Nikon picture control

[jcdeboever]

This is a really good thread on a often missed and misunderstood Nikon feature. I shoot a lot of black & white and I create my own pre sets for my D610. It pretty much is identical to my custom simulations on my Fujifilm system. For what it's worth, the D610 looks the most film like (what I am after) for some reason, I think it's partly due to the fact I use a lot of older glass. It takes some experimenting and that makes it really enjoyable.

 

[JBPhotog]

I can’t help with the Lightroom preset question, I never adopted it as a workflow tool. But keep this in mind, all presets started from a default position so you could “roll your own” if you wanted to experiment. Many of the preset packs I have seen are simply a gimmick to move away from the “standards” and often, and I mean this, do nothing to make the photo better they just add a different look which you may or may not get tired of.

Another aspect is, do you want your photos to have the same look as someone else’s and they may have considered a purpose to the tweaks that you may or may not share. They also likely lit the subject differently than you so the preset will not look the same in your photos.

 

[Derrel]

Presets are a starting point...usually a minor tweak or two or threr is needed. I often combine two, or even three presets. I like about 15 of " Matt K" and the free set he used to give away..

LIGHTROOM Comes with some useful presets. You can modify and save any preset. It's a good way to speed up processing. But the final result depends upon the skill of the operator. Presets are widely misunderstood, especially by those who don't use them and don't know what the hell they're talking about. The idea that a preset is some type of Quick, One-Click Instagram filter is wildly mistaken. A preset is a way to apply more than a handful of changes in one click. The better you know your presets the better your results. Some pictures look great with a certain preset, , while other presets will look horrible on them.

If you just drag your mouse pointer down a list of presets in Lightroom, a preview will quickly be generated. If you click on a preset in the list, the working window will show the changes in full size. Experimentation and experience is the best way to utilize presets to their significant advantage. I think that presets are useful for color toning. I like my personal variations of an Adobe preset called Creamtone.

 

[Derrel]

modified from Adobe's Creamtone preset.

 

[Derrel]

The so-called White Wedding tone curve used to be popular in the early days of the Nikon d70. I see that a version of that tone curve or picture control is available underon Nikon's web server

Back in the early days of the digital single-lens reflex, Nikon was known for its rather flat and low contrast and relatively unsharpened jpg images. Back in those days some 17 years ago, there were far fewer software applications available to develop raw files. My first digital camera was a Nikon D1 in February of 2001, and at that time Adobe Photoshop could not develop raw files.

It is interesting that Fuji has had tremendous success with its film simulation modes, while Nikon's equivalent solution, which was developed before the Fuji one, has met with very limited acceptance.

 

[Derrel]

Have you tried using any picture control settings?

 

[Timppa]

I have tried many already and took some images over the weekend.
I do have to say, I enjoy them, it gives a better view of possible outcome of the picture (I like the technique you use for black and white preview).
But I think in the end I will stick with my current work process.
I put them on lightroom with the setting I have made and it already does a great job.

But yes, I will use this for previewing on the camera itself

 

[zoomnclick]

Any idea if someone has a Fuji Classic Neg picture control for Nikon?

 

[Larry_Page]

Good morning. I am a big user of picture controls in my Nikon cameras, whether for pre-processing JPEGs or for setting a good "as shot" starting point in Lightroom. For a long time, I noticed that other Nikon users seemed a little bit clueless when I would try to explain what I was doing and why. Finally, I learned that Picture Control is implemented quite differently on different models across the Nikon product line. For instance, I started with a D200, and have also used a D300, D300s, D500, D810, and D850. None of those cameras have "Scene Modes," although they do come from the factory with a small number of presets which can be edited or used as starting points for other setups.

In these cameras, direct control of parameters like Sharpness, Saturation, Hue, and several others similar to LightRoom sliders can be set directly, then saved with an identifying name. I have deduced from conversations that in cameras like the D750 and D780, setups from the various presets can be adjusted and saved in the "User" spaces. I presume that they can be changed and saved back to their original locations as well. No clue what options are available on entry-level cameras.

My purpose in saying all this is to say that I've found that it is very important to be very clear which Nikon camera is being referenced in discussions about Picture Control. And it is equally important when reading these articles to understand that your camera may handle these adjustments quite differently from the camera being discussed, even if both are Nikons.

 

[JBPhotog]

Good morning. I am a big user of picture controls in my Nikon cameras, whether for pre-processing JPEGs or for setting a good "as shot" starting point in Lightroom. For a long time, I noticed that other Nikon users seemed a little bit clueless when I would try to explain what I was doing and why. Finally, I learned that Picture Control is implemented quite differently on different models across the Nikon product line. For instance, I started with a D200, and have also used a D300, D300s, D500, D810, and D850. None of those cameras have "Scene Modes," although they do come from the factory with a small number of presets which can be edited or used as starting points for other setups.

In these cameras, direct control of parameters like Sharpness, Saturation, Hue, and several others similar to LightRoom sliders can be set directly, then saved with an identifying name. I have deduced from conversations that in cameras like the D750 and D780, setups from the various presets can be adjusted and saved in the "User" spaces. I presume that they can be changed and saved back to their original locations as well. No clue what options are available on entry-level cameras.

My purpose in saying all this is to say that I've found that it is very important to be very clear which Nikon camera is being referenced in discussions about Picture Control. And it is equally important when reading these articles to understand that your camera may handle these adjustments quite differently from the camera being discussed, even if both are Nikons.

I suggest reading this on Nikon Picture Controls as they are virtually the same for all models of Nikon cameras, not to be confused with "Scene Modes".

The importance of Picture Controls from Nikon