[Blokko]

Hi


This is my first post on this forum. Yesterday I decided it would be a great idea to continue my familarisation with my new K3II by taking few photos in the snow (and to check out the weather resistance of the body with pancake lens (40mm DA Ltd)).


The pics in the cemetery in this album look plain odd - as if the tombstones weren't in the original picture and have been crudely Photoshopped in as a post process. Not sure if this effect is as a result of the extreme contrast of the subject matter, my dodgy / lack of technique or camera settings. Your thoughts on this matter would be much appreciated.


The effect can be seen on the jpg's off the camera as well as on the RAW file prior to any processing.


Here is the histogram





And the exif....


create 2017-02-13T23:17:08+00:00
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DateTime 2017:02:12 18:05:09
DateTimeDigitized 2017:02:12 15:51:18
DateTimeOriginal 2017:02:12 15:51:18
ExifImageLength 1277
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GPSMapDatum WGS-84
GPSMeasureMode 3
GPSProcessingMethod 65, 83, 67, 73, 73, 0, 0, 0, 71, 80, 83
GPSSatellites 09
GPSSpeed 3/100
GPSSpeedRef K
GPSStatus A
GPSTimeStamp 20/1, 51/1, 13/1
GPSTrack 29215/100
GPSTrackRef T
GPSVersionID 2, 3, 0, 0
ISOSpeedRatings 160
JPEGInterchangeFormat 1246
JPEGInterchangeFormatLength 8415
Make RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD.
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modify 2017-02-13T23:17:08+00:00
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ColorSpace 1
Compression 6
Contrast 2
CustomRendered 0
DateTime 2017:02:12 18:05:09
DateTimeDigitized 2017:02:12 15:51:18
DateTimeOriginal 2017:02:12 15:51:18
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GPSDateStamp 2017:02:12
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GPSTrack 29215/100
GPSTrackRef T
GPSVersionID 2, 3, 0, 0
ISOSpeedRatings 160
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JPEGInterchangeFormatLength 8415
Make RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD.
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[tvdtvdtvd]

I would say those look like rather nicely exposed shots. The 'pop' to the tombstones has much to do with the low contrast
background. The distance between camera and tombstones has little fallen snow between = high(er) contrast. You're looking
through much more falling snow towards the buildings in the background = low contrast. And the sky has no contrast.

It also looks like you're shooting auto whitebalance, thus the hue change in the shots with benches and street signs.

[C_Jones]

The f stop you used does not really give that much depth of field for the type of shot you are doing.. Also, the 1 50th of a second shutter speed may not be fast enough to avoid blur from camera movement if in case you were shooting handheld. Settings such as an f10 aperture and 1/125 shutter speed might have contributed to a more detailed/focused image in cases where you were not satisfied. Most of the images look for the most part well done.

[Adam]

Could be related to the gallery page- it loads a smaller thumbnail before showing the full image.

[C_Jones]

As was said the posted images may lose quality through processing. The best place to examine images is on the computer that contains the originals.

---------- Post added 02-13-17 at 08:04 PM ----------

I have the K-3II. It is capable of excellent images.

[RGlasel]

it would be a great idea to continue my familarisation with my new K3II by taking few photos in the snow (and to check out the weather resistance of the body with pancake lens (40mm DA Ltd)).

It was a great idea, I haven't found settings that I'm happy with for photographing falling snow or capturing the the physical volume (fluffiness?) of fresh snow, I think you did fine, especially considering you were experimenting. I'm surprised no one has mentioned that the DA 40 Ltd. isn't WR rated, so your body isn't, either. As long as you don't get condensation inside the camera I don't think you did anything wrong. Winter in Canada and Jamaica in July are the only times I've had problems with condensation when I've changed lenses.

[Blokko]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm pretty sure that it is not the gallery page or post-processing that is causing the issue here. The same effect can be seen by looking at the off-camera JPG and the camera RAW interface prior to editing the image in PhotoShop Elements 11.

[Blokko]

Yikes!!! That was a bad assumption on my part then - I'd some how come to believe that the Limited lenses had at least a degree of WR!

