D7000 sharpness and color accuracy - wow!

[jschlarb]

This is very much a "laboratory conditions" test, but I'm still impressed. This image I shot of a pinball backglass (which is resting just above my monitor) is indistinguishable from the original (yes, it really is that saturated). The high-CRI CFLs in my office really bring out the colors in the artwork I have on my walls.

PP in CNX2 was minimal; I used Standard PC with sharpening = 4, and set the white balance to 5000K.





Here's a 100% crop:

 

[jschlarb]

I did some work on the histogram (below). "Seawitch" is a rare 1980 pinball machine. I was lucky enough to grab this backglass at a swap meet for $60. I'm amazed that the inks survived for 31 years without fading! The artwork from this arcade era is beautiful; they hired some great artists.

 

[Peter Panz]

I did some work on the histogram (below). "Seawitch" is a rare 1980 pinball machine. I was lucky enough to grab this backglass at a swap meet for $60. I'm amazed that the inks survived for 31 years without fading! The artwork from this arcade era is beautiful; they hired some great artists.

That picture looks like the real thing.

--
Galatians 4:16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

 

[eNo]

Pretty interesting. A couple of questions:

• How did you decide on 5000K for WB? I take it that is exactly the temperature your lights produce, and that you have no contribution from other light sources?
• Is your monitor calibrated, allowing you accurate comparison?
• Finally, I was unaware that one could achieve color accuracy and matching without first also using a calibrated color profile, of the sort one would generate with a Colorchecker reference card. Did you do anything along those lines? Doesn't sound like it...

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seeking the heart and spirit in each image



Gallery and blog: http://imagesbyeduardo.com
Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22061657@N03

 

[jschlarb]

I realize that these colors are pretty garish for folks accustomed to looking at skin tones, but they are very accurate...

• How did you decide on 5000K for WB?

I used the patches of white around the numbers, as well as the yellow, red and blue areas. I'm planning to order a gray card.

I take it that is exactly the temperature your lights produce, and that you
have no contribution from other light sources?

Only my two 5500K Alzo lights, but my walls are painted a very warm brick color. I just now measured 4500K ambient lighting with my X-Rite i1. It's interesting that wall reflections can change color temperature so dramatically...

• Is your monitor calibrated, allowing you accurate comparison?

Yes, it's calibrated to Adobe RGB, which is the space I used in Capture NX2. I convert the color space to sRGB on export to JPEG. Of course I used the aforementioned X-Rite i1.

• Finally, I was unaware that one could achieve color accuracy and matching

without first also using a calibrated color profile, of the sort one would generate
with a Colorchecker reference card. Did you do anything along those lines?
Doesn't sound like it...

I did not, and that's why I was so excited to see the colors looking so accurate without any tweaking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seeking the heart and spirit in each image



Gallery and blog: http://imagesbyeduardo.com
Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22061657@N03

 

[jschlarb]

Oh yes, I also used the ample flesh tones in the image...