brian_m2

Thanks!

I just installed Nikon View and Capture Editor (trial version). I

installed Capture Editor because of its enhanced ability to deal with

NEFs over Adobe RAW; however, I admit to being a little ticked off

when my ability to use Adobe RAW seemed to disappear! When I had PS

CS open and tried to open a NEF file, the Capture Editor dialogue box

came up (and not even the full one; it was Editor-lite). Adobe RAW

dialogue box was nowhere to be found. Anyone else have this

experience? What did you do to get Adobe RAW back?

The D70 is, are far as I've seen, selling everywhere for $999 ($899 with rebate). I don't think you'll save anything by buying online, so might as well buy from somewhere local. Don't pay more than $999 though.

I too have an N90s and a new D70. Haven't really gotten rolling on the d70 yet, but I love the B&W darkroom too. I bought a bigger bag so I can carry my n90s with a 24/2.8 attached, and my other primes and D70. I'm going to keep the n90s loaded with TriX and use it exclusively for B&W (I don't think inkjets can yet achieve the quality in B&W that wetwork can (or at least I can't get it to do so)), developed in soup and prints from the enlarger. The D70 will be for color and post-processing in PS and printed on the 2200. Boy am I excited..

If you're going to change the automatic A/SS settings, why not use Aperture Priority instead? You'll be skipping an unnecessary step.

I use the 1.4D on my D70 a lot. Beautiful photos even wide open. With it wide open last night for photos of kids in front of the Christmas tree, however, at iso 1600 there was a ton of noise (in RAW) that not even Noiseware could remove. But I don't think that was a lens problem. The real point is, I was able to take handheld candids by the light of a couple of weak tungstens and Christmas tree lights.

I know that custom curves must be loaded onto the D70 through Nikon

Capture. If I take NEF photos with a custom curve loaded, what do I

have to do to start with those curves in Photoshop CS? I read that

when you use Adobe Camera RAW to convert, it just ignores all of the

custom curve info. Can I convert using Nikon Capture then import

into PS CS? Am i losing a lot of data by doing that?

I've seen some hints on other threads about techniques to use to

reduce high iso noise when taking the photo in RAW - the one that

comes to mind is to make sure you don't underexpose because using the

PS CS RAW converter will increase/accentuate noise in the shadows.

I'm using very good noise reduction software but it wasn't able to

take care of all of the noise in an iso 1600 photo from my d70. Shot

with available low tunsten lighting in front of a Christmas tree;

corrected the lighting and raised exposure by 1.5 stops in CS RAW

converter. Terrible noise.

 

Besides correct exposure (why my d70 underexposed like that is

another question), what else can I do in technique to reduce high iso

noise?

 

And, is there something more sophisticated than just running it

through noise reduction software that I can do in PS CS to reduce

noise without artifacting?

 

Thanks.

I've been asked for a recommendation for a digiP&S and printer combo

by a friend for her husband's Christmas present. I don't know much

anymore about the p&s market or printer capabilities because I've

been comfortably seated in my SLR and Epson 2200 world for a few

years now. I don't know how much she's prepared to spend, but not

that much - probably about $350 max for the camera, less for the

printer. Here's the thing: he'll have no interest in printing

larger than 5X7, and will not have Photoshop CS or any sort of really

sophisticated program. He also will not be color managing. I'm

thinking one of the newer direct-print printers is the way to go, and

I wouldn't advise less than a 5 megapixel camera, although at 5X7 I

know that 4 mp would be fine; it's just that I don't know why you'd

buy less than 5 now that the price is so low.

 

Any ideas for combos?

I like this thread because I'm considering the d70 but am also wondering whether I should wait for the D100 upgrade which will probably be 8 MP. I would like to be able to make frameable landscape prints at 13X19 (on a 2200). I want to buy now, but don't want buyer's remorse when Nikon announces a new camera at PMA in February.

 

Question: to get a good 13X19 print from a 6 MP print you have to upsample, no? Assume RAW capture. Better to upsample in the RAW conversion, in PS CS "straight", in PS CS using increments of 10% (which I heard is now unnecessary given CS's improved upsampling algorithm), in Nikon Capture, or using Genuine Fractals? Which will result in the best retention of detail (or at least masking of loss of detail)?

Assume a D70 with 8 MP (like the 20D)but otherwise no differences from the D70 on the market now. Would there be a noticeable difference in the tonal range and sharpness (ie, the important parts of resolution) of RAW pics between the two at 13X19? The 6 MP would need to be upsampled to get that size at 300 DPI. Would the 8 MP? Would the 8 MP have deeper tonal quality? And, is the difference (if any) one that upsampling in the RAW conversion would not negate?

Adrian, thanks for the tip, both a) for making me feel I've not gotten a rotten plug-in; and b) tipping me to the memory allocation. I'd forgotten about that. Sure enough, when I went back and checked, I had only allocated 50% of RAM to PS. So I upped it to 75%.

