F717 - Low on contrast & dark images

Hi!

Tell me... is the F717 a bit low on contrast? I think so. And the pics oftenly get kinda dark and dull shootin' wide & deep areas. I'm just a bit worried and confused since my previous camera - a Fuji Finepix 2800 ZOOM (half as expencive as the F717) gave me more colorfull, vivid & crisp pictures.

What bugges me is that I don't get this WOW-feelin'. You know - that "that's-why-I-bought -this-two-times-more-expencive-camera-feelin' Am I alone on this?

Mattias

Mattias Elfving said:

Hi!
Tell me... is the F717 a bit low on contrast? I think so. And the
pics oftenly get kinda dark and dull shootin' wide & deep areas.
I'm just a bit worried and confused since my previous camera - a
Fuji Finepix 2800 ZOOM (half as expencive as the F717) gave me more
colorfull, vivid & crisp pictures.
What bugges me is that I don't get this WOW-feelin'. You know -
that "that's-why-I-bought
-this-two-times-more-expencive-camera-feelin' Am I alone on this?

Click to expand...

Mattias,

I'm a little un-clear on your exact question (low contrast-dark and dull). Is it possible for you to post an example (with EXIF, if possible)? You should be getting "WOW" type of results. Not every shot, but a good percentage of them.

Steve

--
http://www.pbase.com/slo2k

'If one really wishes to be master of an art, technical knowledge of it is not enough. One has to transcend technique so that the art becomes an 'artless art' growing out of the Unconscious.'

Mattias Elfving said:

What bugges me is that I don't get this WOW-feelin'.

Click to expand...

You need to post some shots. But without seeing your pics, I can say that the shots I've taken with a 707 that give me the wow feeling are all over the place in terms of subject etc, but they all have two things in common: manual WB and 0EV
--
JohnK

Steve,

maybe I'm a little bit unsurten myself what I mean. But comparin' pix taken with the Fuji Finepix 2800 ZOOM to pix shot with the F717 makes me scrathin' my head... the overall feelin' is that images snaped with the Fuji is nicer. But HEY - maybe "it's not the car, it's the driver"?

I'd like to post some pictures, but I'm not sure how to do it. Do I have to post'em on the net and then link them from here, or can I post'em directly here?

Mattias

Steve Cavigliano said:

Mattias Elfving said:

Hi!
Tell me... is the F717 a bit low on contrast? I think so. And the
pics oftenly get kinda dark and dull shootin' wide & deep areas.
I'm just a bit worried and confused since my previous camera - a
Fuji Finepix 2800 ZOOM (half as expencive as the F717) gave me more
colorfull, vivid & crisp pictures.
What bugges me is that I don't get this WOW-feelin'. You know -
that "that's-why-I-bought
-this-two-times-more-expencive-camera-feelin' Am I alone on this?

Click to expand...

Mattias,
I'm a little un-clear on your exact question (low contrast-dark and
dull). Is it possible for you to post an example (with EXIF, if
possible)? You should be getting "WOW" type of results. Not
every shot, but a good percentage of them.

Steve

--
http://www.pbase.com/slo2k
'If one really wishes to be master of an art, technical knowledge
of it is not enough. One has to transcend technique so that the
art becomes an 'artless art' growing out of the Unconscious.'

Click to expand...

Mattias Elfving said:

I'd like to post some pictures, but I'm not sure how to do it. Do I
have to post'em on the net and then link them from here, or can I
post'em directly here?

Click to expand...

You have to post them somewhere on the net. Then you just paste the url, followed by a dot jpg ( .jpg) and it will embed the image. Or, just paste the url in and it will show up as a highlighted link.

The film's free. So rather than waiting until you need to get some good shots. Take some time to experiment. Try using manual white balance. Check out the scene modes, Experiment with using different metering modes. I'm sure you'll get more comfortable with the camera and start getting results you expect out of it.

Also, hanging around in here in your spare time is pretty educational. You're not the only one who has these type of problems.

Good luck to you,
Steve

--
http://www.pbase.com/slo2k

'If one really wishes to be master of an art, technical knowledge of it is not enough. One has to transcend technique so that the art becomes an 'artless art' growing out of the Unconscious.'

