Nikon Coolpix 950 contrast question

[Francis]

I'm on the cross road of choosing either the Olympus C2K or the Nikon 950 after reading a lot of reviews & comments from many websites. My question is it seems that the image quality of them are quite equal but C2K has little more contrast than 950. I know the 950 has contrast+ & contrast- setting, this is fine, have anyone has the experience of using the contrast+ mode to take pictures & how do these pictures compare with those taken by C2K. I'm really in favour of the lots of manual control that 950 provides but I'm also like pictures with more contrasty especially taking kids pictures. Thank you in advance !

 

[Paymon Kayhani]

Francis,

I am a n ew CP950 owner and have indeed had some experience with the contrast settings. In my opinion the Contrast + setting does an appreciable job boosting the contrast on the images taken. in fact after learning about recently I pretty much leave the camera in the Contrast + mode all the time except in extremely bright sunlight (where you already get a lot of contrast and any additional boost would wash out the details in well lit areas) I was infact pleased to send my second batch of JPEG files for printing not too long ago without any post-processing alteration what so ever.

I don't know anything about the Olympus c2000 so I cannot comment on it's merits with respect to contrasty pictures. My only real gripe about the CP950's image adjustment settings is that you can only pick opne at a time and only one level in each direction. So you can only have more(or less) contrast or more(or less) brightness but not both! And you also can't jack up either if those parameters except by one preset amount. I know that their are cameras out there where you not only choose increased contrast before taking a shot but also exactly how much. Anyways, I think it is minor sacrifice for the overall versatility of the CoolPix.

Good Luck.

 

[Peter iNova]

Francis,

2¢:

Both cameras will give you good images. I have no experience with the 2K but can say that the sheer depth of the Nikon is amazing. It truly is a camera for someone who likes to ask, "Well, what happens if I try it this way instead of that way?" Not only can you shoot less, normal and more contrastier pictures but the prints on an Epson (EX in my case) using the glossy paper gives large prints that draw gasps. (in a good respiratory and emotional way)

I've saved shots in high contrast situations with the contrast minus setting which tends to extend the captured range of highlights like backlit skies. In this mode you can increase the EV a bit to brighten foreground objects and still not bleach out the bright stuff.

The posted images I've seen from the 2K show a bit more in-camera processing that give the pictures a -really slightly- more video-sharpness effect. The Nikon lets you do this to taste in a post production step with a program like Photoshop. In general, the Nikon's manual flexibilities are the sort of thing that can confuse a neophyte or satisfy an experienced photographer. For a person serious about getting into photography I would recommend the Nikon. It won't run out of surprises soon.

If you feel that your involvement won't ever include tweaking and printing and getting into photography deeply, you may be happier with the 2K.

-iNova