[Thumbster21]

Just wondering what settings other people are using and why.

I've had my K20 for about a year now and recently switched to the portrait mode from natural. I think that it brings out the colors and skin tones a little better when taking pictures with people in the photos.

The natural setting colors look a little washed out by comparison.

Soooo..i was just curious what settings were better (I realize a LOT of it is subjective) for what situation and why you think so.

Thanks

[Ahab]

You must have a more recent model of the K20 as mine does not have a portrait mode. Your operating manual will tell you how to change settings for image enhancement of JPEGS.

[paperbag846]

Just wondering what settings other people are using and why.

I've had my K20 for about a year now and recently switched to the portrait mode from natural. I think that it brings out the colors and skin tones a little better when taking pictures with people in the photos.

The natural setting colors look a little washed out by comparison.

Soooo..i was just curious what settings were better (I realize a LOT of it is subjective) for what situation and why you think so.

Thanks

I hate having to set these things before a situation presents itself, so I shoot RAW. Then, you don't have to worry about white balance or any of those image settings... they can all be tweaked after the fact to make every image optimal for your vision.

If I had to select one, though, It would be natural, tweaked with contrast +1 and sharpness +1.

But I don't like things to be too sharp or saturated. It's such a personal thing, that I'm not sure that this will really help you.

[mel]

You must have a more recent model of the K20 as mine does not have a portrait mode. Your operating manual will tell you how to change settings for image enhancement of JPEGS.

Yes it does. Kind of. If you set your camera to jpeg, hit menu, fn, then the okay button, you get the custom image menu that gives you the option to set your jpeg output to bright, natural, portait, landscape, vibrant or monochrome. And you can tweak each of them to your liking.

However, I shoot raw 99.999% of the time so I don't use these. They're kinda fun to play with though.

[Parallax]

There is absolutely nothing that the in-camera processing of jpeg does that you can't do in PP of a raw file. I would suggest that you set your output format to DNG (or .pef if for some reason you prefer) and forget that the settings for for jpeg output even exist.

[Thumbster21]

Hey thanks for the replies.

But......I was wondering...when shooting JPEG what settings do people use with their camera and why.

I was shooting raw almost exclusively when I first got the camera. It was fun for a while playing with the pictures in PP (I've got PhotoShop Elements) but for me, I have found that the vast majority of my pictures (mostly snapshots) are just as easy to process in camera so I have switched to JPEG. I can still darken highlights, ,lighten shadows and adjust color enough for me. I still occassionally hit the RAW button if need be. I rarely print anything and if I do it is not bigger than a 5x7.

I have also found that some things can't read a RAW file, like some digital picture frames etc. and I like being able to shoot JPEG, take the card out of my camera and plug it directly into the frame for download.

I guess what I am asking, without this turning into a "RAW vs. JPEG" thread is...If and when you do shoot JPEG what settings do you prefer for what situation and why.

Like I said i started out with RAW for a long time then went to JPG using the natural setting with a +1 on sharpness. I decided to try portrait with +1 on sharpness the other day and found the colors more to my liking for people pictures, and it may be my imagination, but it seemed to lighten the shadows a bit also.

Thanks again

[Daveinozbikes]

It"s hard to relate settings as we all have different tastes in the end result but try reducing the contrast a couple of clicks on each one. Works for me and seems to give me more DR. I also warm the vivid and natural one click.

[Parallax]

Hey thanks for the replies.

But......I was wondering...when shooting JPEG what settings do people use with their camera and why.

Well that's different then.

The smart-ass answer: The ideal setting is the one that gives the results that YOU like the best.

The serious answer: The ideal setting is the one that gives the results that YOU like the best. I think I understand the reason for the question; in that you want to know if your tastes are in line with others'.(?) Either that, or you run into the same issue that I do; you cant decide which looks better to you. I think it might make an interesting thread in the Photo Critique forum to post some pictures straight from the camera, same scenes, different settings, and see what others say.

[Ahab]

Yes it does. Kind of. If you set your camera to jpeg, hit menu, fn, then the okay button, you get the custom image menu that gives you the option to set your jpeg output to bright, natural, portait, landscape, vibrant or monochrome. And you can tweak each of them to your liking.

However, I shoot raw 99.999% of the time so I don't use these. They're kinda fun to play with though.

It's not a mode. It's a digital filter.

[audiobomber]

It's not a mode. It's a digital filter.

Actually it's an Image Tone; a standard set of contrast, saturation and sharpness values.

[audiobomber]

I shoot in DNG raw, but I set the camera for Portrait image tone. I adjust from there as necessary in DCU4. When I convert in DCU4, the image tone is implemented in the jpeg. I find Natural too bland and Bright too punchy for general use. I tried Portrait with +1 sharpness, but I preferred it set for the default. I often convert to Landscape for nature photos.

[nanhi]

I have done a lot of research on the Custom Image and practical experiments with all kinds of different shooting types and styles. Also researched the internet. So here it is in a nutshell.
a) Bright is best - reason why Pentax chooses this as default.
b) I set Hue to "0", Saturation to -1, Contrast to +2, Sharpness to +3 Fine - for shots with People. And never use ISO higher than 400. No DR.
A Japanese website recommends Sharpness all the way up to +4 with Contrast set to +3.
c)for landscapes, I use custom Image "Landscape", with Hue 0, Saturation +1, Contrast +3, Sharpness +4. And never use ISO higher than 200. No DR.
I retain b) above for most of my outdoor/street photography.
Note: I use older full frame lenses which benefit from these settings especially Contrast - bumped to +4 at times for some lenses, but Saturation never greater than "0".
Hope this is of some help. I get great shots with my K20D with these settings and so will you. If you wish to experiment do play around the default Bright setting with a fixed subject and lighting condition. Pose a person in some of the test shots. I found a house with bare red brick walls, wrought iron trellis work with lots of flowers every where.

[zekewhipper]

I have yet to start doing all the experimenting I want to do with the Custom Image options, but for now I do have...

...Sharpness set to Sharpness (as opposed to Fine Sharpness) +3 for every tone except Portrait.

...b&w / Monochrome with the Contrast set at -2 and Toning at -1.

[RioRico]

Yes, all personal preference, as defaults. On the K20D I virtually always shoot RAW now, with the JPG settings to Vibrant, or filtered B&W, as desired. These settings carry over as defaults in RAW development, where I always adjust WB and usually pump the contrast, saturation, sharpness, etc. The JPG settings just give a baseline, which can easily be ignored as desired. Every image from all my digicams goes in for shooping anyway. This is all just data, to be manipulated to create the image I want. Like money, all data are fungible.

[ChrisJ]

I regard my camera as a data recorder, I shoot Raw as that holds on to all the data captured. I use PEF as DNG is not a compression format, PEF files are around 30% smaller, DNG is handy if you have an older version of Photoshop though.

Chris