dull colours

collisster

collisster

collisster

Soldato
Joined
23 May 2006
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Blythe
hi got a nikon d50 and really struggling to get any nice colours out of it. everything seems washed out, even hazy at times.
is it new camera time or is it a case of messing with settings or getting some kind of filter?

cheers
collisster
 
Do you use RAW or Jpeg? If Jpeg you can adjust the settings for vibrance etc in camera.

Before looking at a new camera think about your lens as that is likely to be the weaker of the two. Different lenses will react differently, it's not just sharpness that seperates the cheap from the expensive. :)
 
Shoot RAW. Adjust colours when processing and use sRGB.

Your camera and lens is fine, don't let the price put you down. You can get perfectly "pro" results from a cheap setup if you know how to use it.
 
the lens is a 18-135 mm dx one.
I've had the camera a good 2 years now just when I look at peoples photos with great colour i cannot get it really annoying me.
How to I use the sRGB?

cheers
 
collisster said:
the lens is a 18-135 mm dx one.
I've had the camera a good 2 years now just when I look at peoples photos with great colour i cannot get it really annoying me.
How to I use the sRGB?

cheers
Click to expand...
You've had a DSLR for 2 years and you dont know what sRGB is?
That's the reason your photos are looking bland, you just haven't been bothered with post-processing have you? You need to learn how to process them mate.

Colour space (sRGB, AdobeRGB, ProPhotoRGB etc..) is an aspect of RAW processing.

If you want to get pro results, you should consider buying some software like Adobe Lightroom.

Grab the latest beta from HERE and give it a whirl.
 
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It depends on your camera settings, what you're using to import the images and the end processing you use. Give us a bit more info on your process...
 
A tip i would add is set your colour balance to 'cloudy', this will give much warmer colour to leaves etc this time of year. You can always adjust it in PS or LR should it be too warm.
 
Its definately in the post processing, I was always chasing great results from the camera but after playing in lightroom it showed me what a difference just the quickest of post processing can do, can really bring colours out and make a good photo a great photo (not that i have any!)
 
collisster said:
hi got a nikon d50 and really struggling to get any nice colours out of it. everything seems washed out, even hazy at times.
is it new camera time or is it a case of messing with settings or getting some kind of filter?

cheers
collisster
Click to expand...

1) You can adjust the incamera settings for jpegs
2) Make sure your colour space si correct
3) Make sure your monitor is set up properly
4) A DSRL is anot a point and shoot, it wont over sharpen, over saturate, over-expose and over-contrast your images. The default output from early Nikons was always fairly dull looking. This is correct behavior. Use Photoshop or such like to adjust the saturation and contrast to suit your needs.
 
You need to make sure that the colour space that you're using on your camera and the colour space which you use in any editing / archiving software is the same. For example, if you're using the sRGB colour space on your camera, you need to make sure that the active photoshop colour profile you're using is set to use the sRGB colour space also.
 
I have shot in the nikons IIIa which is sRGB. do i use the working profile, embedded or discard, the working is the same as embedded on my camera
 
Can anyone tell me how to set the colour space to match my D80 in Lightroom? Ive looked through all the menus and cant see anything.

Also Ive never changed the setting on my camera either, its been set to the default I a(sRGB), would i be better off setting it to III a(sRGB) or adobe RGB?

78591546.jpg


This is what my colour settings are set to in CS3.
 
collisster said:
its set of IIIa at the moment (on the camera, which the mighty ken rockwell told me to use)
Click to expand...

OMG ! Don't believe anything that man writes - he is an utter joke, just tries to be controversial to generate more website hits.

Whilst it's nice you have Photoshop CS3, I wouldn't advise using this program to learn post-processing with. It's very complicated. If you want to remain with Adobe products, I'd recommend Lightroom as your main editing/photo organising tool, and CS3 for other stuff that just can't be done elsewhere.

I use Nikon cameras too, and prefer using Capture NX2 ( which preserves in-camera settings, better colour fidelity, generally a better RAW converter - for Nikon cameras ). You should be able to download it from the Nikon site for a 30 day trial if you want to give it a whirl.
 
Mark A said:
Can anyone tell me how to set the colour space to match my D80 in Lightroom? Ive looked through all the menus and cant see anything.

Also Ive never changed the setting on my camera either, its been set to the default I a(sRGB), would i be better off setting it to III a(sRGB) or adobe RGB?

78591546.jpg


This is what my colour settings are set to in CS3.
Click to expand...

If you are shooting in RAW, it doesn't matter what colour space your camera is set at. RAW is just pure data, and has no specific colour information embedded into the file. Setting a colour space for your camera only matters if you are shooting JPEG format.

When it comes to photo-editing RAW files, you generally want to use the widest gamut colour profile available eg. AdobeRBG, ProPhotoRGB. Once you have finished editing, you should then decide where that photo is going to be seen - is it going to posted in an email, on the web, or printed on photopaper ? For displaying images on the web/email usually you will want to convert your edited photo to sRGB as a last step.
 
xaldub said:
OMG ! Don't believe anything that man writes - he is an utter joke, just tries to be controversial to generate more website hits.

Whilst it's nice you have Photoshop CS3, I wouldn't advise using this program to learn post-processing with. It's very complicated. If you want to remain with Adobe products, I'd recommend Lightroom as your main editing/photo organising tool, and CS3 for other stuff that just can't be done elsewhere.

I use Nikon cameras too, and prefer using Capture NX2 ( which preserves in-camera settings, better colour fidelity, generally a better RAW converter - for Nikon cameras ). You should be able to download it from the Nikon site for a 30 day trial if you want to give it a whirl.
Click to expand...

well i've got cs3 and not buying anything different unless its cheap. what exactly does capture NX2 do?

cheers
 
Its a photoediting application, designed specifically for Nikon cameras. It does the majority of what you'd expect CS3 to do ( with respect to photography anyway - obviously CS3 has additional functions, but then it's really a pixel editor/graphics artist tool ). You can easily convert RAW files, change exposure, white balance, colour saturation, sharpness, B&W conversions - all the usual stuff you would expect of a photography based package - and more.

You will have a far tougher time learning CS3, than using a more photography based application such as Capture NX2 or Lightroom. CS3 is really for advanced photoediting/digital artists. Sure, an average Joe can use it for more mundane tasks - but that's like owning a Ferarri to drive to the corner shop 100 yds away.
 
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