A question for D3 and D300 users regarding Picture Mode

I have a question for fellow D3 and D300 users regardng the Picture Mode

settings, and specifically, if anyone can comment on the use , or your results

when selecting the "Average" (A) setting for contrast, saturation, sharpening,

etc., compared to the default settings centered between the + and - marks. I

find the Nikon user manual for my D300 doesn't really explain this point

clearly. Does anyone routinely use the Auto feature, and what are your results?

 

I have finally solved my persistent overexposure problem after I reduced the

Brightness setting. Don't know why my particular D300 shoots at up to 1 1/2

f/stops overexposed on many images when the Picture Mode setting for brightness

is in the middle default setting. Thanks to the archives for revealing this

troubleshooting fix.

 

Right now I prefer the Standard setting for most images, and my only tweak to

it has been to reduce the brightness level. I also turned down the Saturation

level on the Vivid picture mode because the default setting gets out of control

on sunny days with lots of contrast.

 

Adjusting the Contrast level above the default settings also seems to give

mixed results in sunny days with extremes in the exposure range. Right now I

think I prefer to adjust Contrast later in post processing, using Photoshop

Elements.

 

I also am learning that is better to not crank up the Sharpness setting above

the default (lower) level. It seems better to sharpen in post-procesing

instead, as I keep reading here.

 

The Monochrome picture mode setting now seems of less value to me and I do not

use it anymore, now that I've started to learn, and use the superior B&W

settings in Photoshop Elements. Does anyone disagree?

 

I have also successfully downloaded the D2's three picture modes, and I am

playing around with them. So far, I like II and III the best for their greater

saturation (compared to I's neutral tonality).

 

In conclusion, while I appreciate Nikon's effort to give the D300 user several

choices of Picture Modes, I find my images don't always give me what the eye

sees, with odd contrast and saturation results. I never had trouble like this

with film, or when I had my D200 or Canon 5D.

 

Thanks for any comments about the Automatic setting, or other observations

about the various picture modes.

Steve you say that you are not using the b&w picture mode in camera anymore due to photoshop being better, so why don't you use photoshop to make all your adjustmens. it will do this the same as you b&w shots.....better! Shoot raw and adjust in photoshop later. i haven't even entered into my picture control menu on my d3 and I have no interest in doing so. I want to make the decisions on the end results of my imaga on an image by image basis.

Steve, I have come to the same conclusions, yet I think it is a matter of experimentation to find which settings work best for your own personal tastes. And different lighting conditions often require 'tweaking'.

 

I find the average settings give me below average results (for what I am looking for), but with minor adjustments I get beautiful results.

 

For 'people' shots, I tend to use the Neutral mode, reducing the contrast (depending on the lighting conditions) and increasing the saturation. I find the Standard picture control makes people too orange for my liking.

 

Like my 5D, I have finally come up with settings that allow me to get beautiful JPGs right out of the camera - a big time saver!

 

Do you still use your 5D?

Upgrading from a D200, my D300 seems to overexpose (and my old D70s was underexposing as a routine). This overexposition varies depending on lenses: 70-200 VR 2.8 is the very prone to give overexposed shots; and 105 VR sometimes needs increasing the EV to 1 or 2 steps.

 

My way to solve the issue is to check often the histograms after each shot, and adjust exposition to avoid biasing the histogram towards the right end. And finally, tweak the raw file at post-production.

Shot a little in PROGRAM mode when I first got the D300 but like APERTURE mode better because PROGRAM mode usually makes the depth of field pretty shallow.

 

Photos come out about the same as on my old D100--not over or under--just right.

"Upgrading from a D200, my D300 seems to overexpose..."

 

> Hi Ramon,

 

You are dealing with a Picture Control issue and not an exposure issue; Nikon has boosted brightness in the D300 Picture Controls compared to the Image Optimizations settings used by the D200.

 

Below is one shot taken with a D200 and converted in NX using the old Image Optimization settings: Color Mode II, Normal Sharpening, Normal Tone Compensation, and Normal Saturation. The Picture Control conversions all used Auto Sharpening, Contrast, and Saturation. No exposure compensation was applied to any of the conversions.

 

All of the Picture Control conversions (which are the same as what you would get setting your D300 to these settings) are brighter and Standard is much more saturated than the Color Mode II conversion (which is one of the settings you get in the D200).<div></div>

Anthony, thanks for your comments. I own the D300 only since 10 days ago and it is time to learn and tune this wonderful machine. Actually I have already made some photos that I like very much, like the two in my portfolio.

 

Meanwhile, I will keep on reading and learning in these forums

Thanks to everyone's helpful comments to my original question. As I am most comfortable shooting JPEGs and using the latest version of Photoshop Elements, and I have only recently begun to learn RAW post processing, I still have to work within the confines of the JPEG image. But in time, I hope to jump fully into the RAW.

 

I do not have my Canon 5D any longer (sold, with regret, to finance my D200 when I left the dark side and came back to Nikon). But I recall the Canon 5D basically gave me a JPEG image that closely approximated what the eye saw in terms of color, saturation, etc. It seemed to more faithfully reproduce the scene without the surprises that my D300 yields too often.

 

But as I said, I have mostly solved the overexposure issue by turning down the brightness setting in the Picture Mode options, and I hope to get eventually straigthen out the saturation and contrast extremes that plague my JPEGs too frequently. And if I can't get it solved, I suppose I'll wait for the next generation 5D MK II to come out later this year and then I'll jump back to the dark side.

 

Regards.