lazy to lug around) The 50mm prime lens came in really handy for handholding night shots and indoor rides shots.
The Prime lenses are faster lenses and they let in a lot more light. Even with that you still have to bump up the ISO and sometimes exposure compensation depending on how dark the ride is. These lenses can take photos in almost no light. They are great, and they are cheap and light to carry around the park. They will not autofocus on the D40,D40x or the D60, but they are still useable -- you just have to maunal focus. I actually manual focused alot on the indoor rides because when it's really dark the lens will sometimes tend to hunt. I switched it to MF and was able to get some shots.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Sorry, double post

 

[handicap18]

thanks for the info, will either the 18-55 vr or 55-200 vr lens work during low light? or am I not considering the right things needed to get good pictures in the evening/night. newbie here. what is a prime lens?

Never mind on the prime lens - just read up on it!

This is going to depend on what your subject is going to be. The VR works and it works very well. However, its purpose is to help keep the camera steady at slower shutter speeds or at longer focal lenghts.

Typically, the average person can get a steady shot (with no camera shake) from around 1/30th to 1/60th. VR will give you a few extra stops. So lets say that you can get 1/40th, after that the camera shake sets in. VR will get you to around 1/15th.

Now, are these going to get you good low light shots. We'll, if you combine that with a high ISO (1600) and the subject is stationary (Castle, The Hat, SSE for example) then you will get some decent shots. But if your going to try an get a pic of SpectroMagic then VR will not help. Since the subject is moving, you need a fast enough shutter speed to stop the action. For that you'll need a lens with a wide aperture. Anything below 1/60th or so for SpectroMagic you will get motion blur. VR can not help with motion blur.

With that said, I would still prefer to have the VR version of the 18-55 and 55-200.

You might also want to consider getting a tripod. Most inexpensive tripods will do you well for Disney. If you don't want to lug one around, most will fit in the lockers at the enterance to each park. Then you can take it out at night and get some great long exposure shots of all the big subjects.

I wont get into to much more at this point. I don't want you to get overloaded with info. Keep asking questions and you'll keep learning. The D40 or D60 are great camera's. Keep in mind that they are tools for taking pictures. Who ever dies with the most tools wins....

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Also DisneySuiteFreak: what kind of pouch do you have?

Here's the one I got. It works great for me as I don't have the extended battery pack: http://www.adorama.com/OTPSBK.html It's 6"w x 4.5"h x 6"d with a maximum lens size of 3.25"dia. x 6"long

Here are a few others that I would have considered if I had the extended battery pack:
http://www.adorama.com/OTDIGPZ.html 6"w x 6.5"h x 6"d with a maximum lens size of 3.25"dia. x 6"long.

http://www.adorama.com/OTDIGP.html 6"w x 6.5"h x 6"d with a maximum lens size of 3.25"dia. x 4.5"long.

Good luck! I love this pouch. It's light, it protects it from bumps and dings, but is so lightweight you just want to tke your camera everywhere. Just don't drop the camera while in this pouch only because it won't protect it like a regular heavily padded bag will. (I haven't had this happen, I am making an educated guess here.)

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I also bought an Optech camera strap and I LOVE IT!QUOTE]

Just curious on what strap you went with?

I bought this one:
http://www.adorama.com/OTPSBK.html It's great!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

With that said, I would still prefer to have the VR version of the 18-55 and 55-200.

Does the 18-55 come w/ VR? I thought that was a typo from the OP. I thought the regular kit 18-55 didn't have VR but the 55-200 did have VR. Am I off?

The D40 or D60 are great camera's. Keep in mind that they are tools for taking pictures. Who ever dies with the most tools wins....