Colours

[GreenEggs_n_Ham]

dumbarse question on colour.

i'm using a 602z. and i realised that even if it's my previous cam, the colours are always BLAND. B-L-A-N-D.

and yet, other people's 602z produce better colours! my settings are like, shutter>1/100 and apt>f2.8 and AF and like duuhhhhh everything is the same...

do digital cam(excluding DSLRs) ppl photoshop their pictures??
or do u use some filters i have never heard b4??
i do PS my pictures once in a while, like saturate the colours.and like wow. they look MUCH better....


sam...(ps. i noe i need more practise, but blindly shooting all the time makes no sense to me, i need enlightenment.)

 

[Azure]

Originally posted by GreenEggs_n_Ham
do digital cam(excluding DSLRs) ppl photoshop their pictures??
or do u use some filters i have never heard b4??
i do PS my pictures once in a while, like saturate the colours.and like wow. they look MUCH better....

Me use a CP4500.
Usually cant bother to PS my pix, unless they turn out less than desired (like maybe 15-30% of the time). But if you want, can try Digital Imaging filters for PS. I think there is a collection of them. Saw at my fren's shop a few for doing solarise, warmth, sunlighting, and morning blue (that's the name if I recall correctly).
Alternatively, you can select Auto Color in PS7.

 

[sesame_street98]

Sometimes I face the same prob as you GreenEggs_n_Ham!
Its quite irritating at times.

My fren suggested fiddling with the ISO. I tried it and sometimes it works, Also apparently diff camera (altho its the same model and brand) might produce diff quality pics with the same setting

This comes ard to exp of the owner I guess. A 1/100 in ur camera maynot be as sharp as others. Muz try and error :what:
I guess that the prob with digital.

Anybody face the same prob?

 

[silver.wolf]

i own a 602z myself and i quite like the colours and saturation that it produces. however i do admit i PS to give my pics a richer colour and contrast.

the colours always seem nicer when taking under the sun, strong sunlight makes the colours richer. well, you can put on UV or skylight filter to cut down some UV and they reduce some haze from the sky as well. skylight filter introduces some warmth into the pictures too.

also, you can use ND and polariser to give your sky a darker blue which makes landscape pictures much nicer.

maybe you should try with a higher f-stop than using f2.8 all the time. as you probably had know, smaller aperture gives sharper and better colour pictures.

it's all about exploration. time of the day to filters to camera settings play important factors.

juz my two cents worth...

 

[silver.wolf]

oh yeah, i forgot mentioning about white-balancing. if your white balance is off, i guess the colours of your pictures may turn out differently too.

actually i'm quite new myself. if there's anything wrong in my posts, please feel free to correct me. but dun flame me! hahaa ...

 

[StreetShooter]

If you have Photoshop, you can use the "curves" command to adjust the contrast and saturation. When you call you the command, you will see something like a graph, with a line going diagonally upward to the right. You can drag parts of this line to make it into a curve. Experiment with adjusting it into more or less an "S" shaped curve, and save it once you like the result.

If you don't have Photoshop, there are many other programs out there (including the one which probably came with your camera) to adjust contrast, brightness and saturation.

Yes, post-processing is pretty important in digital photography. Actually it's part of the fun.

 

[Zerstorer]

Normally, the colours from a 602 should be quite pleasing as long as the image is properly exposed.

I hardly ever need to boost the saturation for my images.

The S-curve mentioned by Streetshooter is a contrast enhancement setting that might give your images more punch, however, you shouldn't need to do that often.

Any specific examples as to what you mean by dull?

 

[GreenEggs_n_Ham]

Originally posted by silver.wolf

maybe you should try with a higher f-stop than using f2.8 all the time. as you probably had know, smaller aperture gives sharper and better colour pictures.

now that explains A LOT for me...

geez...i always thought 2.8 was the best... but it's cuz i always hand-hold my cam, and need a big aperture to compensate for the higher shutter i choose...

hmm... does anybody know if f2.8 affects Colour? i now know it affects sharpness...