I decided that I wasn't going to change lens on the session and I had the lens tucked inside my jacket when not in use, so hopefully I've got away with that one.

[UncleVanya]

In the small size visible on my phone I can't see the problem.

[stevebrot]

The photos look pretty good to me, but I grabbed the first cemetery photo (IMGP0137.jpg) and took a look at the Elements 11 XMP. These adjustments applied using ACR are a likely cause of the unique appearance:

Code:

Exposure 2012                   : +0.15
Contrast 2012                   : +38
Highlights 2012                 : -100
Shadows 2012                    : +100
Whites 2012                     : +64
Blacks 2012                     : -53

Adjustments of this magnitude and conflicting direction are a common recipe for artifact. The histogram reflects those edits and hints that the original was underexposed by about 1 stop. That would not be unusual for a low contrast snowy scene like this where even the best metering systems are easily misled. (The meter does not know whether we are looking at gray sand or white snow.)


Steve

[southlander]

Yes, I would have to agree that's some extreme and opposing post processing slider pulling!

The poor file's not sure if its coming or going!

I'd start again with a clearer view of what needs doing. As someone says, snow tends to underexposure, so first pull up the exposure til the histogram is broadly centred, then use the black and white sliders to elongate the histogram out to near the left and right histogram borders. This will add some contrast. But remember it will be a low contrast scene if it is snowing so final image needs to broadly reflect that so don't try too hard to boost contrast that just wasn't there. Might just need some +ve clarity to make the mid-range tones more distinct.

Hard to tell from an Internet image but I also wonder whether the sharpening is overaggressive? That will also overemphasis the harder edges which in the tombstone image comprises the tombstones and little else.

Please don't take this as being critical in a bad way. I have my own share of difficult images that I tug and pull about thinking I did ok, but then look at them again a couple of days later and wonder what possessed me. I generally reset all the settings and start again once I've had a think about what it is I've overdone.

[kjg48359]

These look ok to me as well, both lighting and the snow contribute to the grey look. In general rule of thumb, back in the old days (film), I'd use 2 stops correction. I would have at least tried 1 to 2 stops exposure compensation as well today. I'd also do a sequence of exposure shots just to get an idea of how sensitive the sensor is. But I think all of it is also easily handled post processing (did you save RAW files, or only JPG)?

I recently did capture a few pictures in the snow, but it was at night so the lighting is totally different...
[/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/PmYZtd]IMGP7667-Edit[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/108915392@N04/]Kevin Gorman[/url], on Flickr" target="_blank">

Proof I think is the shot of the fire house.

[stevebrot]

Hard to tell from an Internet image but I also wonder whether the sharpening is overaggressive?

There was no evidence in the XMP of any additional sharpening beyond the default done by ACR.


Steve

[Blokko]

Please don't take this as being critical in a bad way.

Not at all - I value the feedback. I have to say that I'm no expert when it comes to playing around with the sliders when processing a RAW image. I have a couple of books that could probably help me to do this manipulation more scientifically rather than just playing around with the sliders 'by eye'. Unfortunately they are in storage in the UK, so not so easily accessible :-) My default option is to push the highlight and shadow compensation in opposite directions - maybe I need to be a bit more refined in this technique?? I'm sure there will be something on YouTube to show me the proper procedure for doing this...

Below is the RAW image with absolutely no post processing. Still seems to exhibit the 'popping' effect, but maybe it is not so pronounced as when I've played around with the image.

[RGlasel]

Still seems to exhibit the 'popping' effect

We probably should have asked you for more details as to the difference in this image and what you actually saw when you were there. The texture on the headstones in the foreground is more distinct than those in the background, there is a considerable distance between them and at f4.5, your depth of field is still relatively shallow (assuming I'm correctly interpreting the "popping" you find unnatural). If snow was falling at the time, it will introduce what looks like blurring in the background, while snowflakes are not noticeable at all in the foreground. Also, I would characterize the DA 40 Ltd. as producing a somewhat quirky bokeh, not creamy like longer focal lengths but still isolating and blurring the background unlike a wide angle lens. Or I've completely misunderstood what you mean.