In town stroll with my Z50

[toomanycanons]

I took my car to my mechanic for some semi-minor work, he said come back in 2 hours

His shop is in a very industrial area but, bonus, a short walk away is a large creek with a bike path. From thick bumper to bumper traffic to, well, the opposite

These are about as "snapshot" pics as I'm ever going to take. Z50/16-50 on Auto Iso (I figured this was as good a stroll to use Auto Iso, because... snapshots). All SOOC jpegs

One hour out, turn around and one hour back. All images shot on A and Vivid (!)







This waterfall shot on M



I could hear traffic all around but it was a world away





Peering over to a golf course





A variety of homeless types camp in the shrubbery here until rousted by the local constabulary but you have to look closely off trail to see them. This is in the middle of the Big Bad City after all



Many bikes came by, 50% of them electric, but what a resource this bike path is to just get out and about

Headed back

 

[cutterpup]

Great idea, and love the scenery. I understand the snap shot idea, but years ago I did it differently. I would shoot in RAW, choose which images, if any, I wanted to work on separately, and batch process the rest. Only took a little extra time and those that were destined to be quick shots were all processed vivid (or natural or what I chose) and converted to JPEG in one go.

 

[toomanycanons]

This was an experiment in accepting what the Z50 jpeg engine would spit out. I told myself not to process anything (although I did straighten a few), let's see what SOOC looks like

 

[Bob A L]

Sounds great. For me that's the only way to fly. If my camera can't be trusted to produce images that I think are a great rendition of what I think I saw it will soon no longer be my camera and someone else will own it.

 

[jtr27]

Sounds great. For me that's the only way to fly. If my camera can't be trusted to produce images that I think are a great rendition of what I think I saw it will soon no longer be my camera and someone else will own it.

There are people for whom photography is not merely about "trusting the camera" to do everything that needs to be done to make a photograph that they are happy with. They have a finished product in mind - a vision, one might say - that requires additional steps to be taken, outside the camera, after the photograph is taken.

There is nothing morally wrong with post-processing RAW files, OR with using SOOC JPGS. Whatever makes one happy.

However, many of history's great photographers, for example Ansel Adams, considered taking the photograph to be just the beginning of the creative process. Additional work such as dodging and burning took place in a darkroom. It was time-consuming and no doubt frustrating at times, but he considered it essential. It was never his goal to simply reproduce what he saw.

Here are some Adams quotes that any photographer might enjoy:

“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”

and

“Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships"

Clearly, the guy had a sense of humor.

 

[toomanycanons]

Sounds great. For me that's the only way to fly. If my camera can't be trusted to produce images that I think are a great rendition of what I think I saw it will soon no longer be my camera and someone else will own it.

There are people for whom photography is not merely about "trusting the camera" to do everything that needs to be done to make a photograph that they are happy with. They have a finished product in mind - a vision, one might say - that requires additional steps to be taken, outside the camera, after the photograph is taken.

There is nothing morally wrong with post-processing RAW files, OR with using SOOC JPGS. Whatever makes one happy.

However, many of history's great photographers, for example Ansel Adams, considered taking the photograph to be just the beginning of the creative process. Additional work such as dodging and burning took place in a darkroom. It was time-consuming and no doubt frustrating at times, but he considered it essential. It was never his goal to simply reproduce what he saw.

Here are some Adams quotes that any photographer might enjoy:

“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”

and

“Dodging and burning are steps to take care of mistakes God made in establishing tonal relationships"

Clearly, the guy had a sense of humor.

FWIW, my Vivid profile has the Contrast dialed down one, the Saturation is also dialed down one. I know all about shooting on Flat or Neutral or whatever but my snapshot shooting (where I just point and shoot aimlessly) I'd like to not have to do much of any work in post

And, I can't work on my Z50 or Z6 raws because my ancient copy of Lightroom 6.14 doesn't support them. But I can work on my jpegs. You've all seen my other Z50 threads here and they were all shot in jpeg but worked in post a lot in Lightroom or even in my ancient copy of Luminar

The images here...no post. The shadows look decent, the highlights are decent, the color is good, Auto ISO did it's thing, I'm pretty happy with the results

 

[jtr27]

I was not criticizing your process or results, just to be clear. I have shot JPEG only, also as an experiment. Enough to know that shooting RAW is the right choice... for me.

 

[Bob A L]

Therein lies the secret "for me" or "for you". Like the op, I tweak the picture controls to suit me, and between that and controlling exposure to personal taste, and making any small tweaks necessary in post am usually able to make my camera produce photos I am happy with.

