Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
12-27-2012, 01:09 PM   #16
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
LaurenOE's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Back in Florida, but worldwide gigs!
Photos: Albums
Posts: 3,690
Let me put the bottom image another way...

Because the image is so good, I can find the exact location you took the image from.

Your front porch.

I could not have pinpointed the location with the Nikon.



12-27-2012, 01:19 PM   #17
klh
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
klh's Avatar

Join Date: May 2009
Location: West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
Posts: 827
QuoteOriginally posted by rlg118 Quote
The Pentax photo is darker and redder, and the Nikon photo's colors are much more accurate. The little Nikon wins this one, hands down.
I have to agree with others here, the Pentax shot is much, much better. In fact, the Pentax colors are actually more accurate. You're remembering the scene the way your brain saw it, but in actuality, the sodium vapor lights give off orange light, and the true scene was more like the Pentax shot. Our brains are good at adjusting white balance automatically so that we hardly notice. As others said, you can adjust the color balance on the camera or on your computer to adjust it more to your liking.

Keep practicing, and that voice will certainly go away.
12-27-2012, 01:19 PM - 1 Like   #18
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Flyover America
Posts: 4,469
QuoteOriginally posted by elliott Quote
better cameras don't necessarily GIVE you a better picture, they ALLOW you to make a better picture.
I handled it as if it was my picture - desaturated the orange and yellow it's basically a bw shot anyway.
It's the way I "see" a blizzard in the middle of the night - different strokes for different folks.

Last edited by wildman; 01-19-2013 at 07:34 PM.
12-27-2012, 01:23 PM   #19
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
THoog's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: North Carolina
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,685
QuoteOriginally posted by wildman Quote
I handled it as if it was my picture - desaturated the orange and yellow it's basically a bw shot anyway.
Yep, that's exactly what I would have done. Only not as well.

12-27-2012, 02:09 PM   #20
Veteran Member
aleonx3's Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Brampton, Ontario
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,996
As others have pointed out the obvious, after seeing this comparison, I would have trashed the P&S and probably will never touch it again - the shot from the P&S is lifeless.
12-27-2012, 03:05 PM   #21
Forum Member




Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Santa Barbara
Photos: Albums
Posts: 60
The only disappointing about your post is you didn't recognize what's good and than the muddy take from Coolpix. Give your self a chance to learn your DSLR and soon you'll give your junky P&S to someone you don't like .
12-27-2012, 03:17 PM   #22
Veteran Member




Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Perrineville, NJ
Posts: 1,375
In addition to what others have said ...

The Nikon might have chosen a white balance more correctly this time, but under mixed lighting (maybe an evening street scene where there are a combination of sodium vapor, florescent, mercury vapor, incandescent lights, and/or some twilight at dusk or dawn), this will confound all cameras, including the Nikon. Give it a try and you will see what I/we mean. Our brains are wired to ignore the color differences even when they are all right in front of us. Then when you look at a photo you just took of the same scene, you'll realize how different the white balance really is.

Not sure about the K110D, but the K-5 has a menu setting which allows you to adjust the amount of correction for incandescent light (either normal or strong correction). So while others have suggested that post-processing might be the only way to get exactly what you want (and have demonstrated this wonderfully), I think you probably can get there, just by tweaking your in-camera settings. Depends on how much control of white balance the K110D offers, I just don't know.

Sorry you are getting an earful from us by the time you get home from work and check in with PF, but that's what we do.

12-27-2012, 04:03 PM   #23
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
jatrax's Avatar

Join Date: May 2010
Location: Washington Cascades
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 12,991
As someone noted above a dslr does not 'give' you better pictures, it gives the opportunity to 'make' a better picture. There is a learning curve.

When I first bought my k-x I was coming from a P&S camera and my reaction after a week was just about the same as yours. "I just spent $1,000 and my $150 P&S takes better pictures, what a waste." But I stuck with it and learned how to use the camera and started along the journey to being a photographer.

As others above have ably shown, you took a pretty darn good image. It just needed a little TLC to bring it out. Whether those tweaks are done in camera or with post processing software you will need to both understand more about light and photography and to get your gear properly tuned up.

I think it needs cropped to get rid of the porch post, but outside of that it has a compelling interest.
12-27-2012, 04:50 PM   #24
Pentaxian
Sagitta's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Maine
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 3,081
The bottom is much better - the crazy redness is due to the sodium lights which will always, ALWAYS do that. The workaround is to either set a custom white balance in-camera or correct in post process. Add in the fact its a snow scene and it gets all the more difficult for the camera to figure out what it is you want to do with the shot since everything is basically an expanse of white.

