chris_ladoulis

Yogi, you might have better luck asking them about the Kelvin temperature range, rather than altitude. Many auto WB functions are limited to 8000K (e.g., Nikon), while the custom WB function will let you compensate for higher color temps. Each manufacturer should be able to specify the range that their camera/sensor will accommodate.

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When you get these specs from them (or your manual), compare it to common Kelvin temps at the altitude and conditions for your location. It's likely that at 12,000ft (where I shoot often) your daylight Kelvin temps will approach 8000K, increasing with clouds to 10,000K or higher. If 'Custom' won't work, there's usually a fixed setting for open shade that will work for up to 9000K (on Nikon, called "Daylight / Shade / -3" ).

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I found this site helpful in <a href="http://www.nikondigital.org/articles/white_balance.htm">estimating Kelvin temps</a> for different shooting conditions -- there's a table with 'typical' temperatures in the middle. (Most of the camera-specfic info is on the Nikon D-series.)

John, many D100 users change the Tone Setting in the shooting menu to Less Contrast for more "room" in the highlights. This is usually combined with a bump in EV of +0.3 when I use it. Even better, you can consider loading a custom curve (requires Nikon Capture) that will reduce contast primarily in the midtones, preserving detail in the highlights. I've had good success in experimenting with curves on this site: <a href="http://fotogenetic.dearingfilm.com/custom_tone_curves.html"> D100 Custom Curves</a>

'Format' will also delete all images from your card, if you've already uploaded and have a number of protected images left on the card. That's usually a better solution that 'Delete All' when you're ready to start again with an empty card.

Remember that you may be more concerned about their size than they. Don't find yourself trying to "hide" their appearance, if it is not something that bothers them - or those with whom they share the photos. I guess our goal is to find a flattering, but natural pose.

 

If you place them in the back of the group, you can place others in front of them either standing (e.g., children) or seated. You can have them turn slightly, as most subjects look better turned, but then the arms - if in short sleeves - are quite prominent. Consider elevating your shooting position so that chins are *up*, not down.

 

And make them smile! Everyone looks good when they're happy.

Why won't your current cable release work on the D100? I sometimes use a bulb (air) release that has a 25' tube, and it works fine. Perhaps the release you have is defective? You should be able to shoot as many shots as you like, until your CF card fills.

There are many methods, and depending on the image some work better than others. I usually click through the R,G,B channels and see how "different" they appear in tonality and noise. If they all look very good, then this is the one time that a simple Image / Mode / Grayscale conversion works well. Other times I use either the Lab approach (when I want contrast), Channel Mixer (when specific channels are dominant), or some of the other <a href="http://www.russellbrown.com">Russell Brown techniques</a>.

No, recharge however you like, and no need to drain it. But if your battery isn't going dead frequently: take more pictures.

Nikon View (Browser) uses the low-res JPG thumbnail when browsing NEFs, so it is likely that it is attempting to print this image instead. I'm not sure if you can actually print NEFs on-the-fly out of NV. (But go ahead and make sure the "Use thumbnail data" box is un-checked anyway.)

 

Best work-around might be to do a quick Tools / Copy & Resize as JPGs into a temporary folder, from which you can print a contact sheet from these larger JPG files with Nikon View (Browser).

Activate your on-demand Grid Lines in the viewfinder, then use these lines as a reference while shooting. Take some test photos, then see where the 8x10 and 5x7 crops fall in relation to the outermost lines. This would be the easiest approach, since the D100 does not have interchangeable focus screens.

Auto WB should ideally NOT be measured through the lens, in my opinion, since it tries to determine the color of light through the reflected colors of a scene. So background and clothing colors can change the WB setting even under the same light. The D2H solves this with a separate external WB sensor, and this should be the future of digital cameras. The complaint agains the D100 AWB can probably be lodged against any digital camera's AWB.

 

If you shoot uncompressed RAW, you can get away with AWB since the Batch mode is so easy to convert all to a fixed setting. But since you can get more consistent results with a Fixed WB, and they'll look better without Batch adjustments -- why are you shooting AWB?

 

The only reason to use AWB is to get you an 'approximate' WB that will be acceptable to most 'average people', especially those that shoot JPGs and will never adjust in Nikon Capture.

 

There are more and better reasons to *NEVER* use AWB, in my opinion, since it has a narrow range (4200-8000k), produces inconsistent results in a series, and encourages us to be 'sloppy'. I will sometimes use AWB (and shoot RAW) if I'm not sure about WB and don't have a gray card. But most of the time I'll choose a good Fixed WB approximation of the scene.

 

If you're concerned about color, then use Fixed WB settings...

