Ideal setting

[EaglesNest]

Any suggestions how I should set the settings of Sharpness,Contrast,Saturation,Colour tone in Landscape and Portrait mode on my Canon 5D ?

 

[usayit]

I don't think there is such thing as an Ideal setting.....

 

[Digital Matt]

Shoot raw and decide for yourself in post process.

 

[L. Wood]

I have a question. When shooting in Raw do the preset white balances not apply? Is all of that adjusted in post processing? If so, I have missed the memo.

 

[sabbath999]

I have a question. When shooting in Raw do the preset white balances not apply? Is all of that adjusted in post processing? If so, I have missed the memo.

Well, it is like this:

When you shoot raw, the camera saves the information (basically, the amount of voltage that hits each photoreceptor)... and additionally, it puts all of the information from the cameras settings like sharpness, contrast, saturations, white balance, digital effects and things like that into a header file. Unlike JPEG, the image isn't altered by the settings.

When you pull it over into your graphics program (by using a RAW converter, or a program that converts it for you -- something like iPhoto) all of the data* is available for manipulation... you can apply the camera settings from the headers, or you can not, your choice (assuming the software allows you to do this).

If you had saved it as a JPEG, then the color settings, white balance, etc. would have literally been 'burned into' the actual image and not just the header information.

I have WAY oversimplified it, but that is basically it.

BTW It is after midnight here, somebody correct me if I screwed this explanation up or if it isn't very clear.



*Some cameras compress RAW files, some don't... but it is considered 'lossless' compression. Example: NEF (Nikon) files are compressed automatically when they are saved on my D80's and D40.

 

[L. Wood]

Thanks so much. Good explanation.

 

[Remi M.]

I shoot everything in Raw. I used to shoot in Raw + small jpg. But now that I use Adobe bridge I don't bother with jpg anymore.

I think you should still set your white balance correctly. The way something looks on your LCD varies depending on white balance, and having the correct white balance will give you better feedback for the next shot. That said, I keep my white balance on cloudy, majority of the time. I don't like Auto as it can mess with any panoramic shots I may do.