[Flugelbinder]

I've been trying to find some opinions on Lightroom values/settings for the K-5(II), but can't seem to find any. Some poster said he bumps the clarity slider up to 43... That's more than 3 times what I used to use on the Nikons!?!
I have done that in one of my (still test) images and it really worked rather well, to my surprise, where the Nikon would start to deteriorate well before those values were reached.
Being a complete newbie to Pentax, I ask for your help.
Are there any more "tricks" you can share?
I always bump the contrast to 10/15. I saw some saying they go up to 50... Someone mentioned sharpening up to 85... A little help, please?

[FantasticMrFox]

I don't think that such general settings make any sense at all, at least if you want to get the best out of your image. I'd never bump up the clarity that much in general, just in very singular cases (strong, contrasty BW conversion). Similarly, some images need more contrast, some less. There is no general recommendation, not even for the same camera.

[Miguel]

Agree highly with above post. I mostly base my Lightroom and any other post-processing application settings upon the actual image and its associated characteristics. The only general settings I've applied camera-model wide tend to be camera calibration profiles. I also have a fairly high default NR setting for Canon 7D files as they are just noisy.

M

[DeadJohn]

I never found an all-purpose default for my DNG files from any camera because I like different looks for different subjects. That's not a K-5 issue and I feel the same way about raw files from other brands. Note that it would be too time consuming to carefully process every photo, so I review my images, give the promising ones a one-star rating, then go back and process only the promising ones. If I like the final result then I rerate as two+ stars.

Here are some common settings I use with my K-5 in Lightroom 4:

Shadows: I frequently boost the Shadow slider. Many of my photos are taken in NYC, where sunny days cause some buildings to be brightly lit while other buildings are in heavy shadow. This gives too much contrast for my eye, so I boost the shadows as needed. I think this looks better than turning down the contrast.

Sharpening: The K-5 has a strong AA filter. The default sharpening of 25 is okay, but if I crop heavily I often increase the default sharpening to 50, then adjust masking and noise reduction to control sharpening artifacts.

Clarity: I like the look of a little clarity but too much IMO ruins photos. Maybe 60% of my keepers get 0 clarity, 30% get 20 clarity, and 10% get higher levels. Clarity is very subjective and needs to be watched because of it interacts with perceived sharpness and contrast; as I increase the clarity slider I often back off on the sharpening and contrast sliders.

Copy & Paste Settings: If I have a group of photos of the same subject in similar lighting, I'll carefully process one then copy those settings to the other photos. This is like creating a temporary default. I finish by reviewing each photo and tweaking the settings for individual photos if needed.

[Parallax]

There can't be a "one for all" setting or group of settings. As an example, take a picture of whatever scene you like, find the settings that make it look just the way you want it to and save them. Now take the same picture again under different conditions. If the first was a sunny day, do it again when it's overcast, or partly cloudy, and apply the same settings as the original. Another example would be to take two pictures of the same scene indoors. One ambient light and one flash. They would look quite different if the settings for one were applied to the other. Different lenses will require different settings for contrast, sharpening, and even WB.

[Flugelbinder]

Thank you DeadJohn, that's the kind of 'objectiveness' I was looking for. Obviously different images, taken under different conditions, will get different treatment, but I'm looking for a kind of "what-to-do and what-not-to-do" considerations.
Again, thank you for your input.

Parallax, I'm referring more to sharpening and clarity, something in the "how-much-is-too-much" area...

Kind regards.

[Parallax]

I'm looking for a kind of "what-to-do and what-not-to-do" considerations.

I have seen more pictures ruined by over sharpening than by any other PP mistake.

[narual]

My default import simply applies lens corrections and sets the color profile to 'embedded'.

I do have a preset I typically apply before I try anything else, with most subjects: highlights -60, shadows +60, whites + 20, blacks -20, sharpening 60 radius 2.7 detail 25 masking 85; luminance noise reduction 30/50/30; color noise reduction 25/50/50.

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Usually I tweak things further.

You should probably avoid the clarity slider if you plan to print the images. At least in my experience it looks OK on screen but makes for ugly prints.