 

[silver.wolf]

aperture affects exposure ... and exposure affects tones of colour ... hmmm ... do they relate?? hee....

Originally posted by GreenEggs_n_Ham
hmm... does anybody know if f2.8 affects Colour? i now know it affects sharpness...

 

[GreenEggs_n_Ham]

so simply put, a smaller aperture allows colour to fill into the picture slowly, and not just a big aperture and let the picture overexpose and look white+bland?

sam

 

[silver.wolf]

well, big aperture doesn't necessary means overexposure. Low ISO and high shutter speed can tone that down, i suppose.

I'm in the midst of experiencing myself. I'm a newbie, remember.

 

[ericp]

Concur with silver.wolf, WB is likely the culprit. Play around with the various options in a typical shooting scenario (and check the settings with your friends who seem to be getting better output).

And say hi to the Cat in the Hat, Sam I Am.

 

[meng]

yups, essentially, aperture size, shutter speed and ISO interlink in determining your exposure of your picture. btu since sam mentioned that he always use f2.8, as he can then use a faster shutter spend to avoid any handshake, he's right too.
As a rule of thumb, if you have good handing techniques, shutter speed up to 1/125 sec will not be a problem of handshaking. try not to go to 1/60 unless you can find something to suppport or rest on.
Especially with DC, it'll be more difficult to shoot at longer exposure as the camera is further away from your face and body than normal film cameras.
Alternatively, up the ISO.

Originally posted by silver.wolf
well, big aperture doesn't necessary means overexposure. Low ISO and high shutter speed can tone that down, i suppose.

I'm in the midst of experiencing myself. I'm a newbie, remember.

 

[meng]

might be the problem.
do not always use Auto WB. try other settings as well.

Originally posted by ericp
Concur with silver.wolf, WB is likely the culprit. Play around with the various options in a typical shooting scenario (and check the settings with your friends who seem to be getting better output).

And say hi to the Cat in the Hat, Sam I Am.

 

[meng]

u are right in saying aperture affects sharpness, but not really.
If I'm not wrong, specially it is the DOF that is affected by the aperture and thus the degree of sharpness in the various areas of the whole picture.

And as far as i know of, the colors are not affected by the aperture.

Originally posted by GreenEggs_n_Ham
so simply put, a smaller aperture allows colour to fill into the picture slowly, and not just a big aperture and let the picture overexpose and look white+bland?

sam

 

[GreenEggs_n_Ham]

hmmm okay thanks...it's just that i don't like the fact that my lcd screen doens't tell me everything....i end up having bad shots n goig home to realise they are bad...argh

 

[bearycute]

i dun think having a big aperture ie f/2.8 is going to turn the picture bland. I think aperture affects more of DOF instead. But if possible, stop down to have sharper pics.

The bland might be due to the auto WB. Bring a white card with u and set the WB. See whether that helps...

 

[silver.wolf]

hmmm ... i'm learning from these people .. good stuffs!

does that mean we have to set white balance every time we go different places to take shots??

 

[meng]

at least u can have the LCD screen to have a preview and a rough gauge.
Film users take an even longer time to learn and more $ too...

Originally posted by GreenEggs_n_Ham
hmmm okay thanks...it's just that i don't like the fact that my lcd screen doens't tell me everything....i end up having bad shots n goig home to realise they are bad...argh

 

[meng]

depending on a few factors.
To summarise IMO:

1. Different scenes and surroundings will need to have different WB

2. The effects that you are looking for

You can try shooting the same scene and subject using different WB settings and see for yourself which match the actual scene the best or which is the one you prefer the most, or a combination of these 2.

Even the same place under different lighting conditions, different timing of the day will yield different output.

Originally posted by silver.wolf
hmmm ... i'm learning from these people .. good stuffs!

does that mean we have to set white balance every time we go different places to take shots??