 

[jtr27]

Therein lies the secret "for me" or "for you". Like the op, I tweak the picture controls to suit me, and between that and controlling exposure to personal taste, and making any small tweaks necessary in post am usually able to make my camera produce photos I am happy with.

I am happy that you are happy. I am also sure that you understand that people who make different choices than you do, do so for perfectly good reasons.

 

[toomanycanons]

Therein lies the secret "for me" or "for you". Like the op, I tweak the picture controls to suit me, and between that and controlling exposure to personal taste, and making any small tweaks necessary in post am usually able to make my camera produce photos I am happy with.

I am happy that you are happy. I am also sure that you understand that people who make different choices than you do, do so for perfectly good reasons.

Since time began there have been those who "only shoot in raw". I've had that choice just as long and shoot in raw+jpeg and have found that dealing with the jpegs gives me perfectly acceptable results. Some clients I have want me to start with the raws and deliver tiffs. Everyone's wants/needs/use cases are different

 

[cutterpup]

FWIW, my Vivid profile has the Contrast dialed down one, the Saturation is also dialed down one. I know all about shooting on Flat or Neutral or whatever but my snapshot shooting (where I just point and shoot aimlessly) I'd like to not have to do much of any work in post

This is how I have my "smaller" cameras set up for jpegs. I hand them to my husband set on P mode and jpeg. I don't hand him the D7200 or the D810. They are set for Raw and BBF. I always take a "spare" lightweight body when we go out so we can share lenses. I learned the hard way when he borrowed my camera at a train spotting area and disappeared for over half an hour.

And, I can't work on my Z50 or Z6 raws because my ancient copy of Lightroom 6.14 doesn't support them.

I understand that. When I switched from Pentax to Nikon I had the same program and the same issues. I used ACR for a while but hated it. I finally went the DXO route, but still have LR6.14 on my computer.

The images here...no post. The shadows look decent, the highlights are decent, the color is good, Auto ISO did it's thing, I'm pretty happy with the results

Your pleasure in your images are what matters most.

 

[jtr27]

Therein lies the secret "for me" or "for you". Like the op, I tweak the picture controls to suit me, and between that and controlling exposure to personal taste, and making any small tweaks necessary in post am usually able to make my camera produce photos I am happy with.

I am happy that you are happy. I am also sure that you understand that people who make different choices than you do, do so for perfectly good reasons.

Since time began there have been those who "only shoot in raw". I've had that choice just as long and shoot in raw+jpeg and have found that dealing with the jpegs gives me perfectly acceptable results. Some clients I have want me to start with the raws and deliver tiffs. Everyone's wants/needs/use cases are different

I totally agree! It all boils down to whether the photographer wants to do something, envisions something, that either can't be done in the camera, OR they feel can be done better (more easily perhaps, or with more control over the result) in post.

As good as modern cameras are, there are still some things that can't be done in camera. Some people don't want to do any of those things, or don't know that they can be done, and either way, that is totally cool.

Over and out. Have a great weekend!

--
Jonathan
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jtr27/

 

[travelfoodphoto]

I'm with you Bob. Composition is by far the most important element of photography to me, and the second is setting up my camera to reduce or eliminate the need for PP. I'd much rather be doing more photographing or any of my other hobbies as opposed to sitting in front of a monitor comparing different flavors of the same composition (just a personal choice, of course).

Best,

Den

 

[RBIV]

I believe most agree the consensus here is when it comes to JPEG vs. RAW it just depends on what you want to do with the images.

For me, I consider myself a "snapshot" shooter, but I try to make the images good. Maybe better than real sometimes. I shoot where I am, when I am there, meaning I don't chase good light, or perfect subjects. I enjoy the challenge to make some random scene looks as good as possible -- which is a choice I make -- and I've found post processing RAW with good up to date software offers much better results than trying the same with JPEG.

But the key here is: It's a choice. And nice that our cameras offer both.

 

[Schrodingers cat]

I took my car to my mechanic for some semi-minor work, he said come back in 2 hours

Wish I had your mechanic

Mine requires me to make an appointment for the following week.

They generally call the day after receiving the car, or perhaps in two days, with an estimate.

The repair frequently gets done in one day, but occasionally the day after it's promised.

--
Personal travel snapshots at https://www.castle-explorers.com
1. Making good decisions is generally the result of experience.
2. Experience is generally the result of making bad decisions.
3. Never underestimate your capability for doing incredibly stupid s**t.

 

[IssyHK]

Nice experiment. Nice pictures!

I get your software limitations for RAW editing. I, too, use an ancient version of PS. For RAW, I’m quite happy with Nikon’s NX Studio though, as it easily let’s me fine tune or change Picture Controls afterwards when I change my mind later on.