I've got a very fast computer (64-bit Athlon XP processor, 1 gig of

RAM, large HD with plenty of room left on it), but my newly-installed

PK Sharpener plug-in makes PS CS run extremely slowly when I try to

use creative sharpen on a psd file. Granted, it's a large file (300

dpi at 13X19), but I'm talking very very slooooooowwwww. An

hourglass for 3-4 minutes kind of slow.

 

Has anyone had any problems like this? If so, is there a fix?

I'm just a hobbyist and only want to keep one digital camera at a time. Don't need two. If one breaks it goes in the shop and I'll shoot film with my n90s for a while.

 

I just want to see if the D70 can print sharply at 13 X 19. I have a friend with one; I'll borrow his and make a print. But I wanted those who have compared D70 with an 8 MP camera to chime in and tell me whether it really makes a difference.

 

Another issue is overall tonality. The tests I've seen show that the 20D reflects more subtle, deeper color tones than the D70, and overall has just a better tonal range. Is this true, and do you think it relates to the number of pixels? i.e., will a 6 MP file have less tonal range than an 8 MP file when they are both sized the same for print?

Thanks for all of the responses; you've given me a lot to think through. I've considered waiting a long while for a DSLR and getting a Coolscan 5000 right now instead, to deal with my modest backlog of slides (plus I love shooting with Velvia 50, and I hate to give up the wide-angle capability of my 24/2.8). My printer (2200) can handle the range. But I've been sort of scared away from that by all of the stories of problems with various scanners (5000, V, Min 5400) and the tweaks necessary to turn out even decent photos - not to mention all of the extra software everyone seems to think is necessary (VueScan, etc.)! I'm not interested in becoming a scan maven/guru, so maybe I'll just wait until PMA to see if Nikon announces a D200 to compete with the 20D. Just a couple of months away, right? If no news, I'll spring for the D70. If they announce something, I'll see when it's to be released and evaluate my options then.

Well, after agonizing whether to buy a D70 for Christmas or wait,

I've decided to wait until Nikon introduces a competitor to the 20D,

hopefully next year. My primary reason is this: I will want to

print as large as 13 by 19 (though no larger, probably), and most of

the posts here have concluded that the 20D's image quality

outperforms the D70's image quality in a noticeable way (although not

too noticeable). I could afford the 20D but have Nikon lenses, so I

figure I might as well wait until Nikon introduces a camera at that

price/quality point to compete with the 20D (the D200?).

 

The reason I'm posting this is, am I missing something? Is this a

reasonable course of action? Or are my concerns easily fixed by the

improved upsizing capabilities of PS CS (or Genuine Fractals), or the

110% trick? Is there really a difference to speak of in tonal range

between the two cameras? Am I waiting for nothing?

This happened to me few weeks ago. The culprit was my HP laser printer. I had left that printer on while I was printing with the 2200 and a conflicting driver caused the 2200 status window to disappear. When I turned off the HP, the status window reappeared.

I buy Maxtor because CC and BB always have fantastic sales on them. You can always find a 200 GB drive (7500 RPM) in one of those stores on sale for about $150, after rebates. LaCie (I've seen) sells for nearly twice as much. I've got 2 Maxtor external drives and nary a problem with either (there, now I've gone and done it).

Your best investment to speed up your workflow would be another 512 MB of RAM. Or even more, if you can afford it.

Sold! American

 

You're right - I compare the two and it's not even close. PK Sharpener seems to do a much better job. Thanks for the advice.

I notice that nik sharpener has a pro version and an inkjet version.

Wasn't expecting that. Like most others, I in fact have an inkjet

printer. Is this really a better option for me than the "pro"

version? Does anyone have any experience with the inkjet version,

and why did you choose it?

Take a look at ABS Computers. I have a machine with 360 gb HD RAID -0 striped, 1 gb RAM, and the AMD Athlon 64-FX processor (64 bit). I'm hoping to take advantage of the new 64-bit apps soon. I can't recommend it enough. ABS is great on customer service (unlike Dell). And you're not paying the ridiculous premium for an Intel processor (AMD is just as good).

Upsample in increments of 110% until you get to the size you want. For some reason the PS algorithm works really well when you upsize in those small increments. Try it and see.

I've shot a roll of Velvia 100 and Velvia 50 and want to get a few of

the slides scanned for fine art printing. Although I'm not

interested in spending $$$$ on the scans, I would like to get as much

out of them as I can. My vendor works with a Coolscan 4000 and is

willing to let me set the scanning parameters as I like. My question

is, what do I tell him? Hint: The result I want is to print no

larger than 12 by 16, but it must look really good and bring out the

color saturation of the Velvia. I want to work in 16 bits in PS CS,

and want to print at least 300 dpi at that size. What parameters do

I set for him? Thanks in advance . . . .

What's your opinion of the best 35 mm print film and/or slide film to

use for early-morning low-contrast foggy river scenics?