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D30 and problem with rich reds

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james29365

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I have been very disappointed with the d30's ability to capture rich reds

The first situation was glowing red autumn leaves backlit by the sun. The result is a flat oversaturated faded brick red. I have experimented with exposure and saturation and can't find a good result.

The other subject is rich velvety dark red roses. Result: Too orange and none of the velvety quality at all. Experimented with exposure and full sun, shadow, clouds. Always end up with rather flat, orange brick reds.

Unfortunately I accidentally deleted all the pics, otherwise would post them here.

I will attempt to find another red rose today (yes they are still around in DC which is where i am at at the moment) and post a pic as a follow up. Perhaps someone might know how to manipulate such pics to get a better result?

Has anyone else noticed the 'red performance problem'?

In fact, I have been rather disappointed with the performance in the macro mode with most horticultural subjects in full sun (not the most ideal of light situations I know, but inevitable in my job where there are time constraints to get results)

Many thanks

James (horticultural photographer for gardening books)
 
Further to the above, I must say that I am delighted with the way the D30 handles white and yellow flowers, which were always a problem with Velvia, the other medium I use.

With Velvia,flowers of white and yellow (and red) tend to posterise and lose midtones, so that you cannot see any details. The D30 does a great job on the whites and yellows. In the past I have used Kodachrome for the whites, reds and yellows, and Velvia for the rest.

Cheers

james
 
James,

i agree, reds are possibly the worst. No matter what i try to do, rich reds and metallic reds seem to have a hard time with subtle shading. Instead of the subtle change is various red shadings, it seems to hard transfer them (like taking smooth shading red JPG to a GIF file that limited the choices of red shadings). Maybe not THAT bad, but not smooth as, say, facial tones.

Enjoy the music,

Steven R. Rochlin
http://www.EnjoyTheMusic.com
 
You have to put the pictures on a web server somewhere then post a URL to them.

If you don't have any handy web space, photo sites like photopoint or Zing are a possibility if you don't mind them possibly making money from print sales at your expense...
james said:
LOL

Can anyone explain how to embed images?
Click to expand...
 
This URL just points to a Microsoft ad for how to produce really poor web sites!

If you've put the pictures into that samples directory then you need to quote the file names in the URL, for instance



or write some HTML quick to replace the IIS ad!
james said:
Try again to embed this image
Not really sure how to do this but here goes
http://www.facelink.com/samples
Click to expand...
 
James,

Please take this as a constructive suggestion. Whenever you try to post an image or a URL, always test it with the PREVIEW button, so that you do not waste time and space in the forum.

Sorry I don't have any suggestions for your RED issue.

Michael T
james said:
LOL

Can anyone explain how to embed images?
Click to expand...
 
Hi James...

I have photographed deep, red roses with results I like. I used a Canon 100mm macro lens and a 550EX flash on the hot shoe, in the 7-degree pointed down position and with the built-in diffuser over the flash head. All my shots were done indoors, so no bright sunlight problem. You might try getting someone to hold an umbrella over the subject rose you are photographing.
Steve Keys
james said:
I have been very disappointed with the d30's ability to capture
rich reds
The first situation was glowing red autumn leaves backlit by the
sun. The result is a flat oversaturated faded brick red. I have
experimented with exposure and saturation and can't find a good
result.

The other subject is rich velvety dark red roses. Result: Too
orange and none of the velvety quality at all. Experimented with
exposure and full sun, shadow, clouds. Always end up with rather
flat, orange brick reds.

Unfortunately I accidentally deleted all the pics, otherwise would
post them here.
I will attempt to find another red rose today (yes they are still
around in DC which is where i am at at the moment) and post a pic
as a follow up. Perhaps someone might know how to manipulate such
pics to get a better result?

Has anyone else noticed the 'red performance problem'?

In fact, I have been rather disappointed with the performance in
the macro mode with most horticultural subjects in full sun (not
the most ideal of light situations I know, but inevitable in my job
where there are time constraints to get results)

Many thanks

James (horticultural photographer for gardening books)
Click to expand...
 
David is absolutely correct. Use RAW mode.

I decided, after my first 10 shots, to use RAW mode exclusively. I don't even think about it anymore.
Steve Keys
DavidP said:
Are you shooting in RAW mode? That's the first thing I'd try,
leaving the picture in 16-bit mode until all of your
color-correction work is done.
Click to expand...
 
What are the experiences of the respondants with red reproduction from other digital cameras?
Charles
Steven R. Rochlin said:
James,

i agree, reds are possibly the worst. No matter what i try to do,
rich reds and metallic reds seem to have a hard time with subtle
shading. Instead of the subtle change is various red shadings, it
seems to hard transfer them (like taking smooth shading red JPG to
a GIF file that limited the choices of red shadings). Maybe not
THAT bad, but not smooth as, say, facial tones.

Enjoy the music,

Steven R. Rochlin
http://www.EnjoyTheMusic.com
Click to expand...
 
NO NEED TO GET 'SNIPPY'!!!!!

(Personally I think a lot of time wasting goes on here: the likes of 'Just got my d30' and other nonsense)
MichaelT said:
Please take this as a constructive suggestion. Whenever you try to
post an image or a URL, always test it with the PREVIEW button, so
that you do not waste time and space in the forum.

Sorry I don't have any suggestions for your RED issue.

Michael T
james said:
LOL

Can anyone explain how to embed images?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Charles,
Charles Huguley said:
Charles Huguley said:
...What are the experiences of the respondants with red reproduction from other digital cameras?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
The Kodak D40 of MANY years ago was just horrible. The Onlypus D600L was pretty good. The Olympus 2500 is nice. Other cameras seemed to do better, yet i have a feeling we will need to save in RAW as a well-seasoned D30 user suggests (my apoligies for forgetting who posted this wisdom).

Enjoy the music,

Steven R. Rochlin
http://www.EnjoyTheMusic.com
 
James,

Was not trying to be snippy or negative at all. Just to offer a helful suggestion. As is the problem with email and posting, sometimes the intent is mis-conveyed.

I regret that my intent was not conveyed properly.

Sincerely,

Michael T
james said:
MichaelT said:
Please take this as a constructive suggestion. Whenever you try to
post an image or a URL, always test it with the PREVIEW button, so
that you do not waste time and space in the forum.

Sorry I don't have any suggestions for your RED issue.

Michael T
james said:
LOL

Can anyone explain how to embed images?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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