settings for new D7K

[Kofman13]

I just got a D7K as a second body and upgrade.. for my first wedding coming up. What are your favorite settings? im curious about mostly your picture control settings. or anything else also i never used auto iso on the D90 because while it was pretty good with noise, the ISO settings the camera chose were too noisy. But ive been seeing it works pretty well since the D7K is a beast

whats your favorite AF mode?

 

[MissCream]

One of us is slow... I don't know if it's me or you but I have no idea what your asking.

 

[Kofman13]

What are your favorite picture control profiles? and AF modes

 

[MissCream]

AF means auto focus. I know what you mean and I only use M and Av.

 

[KmH]

I don't have a favorite AF mode. I use the focus mode that will give me the focus results I need for each shooting situation.

 

[Kofman13]

ill try to be more specific. i mean the picture control settings like standard, landscape, portrait, ,etc. each one has in depth settings. and im pretty sure everyone knows what AF is. im asking whats ur favorite mode, A, S, C, theres different point selections etc

 

[MissCream]

I've never used any of them. They are just variations of shooting auto.

 

[480sparky]

This is akin to asking what my favorite driving speed is. If I'm out on the interstate, then flat-out is how I ride. Tooling by a school, I tend to slow down a lot. If it's a blizzard out, I crawl along at a snail's pace.

Shooting with the D7k is the same... different situations lend themselves to different settings. That's the beauty of the camera..... it can be adjusted to fit a wide variety of needs just like my truck can go a wide variety of speeds.

 

[Kofman13]

no they arent. you can use them on manual

 

[KmH]

You lost me when you quit is using the shift key.

 

[Vtec44]

I have the camera for only a few days so I'm still playing with the settings. So far for picture control, I use Vivid, Sharpening +8, Contrast +3, Saturation +3 if I shoot landscape. If it's people, it's Sharpening +8, Contrast +2, Saturation +1. For AF mode it's typically AF S with single point focus area.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

In all serious, a nice gentleman shared his settings that resolves the "3 pic max bracketing" limitation:

Here is how to set the U1 and U2 for 9 shot HDR.

As D7000 owners know, bracketing is limited to three frames. Three frames spaced 2EV apart is probably adequate for most scenes, but sometimes you need more. This method makes use of User modes U1 and U2.


After the initial setup (explained below), WHICH YOU ONLY DO ONCE, shooting an HDR is simple. You only need to make three quick adjustments to your camera before shooting:
(1) set the Mode to A
(2) set the Release mode to CH
(3) set Bracketing to 3F in 1.0 EV increments.




To set up U1 and U2 for a 9-frame bracket spaced 1 EV apart (YOU ONLY DO THIS ONCE):


* Set mode dial to A (Aperture priority)

* Set Shutter release mode = CH (continuous high speed)

* Custom setting e6 -> Bracketing order = Under, Meter, Over

* ISO = Auto

* Bracketing = 3F in 1.0 EV increments

* turn the Exposure comp dial to -3 EV
* Setup Menu -> Save user settings -> U1

* turn the Exposure comp dial to +3EV
* Setup Menu -> Save user settings -> U2


You are done setting up U1 and U2. Be sure to set Exposure comp dial back to 0 EV, set bracketing to 0F, and set the Shutter release mode to whatever you normally keep it at.


Now say you stumble on a scene that calls for HDR. 

(1) Set the Mode to A

(2) set Bracketing to 3F in 1.0 EV increments

(3) set the release mode to CH.


Now press the shutter release button three times:


(1) once with Mode dial set to U1

(2) once with Mode dial set to A

(3) once with Mode dial set to U2


This creates nine exposures in the following order (relative to normal exposure):

-4EV -3EV -2EV -1EV 0EV +1EV +2EV +3EV +4EV


After shooting, review the histograms and possibly select a subset of the nine shots, deleting others.


The procedure is similar for setting up a 5-frame bracket, and is easy to figure out once you understand the 9-frame setup.

 

[enzodm]

Picture control is useful if you shoot JPEG. In RAW all those tweaks can (should) be made in pp. So, it is difficult someone here will tell you "my favorite picture control is X", since most people shoot RAW.

 

[MissCream]

no they arent. you can use them on manual

Told you I may be slow! I know what you mean now As someone else mentioned I don't pay attention to those because I shoot RAW.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Aperture priority when there is plenty of ambiance light and shoot in RAW. Manual when I shoot in dim light.