As others have mentioned, the point and shoot is set to think for you, which limits what you can do after the fact. You basically have one shot to get it right and thats mostly it, where with a DSLR (especially when shooting RAW) you have many more options for you.
12-27-2012, 04:53 PM   #25
Veteran Member
Docrwm's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Somewhere in the Southern US
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 12,285
QuoteOriginally posted by wildman Quote
I handled it as if it was my picture - desaturated the orange and yellow it's basically a bw shot anyway.
It's the way I "see" a blizzard in the middle of the night - different strokes for different folks.
Nice work but the red light is now a muddy orange-yellow. Regardless of what anyone does with the color balance on this one, the image itself is so much more detailed and clear that we can quibble about the colors a wee bit and still know that the basic image is outstanding. Would have liked to have seen the Exif data on that one.
12-27-2012, 05:45 PM   #26
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Flyover America
Posts: 4,469
QuoteOriginally posted by rlg118 Quote
Why the @#$! did you bother buying the Pentax?
A good question - what were your expectations in buying a DSLR over the PS in the first place?

In my opinion both shots show a lack of understanding of basic principles of photography PS or not.
Both cameras could have done better than they did.

There is no conflict between them. They are different tools for different purposes.
I have both a Canon S95, about 1/3 the size of your Nikon, and a K5. Without one or the other I would consider my kit incomplete.
They are no more comparable than trying to compare a tractor to a family sedan.

Your results from both cameras is totally predictable. A low light shot under multiple dissimilar light sources is about as difficult as it gets.
With more experience you would have known up front that such a shot would require extensive post processing to make it right.
A camera is just a light machine and like any machine, or photographer for that matter, it has it's limits.

The Pentax will out perform the Nikon in many ways but it's greatest limitation, unlike a PS, is what the photographer brings to it.
A DSLR, unlike a PS, is not an appliance like a toaster but a tool that requires at least a modicum of skill to get much out of it.

Good Luck
12-27-2012, 05:52 PM   #27
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Flyover America
Posts: 4,469
QuoteOriginally posted by Docrwm Quote
the red light is now a muddy orange-yellow.
Yea. Due to the nature of the photo I just concentrated on getting a good tonal range and a clean white. I could have fussed further but You got to pull the chain somewhere.
I was very limited by it being just a low res jpg screen capture - not exactly like working with a RAW file off my K5.

Last edited by wildman; 12-27-2012 at 06:06 PM.
12-27-2012, 06:22 PM - 1 Like   #28
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
timmijo's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Delaware
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 239
Hey there, rlg118.

Let me encourage you. You are an inquisitive, thoughtful photography student to have put two cameras side by side, stabilized on a porch railing. That is like using a makeshift tripod, which is an invaluable tool for all photographers.

Then to have been brave enough to experiment in the cold is another plus.
And then to "see" with your artistic eye, the snow-covered street scene as viewed from a residence. What a nice angle.

Please don't be discouraged! As others have noted, you are in that crossroads between relying on a point-and-shoot and making good use of manual photography.
I was in that same place just a few months ago. Oh, it would be so much easier just to go back to my compact cameras... the frustration, the embarrassing moments while you fiddle with your DSLR settings in front of people ... But then, after about a thousand (or two thousand—for me, three thousand) shutter clicks, a funny thing happens: you begin to understand your camera and your lenses. Your lenses take on personality. You appreciate each one in its uniqueness as you would your friends.

Please, stick with your Pentax. You don't need to throw out the Nikon Cool Pix; that camera has its role. But the sensor in your Pentax is what makes the difference. It is what will open up a whole new world for you. Patience and understanding is what is needed at this time. Keep plugging away with ingenious experiments. Read the manual and put sticky notes on the pages that you want to get back to again and again 'til you "get" a particular concept.

Everyone here at the Pentax Forum is rooting for you. Your part is to learn your camera. We can help with any questions you may have.
12-27-2012, 06:47 PM   #29
Veteran Member
Docrwm's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Somewhere in the Southern US
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 12,285
QuoteOriginally posted by wildman Quote
Yea. Due to the nature of the photo I just concentrated on getting a good tonal range and a clean white. I could have fussed further but You got to pull the chain somewhere.
I was very limited by it being just a low res jpg screen capture - not exactly like working with a RAW file off my K5.
No offense intended. Merely wanted to point out that color is both changeable and tough, but when you start with a good sharp image its worth the effort and will be the better photo.
12-27-2012, 07:06 PM   #30
Veteran Member
TOUGEFC's Avatar

Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Brisbane
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 3,561
As others have said, the bottom is better. Its just a matter of correcting the white balance to correct the colour.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
camera, nikon, pentax, pentax help, photography, results, voice
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Disappointing Results- Is it time to upgrade to K5ii ? NeverSatisfied Pentax DSLR Discussion 30 01-02-2013 04:41 PM
Disappointing Discovery krebsy75 Pentax K-01 152 03-30-2012 08:19 AM
my most disappointing thing about Pentax slip Pentax DSLR Discussion 16 01-06-2012 10:22 PM
K10D iso 100 noise - bit disappointing Spock Pentax DSLR Discussion 9 01-07-2011 10:22 AM
Disapointing results with K20D + Infrared jfsavage Pentax DSLR Discussion 23 11-05-2008 03:45 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 12:01 PM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top