How to emulate an 81A filter in my D700 settings?

<p>I'm trying to use as many "in camera" settings to minimize the PS work later.<br>

Under the Manage Picture Control settings one can make adjustments to hue and<br>

saturation. Does anyone know if I can use those (or other settings) to emulate<br>

a warming filter?</p>

<p>thanks in advance,<br>

Jim</p>

<p>Probably add some amber and maybe a tinge of magenta by trial and error or look up the mired conversions.</p>

<p>I would try white balance seetings of auto and a4 or cloudy and a4..sto start..and then go up from there..taht should ive you nice warm tones..m</p>

<p>Why not do it in PS? Either shoot raw or in a well balanced JPG. That way you can always revert to the original.<br>

I do n ot like doing too many special camera settings because I usually forget to reset them next time.</p>

<p>"I'm trying to use as many 'in camera' settings <em><strong>to minimize the PS work later</strong></em>."</p>

<p>You can still shoot RAW+JPG, therefore getting the JPG file just as you want it, and the RAW will be normal. I use the white balance adjust (on the front dial) to change color balance as needed. This will work for you too.</p>

Open a raw file and adjust the white balance until it's what you want, then set this value on the camera for future shots.

<p>Thanks much folks. It sounds like the white balance adjustment will get me the effect that I want.<br>

Mark's idea about tweaking the WB on the RAW then making the adjustment in the camera seems very efficient.<br>

Mary, I found out how to set cloudy a4 and can't wait to try it out.<br>

Errol, I see that some of the great pros here do very little in a digital darkroom as they tend to be purists. I would like to try to emulate that approach. I'm not concerned about forgetting to change back the settings in the D700 as I'll make this change within one of the shooting banks which I'll save for portrait work.<br>

Thanks again to all, the support here is terrific.</p>

<p>I don't have any kind of new fangled gee whiz digitalized camera body,<br>

but in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Shoe-Diaries-Light-Flashes/dp/0321580141">The Hot Shoe Diaries</a> on pg 188, Joe McNally says that the digital camera's Cloudy White Balance is similar to a 81A or the Nikon A2 filters...</p>

<p>Sure enuf, I just tested the Cloudy WB setting at A4 and it worked perfectly, giving a nice warm color which wasn't "over the top" at all. I'm very happy with the results :)</p>

<p>I would avoid capturing the cloudy setting unless, (a) it's really cloudy, and (b) you want to turn everyone and everything yellow.</p>

<p>The cloudy preset is FAR MORE YELLOW than an 81A filter. It's more like an 81D. It has its uses, but it's a strong effect.</p>

<p>Here's a better idea: the D700 lets you fine-tune any white balance preset. IIRC there are three "cooler" steps and three "warmer" steps for each preset. Select Auto white balance and notch up the warmth one or two steps. That should give you an 81A/81B effect that's adaptable to ANY light source, even incandescent lighting and the sunset (both of which are already quite yellow).</p>

<p>Note to photographers: just because it's yellow doesn't mean it's good.</p>

<p>Some additional points:<br>

81 series filters are still manufactured and available at major camera stores.</p>

<p>Some polarizers (e.g. Singh-Ray Warming + Polarizer) have effectively an 81A filter built-in.</p>

<p>If you use a real color-correction filter with Auto white balance, the auto will cancel some or all of the filter's effect.</p>

<p>If you don't want to spend time in PS try Lightroom. With LR, you can copy white balance settings from one photo to hundreds or thousands of others shot in the same light. This is a tremendous labor-saving feature.</p>

 

All,

 

From reading all the posting replies, no one seems to know the answer to how to properly set the Picture Control settings on the D700 to emulate an 81A warming filter. I don’t know either. Why doesn’t Nikon post files we can down load to our cameras or a least post detailed instructions. Previously I had to search down a Picture Control file that emulated Fuji velvia 50. I down loaded it to my D700. But, I don’t know how to create such a file. Just saying fiddle with the settings and do a save in your cameras Picture Control is not enough of an answer.

 

Update, I missed reading the posting where Richard said to use the cloudy setting to emulate the 81B. Which is good. But, still there are many more filters I would like to have files for.

 

Thanks, Richard.

Does anyone know if there are Nikon Picture Control files for sale to emulate filters? I mean for in camera use, not post processed in PC software. Actually, I know that a Nikon Picture Control file that works in a camera can be used with Nikon’s NX2 software. I’ve used a Fuji Velvia 50 one before and it worked both in the D700 camera and in the NX2 software. But my question is were can we buy such files that have been proof tested?

<p>You can create your own custom files and save them in View NX which can then be saved on a memory card and uploaded to the camera. Thus you can have any stteings you like and all, even the default settings, can be modified to suit your needs.</p>

<p>A lot of these ideas seem like a lot of work to save very little work (ie. changing WB in PS).</p>

<p>Why not buy an 81A filter instead of spending a bunch of time trying to do it in PS? That will leave you with more time to take photos.</p>

<p>I used 81A filter with film to cut down on the blue caused by the sky, especially at altitude. I understand your wanting to minimize PS work later, I also try and do that (but I don't always succeed. On digital you can still use 81A filters (they are still available. If you decide to use filters be sure you keep them clean. An alternative approach would be to preset the cameras white balance before you take your shot. In fact it is probably a good idea to check and if necessary adjust it while you are taking pictures. One thing I learned when switching to digital is that the auo white balance setting doesn't always get it right, a specially for sunsets and sunrises. If you don't get it right you can adjust it later (it is one of the simpler things you can do in PS. </p>