There are many good labs online. Check out <a href="http://www.pictage.com">Pictage</a>, <a href="http://www.printroom.com/pro">Printroom Pro</a>, <a href="http://www.millerslab.com">Millers</a>, and <a href="http://www.eventpix.com">EventPix</a>.... just a few that facilitate resale to your clients.

If you are saving the files to CD, why are you re-saving/re-naming as JPGs and TIFs? Just to browse them? It sounds like you need a RAW-capable browser that will let you work with - and save - RAW files (like Adobe PS/CS as Ellis suggested). Other browsers may support the Olympus RAW format, so you should check into those: perhaps you can keep using PS7 and launch from a different browser.

If you're in RAW Compressed mode, turn it OFF. It takes 40sec to process a Compressed RAW file in the D100, making it almost useless to me. The delay in switching modes is likely due to the write/processing of the RAW file, as noted above.

Nikon D2h and D100 are FAT32 capable and therefore can support the 4gb drives. D1 series do not. I'm not sure, but the D70 will probably use FAT32 also. I don't know about Canon. Do you have a D60? I'm not sure the nature of your question.

Sorry, I missed Gary's first point in the RGB conversion, so yes you should try that too. I tend to work "backwards" and have a preference for layers, but color balance on the selection may be a faster approach if you don't yet know what color you like best.

If your image is already B&W, color balance won't help. You could consider adding a Color Fill layer for the color desired, masked for all but the eyes, and then change the opacity.

No, probably not. PS is color profile aware, so your images will usually look better and more accurate in PS only. For a closer match, I often convert my images to sRGB when viewing on a browser (is there a File / Save for Web command in Elements?).

Kingston, learn about NEF files and definitely capture in RAW-uncompressed mode. You'll get filesizes of just 9MB and 12-bit color, so your images are more practical and higher quality than TIF. You'll want Nikon Capture to take advantage of different adjustments, but even Nikon View 6 will let you open them and save as TIF. Start shooting NEFs now for archiving your digital "negatives".

I agree completely with Spencer. Go into any quiet chapel, grab an older "screw"-focus 80-200 and try to focus on a dim area. That thing will be grinding so loud as it 'hunts' for focus that you'll have church ladies shooooshing you right out the door.

Have you ever shot children indoors? At large apertures, DoF is so narrow that there's more "action" - especially when considering the the camera angle -- than any sports I shoot with my 80-200. Heck, soccer players are in slow motion compared to a laughing 4-year old.

 

I need my AF-S as much for my 28-70 as my 80-200. I'll never buy another non-AFS lens.

 

Chris

David, your RAW files can be sent to Photoshop as 8-bit or 16-bit TIFs, even though they originally contain 12-bit color data. When you click the Photoshop icon in Nikon Capture, it will export according to your preferences (default is 16-bit, as you've noticed). If you prefer 8-bit files, just do one of 3 things: (1) change the preferences so all PS on-the-fly exports will be in 8-bit; (2) use the Image / Open with Photoshop option each time and choose the 8-bit option; or (3) when in Photoshop, just change them with Image / Mode / 8-bit.

 

Chris

Need more info. A lot of Mac users report errors with Nikon View, and apparently the installation is tricky. Which OS are you using on Mac? and when you upgraded from Nikon View 5, did you completely Un-Install Nikon View 5 first? Some Mac users have said it is best to (1) Repair permissions in the Mac OS; and (2) Disable the "Auto-run" feature in Nikon View/Transfer preferences. Hope this helps.

Sounds similar to the Nikon School Digital Photography 201 that I just attended in Denver. Since over 50% of the attendees are typically D100 users, Nikon School camera references are often D100-specific. If you can't attend a local seminar, then check out a Nikon School schedule.

Yes and No. If you have a D100 with firmware v1.x, then PS sees an embedded profile that is NOT actually Adobe RGB. You have to IGNORE, then ASSIGN Adobe RGB, if you're shooting in Mode II with that firmware version. It's best to upgrade to v2.0 if you haven't already done so.

 

So which version of firmware on your D100? Maybe that's the issue. Your procedure sounds correct, to Use Embedded Profile, unless you're shooting D100/ModeII/v1.x

I usually do 2-3 BW conversions, one with GS (kind of a control/reference image), one with Channel Mixer, and one with Lab/luminosity. After each one, a make a "Snapshot" in the History palette. After the 3 methods - chosen based on the image itself - are all in the History, I can just click each of them to compare which I like best.

 

It's my kind of "variations" on BW conversion, when I'm not sure which one I use.

 

As for your approach, like me you may be destined to 'fiddle'.... so follow this advice I got on Photo.Net a month ago: edit until you like it, then SAVE and GO AWAY. Re-open the image the next day - or a few days later - and see if you still like it. Don't spin in circles in one session.