Bad colors, advice needed

[masaharu]

Hey everyone. I currently got a 450D kit and started snapping some shots. But the color of the pictures turned out horrible. They weren't as saturated as i hope they'd be... Any advice on this? Or is the efs 18mm-55mm just plain crappy or i'm doin something wrong?

Here are a couple of the pics.

 

[parampita]

Kindly post up the pics to have a look. I am using 450D too. You may want to check out my posts for colour comparisons BUT I don't use the kit lens.

 

[Rashkae]

It's not your lens at all. You may want to check this:

1. Are you using any picture styles? if so, which one? Have you tried vivid?
2. Is your lens clean? Sometimes, a smudged lens will cause light refraction and diffusion, leading to a desaturated appearance.
3. Please post the complete EXIF for one of those images.

 

[lennyl]

These don't look that bad - for photos taken around noon under a strong sun. That is part (if not all) of the problem - under strong sun, you have strong contrast, and colors are less saturated.

 

[masaharu]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm pretty sure there ain't any smudges nor dust on the lens itself

Tv(Shutter Speed)
1/250Sec.
Av(Aperture Value)
F9.0
Metering Modes
Evaluative metering
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
100
Lens
EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Focal Length
24.0 mm
Image Quality
Fine
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF mode
One-Shot AF
Picture Style
Standard

 

[masaharu]

These don't look that bad - for photos taken around noon under a strong sun. That is part (if not all) of the problem - under strong sun, you have strong contrast, and colors are less saturated.

I see... So will the use of a filter while under strong sunlight should help out wit the colors?

 

[Rashkae]

I see... So will the use of a filter while under strong sunlight should help out wit the colors?

Not really. I'd suggest setting your picture mode to vivid.

 

[cullenjeremy]

hmmmm. open photoshop and increase saturation lor

 

[teebs]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm pretty sure there ain't any smudges nor dust on the lens itself

Tv(Shutter Speed)
1/250Sec.
Av(Aperture Value)
F9.0
Metering Modes
Evaluative metering
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
100
Lens
EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Focal Length
24.0 mm
Image Quality
Fine
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF mode
One-Shot AF
Picture Style
Standard

You do know that you can edit the picture styles settings right?

In this case, to get more saturation, you may want to edit your Picture style in the camera to increase the saturation. Check your manual to see how this is done (under customizing the picture style).

Generally speaking increasing your saturation by +2 will result in more vibrant colors.

 

[Lost Dog]

Not really. I'd suggest setting your picture mode to vivid.

Which vivid in 450D are you tallking about? I think it does not have. correct me if i'm wrong but i've been looking at vivid for canon but its does not have. so what i did, made a user defined setting with saturation increased.

 

[Rashkae]

Which vivid in 450D are you tallking about? I think it does not have. correct me if i'm wrong but i've been looking at vivid for canon but its does not have. so what i did, made a user defined setting with saturation increased.

That'll work too. Not a Canon shooter, so the exact naming convention will be different.

 

[parampita]

Firstly, the pictures don't look bad.

As for the vivid setting is in picture styles, I think it's the upwards directional button.

 

[Deming86]

The picture styles shortcut is the down arrow for the 450D.. I'm not too sure about the saturation you're looking for, but you can also create your own picture style using the menu button. Conversely, you can shoot in neutral picture style and do some pp after that. Could play around with the different WB settings too instead of relying on Auto all the time. (E.g. Daylight White Balance for bluer skies etc)

 

[eosdigital]

Hi, you cannot expect pictures out of the camera to be immediatelly good. Most people and professionals PP it to enchance the colours to what u see around here. What you can do is simply load the picture up Adobe Photoshop or Picasa2 and enchance the image.

Lens do influence the quality of the image, for example the Kit I lens that you are using have a cheap build hence poor flare control(according to reviews) so this may degrade the picture quality somehow.

 

[faaiz]

It's just your settings

 

[eleveninth]

It's just your settings

what kind of settings

 

[calebk]

It's just your settings

You are so specific my dear sir.

---
Threadstarter,

I assume you came from previously shooting on a compact camera. Rest assured there is nothing wrong with your current camera or lens. You will get a lower saturation simply because SLRs generally output more neutral colours so that you have more leeway in the post-processing.

 

[flipfreak]

i thought the colors are pretty much accurate and realistic. if u wanna get out of the world colors, photoshop the pic.

 

[lennyl]

And another thing - how accurate is your monitor?

 

[Rashkae]

Hi, you cannot expect pictures out of the camera to be immediatelly good. Most people and professionals PP it to enchance the colours to what u see around here. What you can do is simply load the picture up Adobe Photoshop or Picasa2 and enchance the image.

Lens do influence the quality of the image, for example the Kit I lens that you are using have a cheap build hence poor flare control(according to reviews) so this may degrade the picture quality somehow.

Flare control is different from contrast and color fidelity.