One thing to be aware of -- if you hold down the alt button while using sliders in lightroom, several of them will modify the image to make it easier to see what you're doing. Sharpening and assorted noise reduction sliders make the image greyscale, masking turns on a pure black and white mask, radius and detail convert it to a flat grey embossed image. And you can change the color of the overlay for local effects (and toggle the overlay with the o button) -- finding that made my life much easier -- being able to change to another color when the thing you're trying to modify is a close color to the color of your mask.

[Flugelbinder]

My default import simply applies lens corrections and sets the color profile to 'embedded'.

I do have a preset I typically apply before I try anything else, with most subjects: highlights -60, shadows +60, whites + 20, blacks -20, sharpening 60 radius 2.7 detail 25 masking 85; luminance noise reduction 30/50/30; color noise reduction 25/50/50.

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Usually I tweak things further.

You should probably avoid the clarity slider if you plan to print the images. At least in my experience it looks OK on screen but makes for ugly prints.

One thing to be aware of --* if you hold down the alt button while using sliders in lightroom, several of them will modify the image to make it easier to see what you're doing. Sharpening and assorted noise reduction sliders make the image greyscale, masking turns on a pure black and white mask, radius and detail convert it to a flat grey embossed image. And you can change the color of the overlay for local effects (and toggle the overlay with the o button) -- finding that made my life much easier -- being able to change to another color when the thing you're trying to modify is a close color to the color of your mask.

Thank you. Will give it a go. I understand that further tweaking is almost a given, but I would like a solid base to begin with, that's all...

*I am aware of this, and is indeed pretty useful.

[Just1MoreDave]

You might want to start with the camera profile. I used to really like the Embedded profile that can be chosen with DNGs. Then I found out it was making reds look bad. I switched to Adobe Standard and that fixed the red problem.

LR uses 25 as a default sharpening number for all cameras. I figure that has to be wrong - no way my *ist DS needs the same number as my K-5 IIs.

I like boosting shadows now but I think I might be going overboard, just because my previous camera did not allow that.

The sensor seems fairly consistent with the noise reduction required. I think LR has the ability to automatically apply a set of noise reduction settings based on each shot's ISO. I have considered doing that since I seem to always put in the same numbers.

[Digitalis]

As always with image processing - make the images that you like and process them the way you like.

Image processing is an important part of artistic development.

Some poster said he bumps the clarity slider up to 43

That doesn't mean you have to.

I always bump the contrast to 10/15. I saw some saying they go up to 50... Someone mentioned sharpening up to 85

Again, this is highly dependent upon the image, and how the individual thinks its content would best be presented.

Personally, I use sharpening: 55 Detail:55 masking: 0 - that is the most aggressive setting I use, and on a Pentax K5IIs aggressive sharpening is largely redundant when you use Professional grade lenses like I do. White balance, Contrast,Saturation,Clarity, Highlight control, Shadows and the black point compensation are all image parameters that come down to taste, find what works for you.




Pentax K5IIs - SMCP-K 50mm f/1.2@ f/1.2 ISO 800 1/30th

[Flugelbinder]

Thank you Just1MoreDave & Digitalis.
It's obvious that post processing is a matter of personal taste. I'm only asking so that I have a general idea of where to start from, and where not to go. I did find some of the values a little over-board, like the 85 for sharpening, or the contrast up to 50 (which I might, if it's a b&w conversion). I just want to have a 'feel' for what it is being done with the K-5's files, have a rough idea of what's (more) common for some sliders, and work from there. I haven't had a real chance of playing with them (files) much yet. So far, I've been trying to understand the camera's quirks - especially the af department - but now that that's done, and I (and the wife) have already been 'wowed' by the images it can deliver, it's time to start shooting (and post-processing) in a more 'serious' way.

[Flugelbinder]

Thank you.
I'm aware of Serge's videos - even got his package some time ago. I guess my question is: can the same basics apply to all Bayer array sensors?

[emalvick]

Keep in mind that Sharpening is not just one slider. Specifically the amount of sharpening and radius go hand-in-hand. It's really worth googling around to understand how the two sliders work together.

I find radius is an important slider that affects how much sharpening you can get away with. But what's right in terms of radius depends on the image resolution and even the lens. Playing with the radius slider while holding down the "alt" key can show you what is affected.

[Homo_erectus]

The only Lightroom setting I apply to *every* image is lens profile and even that I sometimes turn off later.

Each image is it's own and must be worked with based on its strengths and weaknesses.