Best color-Any camera

I thought I'd ask this here since I'm currently an S2 user. I am curious as to the opinions of you guys/gals as to the best color and or most realistic color. I am a landscape painter so resolution isn't important. Dynamic range is but dynamic range is second to color.

History. I've shot with all the older Canon's (10d, 20d. 1D, 1dmrk2, 1ds) , the Nikon D70 and Oly 520. For Fuji I've used the S3 and currently the S2. For my purposes the S2 has color more to my liking but the DR of the S3 was nice.

So, from you guys that have shot a lot of different cameras or have been looking at output from a lot of cameras what are your opinions?

Realistic color? Pleasing color? Dynamic range?

Thanks!

cd3000 said:

I thought I'd ask this here since I'm currently an S2 user. I am curious as to the opinions of you guys/gals as to the best color and or most realistic color. I am a landscape painter so resolution isn't important.

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Resolution is VERY important for landscape work, so I'm not sure what you mean by that. Anyway, are you looking for accurate color or pleasing color? Very few cameras will give you the former, but many can give you the latter ... the Fuji included. If you shoot RAW, you can arrive at accurate color with just about any camera. Some just require that you work a bit harder at it than others.

For my money, the Canon 450D/xsi offers very high resolution, plenty of detail, and very accurate color. It's a discontinued model, but B&H and others still have a few new as well as refurbished. They can be had for less than $500 w/lens.

Until we have more detail about your requirements, that's my recommendation for the moment.

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SteveG
'When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.'
— Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie
http://www.stephenmichaelgarey.com

veroman,

Thanks for the reply. What I mean about resolution is that my photograph is not what I present for sale. I only use it for reference and create an oil painting based from the photo. The photo is only seen by me and on my monitor.

i copy art work as a business.

The most accurate camera I have used is the Nikon D2X. It has a built in auto WB adjust that works perfectly.

The Fujis produce fantastic color but Fuji color is not realistic and I don't think you can adjust the output of any Fuji DSLR to be accurate and I have owned the S1, S2, I currently own 2 S3's and 2 S5's.

I currently use the Canon 1DsIII for art copy work but it has an offset that I have characterized and can adjust for. Different lighting conditions give different offsets. I use the Canon over the Nikon D2X because of increased resolution. I tested the D700 for color accuracy and it is almost as good as the D2X but for my work, not quite as it lost a little yellow that the D2X seems to get. Maybe my imagination but thats what I found. All my art copy work is at iso 100.

Walter S Matthews said:

i copy art work as a business. The most accurate camera I have used is the Nikon D2X. It has a built in auto WB adjust that works perfectly.

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Agree 100%. I still own and use a D2x. They're going for less than $1,000 these days. An all-out bargain. Easily the equal of the current Nikon pro cameras at ISO 100-400 ... maybe even a tad better than the D3s and certainly better than the D300 or D700 at low ISO, although with the latter you gain full-frame (if you need it).

Recent D2x sample:



--
SteveG
'When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.'
— Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie
http://www.stephenmichaelgarey.com

As a full time photographer and ex user of the s2 and now using the canon 1Ds3 i must admit that i prefered the S2 for skin tones which my canon cant match.
see the type of pictures that i do, therefore skin tones are very important.
http://model-zoo.com/view.php?user_id=148
George R

The D100, because its the most accurate I know, and because it shows cold shades the best.

Mind you, I don't use one anymore. Sold way back, and now use the D300 and Fuji S5. They are not bad either !

S.
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Wait, watch, listen, then pounce !

I do mainly landscape and nature shots. I have used S3 and S5, a few Nikon DSLRs and a Canon compact. But I have not used as many cameras as you have.

The most pleasing colour for me comes from the S3. I think the S2 colour is even nicer (from images I have seen) but the S3 DR makes up for it. The S5 has slightly less pleasing (for my taste) though more neutral colour. But the difference between S3 and S5 is fairly small. The S5 can easily deliver S3 colour in PP.

The single most important thing for landscape colour is to set the WB so as not to kill the ambient light. Never take landscape with AWB. Getting out of AWB makes more difference to landscape than the choice of camera.

I am sure you are using a calibrated and profiled monitor and are viewing in a colour managed application.

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