<p>I use a Nikon D 300 and a D 300s. My white balance is set at Cloudy 99% of the time. And I also use B + W KR 1.5 filters on most of my lenses. I do not get the excessive yellows that Dan mentioned in his post. At the Nikon School I attended they recommended Cloudy WB for most outdoor shooting as the Daylight setting produces too much blue cast. For custom settings for Picture Control go to this link to see if Jason O'Dell discusses it. <a href="http://www.luminescentphoto.com/blog/">http://www.luminescentphoto.com/blog/</a><br>

If you shoot in raw, you just adjust the WB and correct it.<br>

Joe Smith</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Why not buy an 81A filter instead of spending a bunch of time trying to do it in PS? That will leave you with more time to take photos.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Because that is another accessory that costs money and you'll need to remove it when you don't need that effect. You'll also lose maybe 1/3 of a stop of light, although that is mostly negligible.</p>

<p>The thing is that to get really good images, some post processing is often necessary anyway, just like you typically need to make some adjustments in the wet darkroom back in the film days. In digital photography, it is much easier to get the colors right afterwards.</p>

<p>In my case I already have a couple of fine 81A, 81B filters from Nikon and B+W. I don't bother to use them any more. If you really want to do so, you can play around with white balancing before/when you capture the images, but it is hard to get that exactly right. Those filters are not exactly right either; they are merely approximations.</p>

<p>“Why not buy an 81A filter instead of spending a bunch of time trying to do it in PS? That will leave you with more time to take photos.” and as Shun says“, but it is hard to get that exactly right”</p>

<p>I am not a pro at photography. My previous experience with using a polarizing filter during a vacation to Sanibel Island off of Florida left me with some bad photos (not all but many). So, I would prefer not to use lens filters and instead shoot RAW. Post processing RAW files will give you the flexibility of correcting errors. In camera Picture Control files and shooting RAW would allow you to shoot photos and not spend that much time post processing. A misused filter on a lens results in a throw-away for the photo file. I don’t think you can easily correct it. I think it would be nice to have a series of equivalent Picture Control files that were confirmed to be very close to each of the filters (not - I play with the white balance and see if it gives me something close).</p>

<p>It's something like six clicks in PS to emulate the filter...Image>Adjustments>Photo Filter>select 81>make your adjustments>Ok.</p>

<p>How much more minimal can you get? This actually sounds like LESS work than fretting over getting your custom white balance settings to match what you want. I mean, I appreciate the whole idea of getting the image correct to camera as much as possible. But it's 2010, and while iTunes still sucks, we now have amazing tools available to work with our digital images, and by now everyone understands that pressing the shutter button is a relatively small part of the entire process. Just as the darkroom is an integral part of the film process, so is the digital darkroom an integral part of the digicam process.</p>

<p>push the WB button on the right. turn the front command dial a few times left or right until it says A2. continue shooting with goosebumps</p>

<blockquote>

<p>My previous experience with using a polarizing filter during a vacation to Sanibel Island off of Florida left me with some bad photos (not all but many). So, I would prefer not to use lens filters and instead shoot RAW. Post processing RAW files will give you the flexibility of correcting errors.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Okay, first of all, an 81-series filters does not affect the image as drastically as a polarizer does. It simply alters the colors slightly by passing the light through an amber color on the way into the lens. You could easily undo this after the fact.</p>

<p>Next, there's no way that an 81-series filter is going to ruin any image unless it's made of extremely low-quality components. If an image is ruined it's because of something else - too much contrast, improper exposure, camera shake, etc.</p>

<p>Polarizing and 81-series filters have been used by lots and lots of photographers to capture countless images. I'm sorry that you vacation photos didn't come out the way you wanted them to, but it was probably not the filter's fault.</p>

<p>If you really, really, really need to emulate an 81A filter - and I have to wonder why given that many digital shooters have probably never used one in their entire lives - borrow one from somebody, put your camera into a white balance preset that won't change from shot to shot (e.g. daylight), take two identical shots with and without the filter, and try to make the non-filtered shot look like the filtered shot in PS. Whatever changes you applied, save it as a PS action or a preset in Lightroom, and apply this every time you "need" the 81A look.</p>

<p>My earlier suggestion of boosting Nikon's white balance setting up a notch in the warm direction will STILL WORK if you want to try it. I've used the 81A and B filters on thousands of images, so I have a pretty good idea what their effect looks like.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>At the Nikon School I attended they recommended Cloudy WB for most outdoor shooting as the Daylight setting produces too much blue cast.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That's fine, and that's very similar to using an 81 filter does. But I question the veracity of the notion of "too much blue cast." Some subjects look better when they're rendered bluish. Others look better in warm light. Further, the color of light changes constantly throughout the day. A one-preset-fits-all approach treats every image the same way.</p>

<p>I was surprised when I read that John Shaw - yes, he consults and teaches for Nikon - uses Auto White Balance. This puzzled me at first, but I have come to see the wisdom of this approach. Auto WB will make a guess for every frame. Sometimes ill will guess wrong, but often the results are surprisingly good. Auto WB isn't limited to one color or one tint. It can add red, blue, amber, magenta - whatever it needs.</p>

<p>You can always change your images to Daylight or Cloudy or a custom setting in post-processing, but you can't replicate the camera's "guess" after the fact. Why not keep the "guess" in your back pocket? If you're dedicated to a particular preset all of the time, you might not know what you're missing.</p>