Nikon D700 in camera sharpening

[western_isles]

<p>This is probably a dumb question which has an obvious answer so please be kind folks.<br>

I always shoot RAW and do not sharpen at all as my agency does not like it at all. No problem there.<br>

How do I ensure that sharpening is turned off in my D700 which I have had for a few months?<br>

Cannot see any way to do this. Can turn it off on my D200 but the 7 has me stumped!<br>

Thanks folks </p>

[martynas_photo]

<p>what software do you use to process raws? If it is anything other than Nikon's own program, the in-camera sharpness setting is totally irrelevant. If its capture nx2 - you go to picture control section and make sure that sharpening is set to 0. But this can be done in camera too, since the picture control reads data form camera. sorry my d700 is at work, but it is pretty straightforward - find the manage picture control setting in the camera's menu, go deeper into menu and there you will have the sharpening, contrast, saturation. etc. adjustment sliders. Active D-Lighting has to be turned off to access some of the settings (like contrast). Unsure about the sharpening</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>RAW images aren't sharpened in camera at all. Problem sorted!</p>

<p>If you want to adjust the sharpness of JPEGS you need to change the settings of the picture control.</p>

<p>From the D700 manual: Select a picture control and press the righthand side of the camera's joystick button. This takes you into a "quick adjust" menu where sharpening is the first option; set the sharpening to 0; press the "OK" button. Job done.</p>

[wpahnelas]

<p>just to confirm what has already been written, it's a picture control setting, and you simply need to set the sharpening slider to zero in order to turn off in-camera sharpening. if you're shooting RAW, however, it really doesn't matter as you can manipulate -- or set to zero -- all the picture control values in ViewNX or CaptureNX during post.</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>D700 files without any sharpening at all will look <em>really</em> soft. But what kind of files do you submit to your agency? If they are now raw files then frankly you will have to use at least some degree of sharpening (e.g. sharpness = 3 in picture control if you use Capture NX2 to convert your shots) otherwise they'll look very soft indeed. Sharpness = 3 will result in roughly normal looking images which the agency can then apply further sharpening to on an as needed basis. If you use another converter, e.g. ACR or Lightroom, then the picture control settings do not affect the converted image.</p>

[eric friedemann]

<p>As has been noted, the camera doesn't sharpen RAW images. That said, as Ilkka alludes to, I don't let anyone else see my RAW files until I've at least done a light capture sharpening in PhotoKit Sharpener:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.pixelgenius.com/sharpener/workflows.html">http://www.pixelgenius.com/sharpener/workflows.html</a></p>

[dan_south]

Given that the OP's agency asks for UNSHARPENED RAW files, we can assume that they are planning to do their

own RAW processing and must hope that they are skilled in these techniques Any additional sharpening could cause

problems. Not all sharpening algorithms are compatible. Adding a dash of PK input sharpening could very well be a

big mistake in this scenario and would probably end up with the rejection of the submitted images.

[western_isles]

<p>Thanks to everyone that responded. your help is appreciated.<br>

I use NEF raw exclusively on my digital work which are processed using Capture NX2 and Photoshop CS5. They are then converted to TIF files before burning to cd for my UK agent. No sharpening as potential clients apparently will do their own at the last minute in the publication process.<br>

Transparency film is scanned as TIF, no sharpening, to 55Mb standard file size for the same reasons as above.<br>

Non uk work is basically the same but is saved at a minimum file size of 24Mb, converted to JPG, and uploaded to the agency. Again, no sharpening.<br>

In the past images that are rejected, happily not many, were soft when I looked at them in more detail. Which lead me to change my work practices, I don't do 'workflow' due to being cantankerous! <br>

I also use manual focus lens' a lot such as 85mm PC and 24mm PC. With medium format kit all the lenses are manual. So making sure I get focus right using DOF etc is important. </p>

[walterh]

<p>No sharpening but conversion to TIFF files does not make much sense to me.</p>

<p>You often loose some quality unless you apply at least a small amount of processing (including sharpening) in conversion from RAW to tiff. Sharpening tiff files after conversion is not the same as sharpening during conversion from RAW. (Also highlight recovery and adjusting dark areas / fill light as well as some filters like noise reduction.) This is the case for the current Adobe ACR plugin for PS as well as the last time I tried NX2 ( perhaps a year ago).<br>

Perhaps you can discuss this again with your agent.</p>

[western_isles]

<p>If the lens' used are best quality, I tend to use primes in particular PC lens', and they are focussed properly etc then they should already be sharp. My agent is, understandably, not keen on consumer zoom lens' due to their lack of quality hence my choice of top quality optics. In addition, I have always used the best lens' such as Mamiya and Hasselblad before adding Nikon to my kit list. Used correctly these are sharp. <br>

When all is said and done clients tell my agent what they want and I have to go along with it. After all the client pays the fee and he who plays the piper.... </p>