Nikon D50 vs Pentax point and shoot

Vianna Szabo · 03-18-2006, 08:05 PM

Hi everyone

My first digital love was a Pentax Optio 33L. It was my introduction to the digital world and I was thrilled.... until I had to photograph a teething toddler and also found my enlargements were often pixelated. So after much searching and forum reading I purchased a Nikon D50. Wow, the clarity is astonishing but I am having real problems with it reading warm colors too strong. I am frustrated because when I photograph my paintings I cannot adjust the white balance without the flash insisting it must come on which, if you are working in oil, renders the photograph a splotchy shiny mess. When I photograph in auto with the flash off I get photos that read unrealistic warm tones. My Pentax, on auto with the flash off, reads the cool and warm tones correctly. This is true no matter what the light conditions are.

My question is am I just Nikon challenged and do not understand how to run this fine camera or is there a real problem here?

These are photos I took of a painting that is in progress. ( my way of saying excuse the mess) I photographed it inside my studio and outside, with close ups of the face. Both were with the cameras on Auto with the flash off. To me the Pentax is a much truer reading of the painting.

I appreciate any advice on this matter

Thank you, Vianna Szabo

Vianna Szabo · 03-18-2006, 08:08 PM

The first one is the Pentax and the second is the Nikon.

Help!

Chris Saper · 03-18-2006, 09:06 PM

Vianna,

I can't begin to think of all the things I don't know about that could cause this problem. The only digital camera I have had until recently is the Nikon 5700. I found that I ALWAYS had to adjust -or at least check - the levels and that my images did look a bit red. I can't say though whether that is because of my uncalibrated monitor / printer, my printer settings, the color space or what. All I know is that I had to figure out how to jury-rig my settings to get good prints and good digitally posted images. I just got a Canon and haven't yet experimented to see if the images show any differently.

Take your Nikon image into Photoshop - Image - Adjust- Hue Saturation - Reds and desaturate the reds a bit. Alternatively, try the Photo filer - Cooling filter. Or you could try the custom white balance function.

Chris Saper · 03-18-2006, 09:08 PM

PS If the flash insists on flashing, crank up the ISO, you might be able to go as high as 1600 on your tripod withot sacrificing quality. The higher ISO is like having faster film.

Vianna Szabo · 03-18-2006, 10:13 PM

Thank you, Chris for responding so quickly,

I have been running the photos through Adobe and doing as you say, reducing the saturation but the reds still overpower the cool tones. In the painting of Kayla her lips in the painting have a very soft blush of violet over them that is lost in the image. Actually violet tones are predominate in the painting and I do not feel that is represented. No amount of fiddling on Adobe brought that out. I have not tried the Cooling filter (Is that in Adobe?) or messing around with my printer settings. Although the Printer is giving me a good representation of what I see on the monitor. I would be interested to hear if your Cannon does the same. Is this a Nikon thing or my lack of knowledge as a photographer thing?

Vianna

Molly Sherrick Phifer · 03-19-2006, 09:32 AM

I discovered that if you put the flash down, the camera figures out that you don't want the flash. In the automatic modes, you can disable the flash using the flash button on the left side and turning the thumbwheel. For some reason, the designers thought they would "make it easier" to disable in program and manual modes, so all you have to do is pop the flash back down. It took me about three weeks to figure out - and I'm an engineer!

Please don't hesitate to e-mail me if you have any other problems, Vianna. I've had my D-50 since June and have it pretty well figured out. Right, Chris?