Cranking up the contrast and saturation is a pretty common tactic on low priced cameras. It is similar to turning up the bass and treble on a low end stereo. You get used to it after a while, then when you listen to a stereo that is accurate, you think, this sounds dull and flat. FWIW, compared to more expensive cameras like the Canon 10D or Nikon D100, the 717 is considered oversaturated.

Mattias Elfving said:

Hi!
Tell me... is the F717 a bit low on contrast? I think so. And the
pics oftenly get kinda dark and dull shootin' wide & deep areas.
I'm just a bit worried and confused since my previous camera - a
Fuji Finepix 2800 ZOOM (half as expencive as the F717) gave me more
colorfull, vivid & crisp pictures.
What bugges me is that I don't get this WOW-feelin'. You know -
that "that's-why-I-bought
-this-two-times-more-expencive-camera-feelin' Am I alone on this?

Mattias

Click to expand...

--
Daniel
http://www.pbase.com/dvogel11

DannyV:

Know what... you're probably right! The images captured with the Finepix is rather high on saturation and contrast. As you say, the pix I shoot with the F717 very likely is of more accuracy considering true colors and so on. I probably got addicted to high saturation, yet, I'm strivin' to GETWHATISEE-pix.

And Hey - I could always add some extra saturation to the pix in Photoshop - if the need gets unbareble! Haha

Mattias

DannyV said:

Mattias Elfving said:

Hi!
Tell me... is the F717 a bit low on contrast? I think so. And the
pics oftenly get kinda dark and dull shootin' wide & deep areas.
I'm just a bit worried and confused since my previous camera - a
Fuji Finepix 2800 ZOOM (half as expencive as the F717) gave me more
colorfull, vivid & crisp pictures.
What bugges me is that I don't get this WOW-feelin'. You know -
that "that's-why-I-bought
-this-two-times-more-expencive-camera-feelin' Am I alone on this?

Mattias

Click to expand...

--
Daniel
http://www.pbase.com/dvogel11

Click to expand...

Out of the camera, shots on the F717 do seem low on contrast and a bit "grey". Try increasing the sharpness to +1, that helps a little. Sony adjusted the color rendition towards accuracy, rather than the regular consumer contrasty, highly saturated digital. The V1 is more like that.

Mattias Elfving said:

Hi!
Tell me... is the F717 a bit low on contrast? I think so. And the
pics oftenly get kinda dark and dull shootin' wide & deep areas.
I'm just a bit worried and confused since my previous camera - a
Fuji Finepix 2800 ZOOM (half as expencive as the F717) gave me more
colorfull, vivid & crisp pictures.
What bugges me is that I don't get this WOW-feelin'. You know -
that "that's-why-I-bought
-this-two-times-more-expencive-camera-feelin' Am I alone on this?

Mattias

Click to expand...

That would be my suggestion. I bump contrast fairly regularly on the F717, but there are times when I don't need to. So I would prefer the slightly under contrast than over contrast just so I can tailor the image. But I understand that some folks may want a film like experience where there is no post processing involved in the picture taking process. For them I can only suggest a camera like the Fuji you had or running auto contrast in PS. Little pain involved and you can even batch apply it to copies of the downloaded images.

Now the V1 offers a contrast setting, and I suspect the new F series camera will offer the same thing, so we may be able to please nearly everyone very soon

Mattias Elfving said:

Mattias

DannyV said:

Mattias Elfving said:

Hi!
Tell me... is the F717 a bit low on contrast? I think so. And the
pics oftenly get kinda dark and dull shootin' wide & deep areas.
I'm just a bit worried and confused since my previous camera - a
Fuji Finepix 2800 ZOOM (half as expencive as the F717) gave me more
colorfull, vivid & crisp pictures.
What bugges me is that I don't get this WOW-feelin'. You know -
that "that's-why-I-bought
-this-two-times-more-expencive-camera-feelin' Am I alone on this?

Mattias

Click to expand...

--
Daniel
http://www.pbase.com/dvogel11

Click to expand...

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--
Shay

My Sony F707 & F717 Gallery: http://www.shaystephens.com/portfolio.asp
My F717 Observations: http://www.shaystephens.com/f717.asp