D70 W/b

[agillette]

Hello all,


I was wanting to see if anyone has had much success if setting up a PRE White Balance on a D70.

When i set mine up, the images have a blueish tone to them. Yet when i have it set to auto, they look ok, but sometimes too redsish.

Just asking this because it takes me a while to finally get it calibrated correctly. I know this should be something very simple to do, and quick. But it takes me like 4 or 6 times to set it correctly.

Might just be me, or my eyes are just too high tech and want to achieve perfection every time.

Regards,

AG

[srwatters]

Two things come to mind.

What are you using as the target when setting the W/B?

Are you aware that the D70 is 'known' to make images with a bit of a red cast in skin tones?

When using the custom white balance feature on the D70, I think you are instructed to point the camera at something either white or neutral (18% gray comes to mind) when making the setting. What are you using? Have you tried the Pringles lid or expo-disc?

I used the ACR calibration script(s) to generate values that remove the cast during the RAW conversion. Nikon Capture seems to do this automagically.

And no, it's not just you. I also am a little picky when it comes to accuracy in my equipment.

[agillette]

Well, i use a 18% grey card to calibrate it. No i was not aware of the D70 casting redness on skin. This is the first i hear.

Pringles lid?? Please explain. Never heard of this either.

ACR calibration? How do i go about doing this, or does nikon capture just do this for me?

Let me add a question here. Would it be wise to shoot in nothing but RAW mode?

Regards,

AG

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by agillette

Well, i use a 18% grey card to calibrate it. No i was not aware of the D70 casting redness on skin. This is the first i hear.

In my experience when using Adobe camera raw to convert D70 images, I would always get red casts to my portraits until I ran the calibration numbers using the Fors script. If you do a search for ACR calibration, you'll find enough reading material for several hours.

Originally Posted by agillette

Pringles lid?? Please explain. Never heard of this either.

Many folks use the lid from a can of pringles (sort of a white/translucent color) over the lens and shoot the PRE shot while pointing the covered lens at the main light source. It seems to provide a nice WB setting. The Expo disc does a similar thing

Originally Posted by agillette

ACR calibration? How do i go about doing this, or does nikon capture just do this for me?

If you use Nikon Capture, this is meaningless to you.

Originally Posted by agillette

Let me add a question here. Would it be wise to shoot in nothing but RAW mode?

That's a big question. I shoot RAW for work and jpg for snapshots. It seems to work well for low volume workflows. For large quantities, it can be tedious and time consuming. Ask a dozen photographers and you get a dozen different reasons why they use raw or jpg. YMMV.

[DJ.]

I have used a grey card on the D70 with very good results. I have also used the Expodisc and the studio size Whibal with similar excellent results.

I shoot RAW 99% of the time but when shooting jpeg and in a hurry I usually just carry a Whibal card and snap a shot of it whenever the lighting changes.

[David_3]

Originally Posted by srwatters

Many folks use the lid from a can of pringles (sort of a white/translucent color) over the lens and shoot the PRE shot while pointing the covered lens at the main light source. It seems to provide a nice WB setting. The Expo disc does a similar thing

I've had pretty good luck with a coffee can lid too. Just remember to put the lens in manual focus when you do this, or it will search like crazy!!

[agillette]

Lots of good tips. Off to the grocery store for my can of pringles. hahaha.

So each time the lighting changes, calibrate the camera. I gues i can live with that.
I was shooting in jpg all the time, so i am going to switch to RAW format now.

Thanks all for all the great answers.

Regards,

AG

[Spec A!]

This made a major improvement in not only the WB but the overall color/contrast/luminance to my D70. If you haven't tried uploading a customized curve you really need to give it a shot!

[agillette]

Excelant, thanks a ton for that link. I will give them a try when i get home tonight. I already see what he is talking about on that site. Makes sence. I just hope this helps, and it sounds like it definatly will.

Once again, thanks for the link.

Regards,

AG

[NoLight]

Scott what ACR cal scripts did you find gave you the best results? Links?

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by NoLight

Scott what ACR cal scripts did you find gave you the best results? Links?

Jeff Kohn is the real master here as evidenced by his contributions to this thread.

Here's another thread where the different scripts are discussed.

I use a combination of the Rags and L scripts just as Jeff described. It's tedious and time consuming, but I get the best results that way. YMMV.

[NoLight]

Thanx Scott!!! :)

[agillette]

I am going to give this a shot.

Anything special to uploading a ACR profile into the camera? Do i just put it on my CF card, then import it?

Thought i would ask since i never done this before.

Cheers'

AG

[laawaaris]

Is the D50 also prone to make images with a bit of a red cast in skin tones? In my experience I think that it is ...

Or it could be that I do not set my WB correctly on my D50. I just use Auto (or Incandescent when I am in my living room, etc). Doesn't changing the setting from Auto to Incandescent re-program the WB? Why do you need to re-calibrate it?

I guess I can look into calibration of WB - but it sounds like it can only be calibrated using these ACR Scripts or when the camera set to "PRE"?

[sebbomar]

When setting my wb with a D70, I take a picture and use that image file to set the wb instead of the pre set method. If that is the right way to say it.

You can upload a file onto your D70 by connecting it to the computer as if you were going to transfer pictures from your camera to your computer. You can use windows exployer to look at the disk on your computer and copy the file from your computer to your camera.