# Nikon D70s with18-70 DX vs Canon A550



## Test_Engineer (Sep 11, 2004)

Sharpening: +2 
Tone comp.: Auto 
Color mode: IIIa (sRGB) 
Saturation: Enhanced 
Hue adjustment: 0 

WB: Auto -3 
EV: + 0.3

Try it again and report back.... I bet $10 you will be happier with the results!


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## BahnBaum (Feb 25, 2004)

Test_Engineer said:


> I bet $10 you will be happier with the results!


I'll take that bet.

Alex


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## BLT (Jan 30, 2006)

Dave 330i said:


> I don't see why you're so uptight about defending my finding. The Nikon D70s was just a very surprising camera to me. The image I take should be what the eyes see, not what I need to post process to get what I want to see. If the camera was advertised and reviewed that way I would have said, take it back.


Try using a polarizing filter and pay more attention to your white balance settings.


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## EdCT (Mar 14, 2002)

Let's try the sledgehammer approach:

* DAVE YOU NEED TO CHANGE THE IN-CAMERA SETTINGS AS PER TEST ENGINEER'S ADVICE.

ALSO, YOU NEED TO TAKE IT OUT OF AUTO MODE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE*

Ed


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## BahnBaum (Feb 25, 2004)

EdCT said:


> Let's try the sledgehammer approach


I'll bet you $10 that doesn't work.



Alex


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## Test_Engineer (Sep 11, 2004)

BahnBaum said:


> I'll take that bet.
> 
> Alex


It might not look better to you and I, but for someone who is comparing a P&S to a DSLR, it will.


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## Dave 330i (Jan 4, 2002)

Test_Engineer said:


> Sharpening: +2
> Tone comp.: Auto
> Color mode: IIIa (sRGB)
> Saturation: Enhanced
> ...


:rofl: I'll try that prescription. I seem to get "preferred" results with the cheapo 70-300 G lens than I do with the 18-70 G ED lens.


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## Test_Engineer (Sep 11, 2004)

Dave 330i said:


> :rofl: I'll try that prescription. I seem to get "preferred" results with the cheapo 70-300 G lens than I do with the 18-70 G ED lens.


That 18-70 is a great lens. WAY better than the cheap 70-300. :dunno:


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## Boile (Jul 5, 2005)

Dave 330i said:


> I don't want to beat the bland and neutral color issue to death. What sold me on the 70s was the 29 page comparison to the Canon Rebel XT a while back. I was sold on the D70s as it was the favorite of the reviewers. Nowhere did I see that post image processing was somthing one has to deal with. Wasn't there a situation in which a free lance British photographer post processed a picture of the war in Iraq that got him fired?
> 
> Those who think the PS cameras tend to saturate and brighten up the images are wrong. That's what the eyes see, and that's what should be recorded in the images.


The problem is... everybody's eyes see differently.
So DSLRs typically set their default in-camera processing more conservatively (due to reasons Cliff mentioned) and P&S cameras go wilder because most consumers get more impressed with the bang, even though it may not be that realistic.
I took your Nikon pic and gave it to Picassa (a free download  ) and just by pushing the "I feel lucky" button I got something similar to your Canon pic.
I then bumped up saturation and sharpness a bit and this is the result.
Not everybody will like it the same. Personal preference.
The key is image quality. Zoom in those pictures all the way to 400% for example (or do a significant crop, like to isolate one bush or the fence), and tell me which one is better looking. I can't do that with the pics you posted because they've been too compressed. Use the originals for that test.


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## Dave 330i (Jan 4, 2002)

Boile said:


> The problem is... everybody's eyes see differently.
> So DSLRs typically set their default in-camera processing more conservatively (due to reasons Cliff mentioned) and P&S cameras go wilder because most consumers get more impressed with the bang, even though it may not be that realistic.
> I took your Nikon pic and gave it to Picassa (a free download  ) and just by pushing the "I feel lucky" button I got something similar to your Canon pic.
> I then bumped up saturation and sharpness a bit and this is the result.
> ...


Yea, as if I do that every day.  JK


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## SeanC (May 12, 2007)

personally, I like the Nikon picture better. IMO Canon overdid what it was trying to do..


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## Test_Engineer (Sep 11, 2004)

DSLR's are set at a pretty conservative color mode as a default. MOST people who are using a DSLR are shooting in RAW, so this is not affected and can be changed afterward. Just to give you an example of the difference, here are three different color modes from a D70:

Ia (sRGB) (more natural skin tones, good for portraits)









II (Adobe RGB) (doesn't display correctly in a web browser...unless you have a Mac)









IIIa (sRGB) (enhanced blue and green channels, good for landscape)









See the difference?

If you can't, go near the bottom of this page and mouse over the tabs:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond70/page11.asp


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## Test_Engineer (Sep 11, 2004)

cngzsn said:


> personally, I like the Nikon picture better. IMO Canon overdid what it was trying to do..


P&S camera's tend to push Blue and greens to make them look brighter and more vivd, the same strategy is used for HDTVs. The P&S also tend to over do it on the saturation and sharpening. DSLRs are more conservative.


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## ___lk___ (Dec 21, 2001)

Dave 330i said:


> Why does the Nikkor 18-70 DX lens picture came out so plain, while the Canon A550 P/S seems more brilliant?


both cameras look to be functioning perfectly as designed.

SLR's are designed to meter to 50% grey at +0 EV. the driveway is probably white in real life, but w/o exposure comp in a scene that's a combination of light and dark scenery, it's your job to compensate with EV. that's what it's there for. that scene is a pretty tough combination.

the canon looks like it's doing something more optimized for it's target audience: punch up highlights and color saturation, and favor blowing out highlights to a potential drab-looking frame.

SLR's require more pilot input to perform at their best. either with in-camera settings at the time you take the photo, or in post-processing where you have even more control.

the nikon shot has more potential. the canon is what it is, straight out of the camera.


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## Dave 330i (Jan 4, 2002)

I'm glad I got so many smart photographers here.  The Canon looks more like what my eyes see, especially the concrete driveway and the sky.


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## EdCT (Mar 14, 2002)

Dave 330i said:


> I'm glad I got so many smart photographers here.  The Canon looks more like what my eyes see, especially the concrete driveway and the sky.


Did you try the settings test engineer recommended - all of which will take you about three and a half seconds to implement in your D70s via its menu button?

Or are you just continuing to wait for validation, which you're not going to get from so many "smart" (and capable) photographers?

Ed


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## Boile (Jul 5, 2005)

EdCT said:


> Did you try the settings test engineer recommended - all of which will take you about three and a half seconds to implement in your D70s via its menu button?


But it will take him 3 days to find those settings in the menu.
He needs to read the manual first. :rofl:


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## Dave 330i (Jan 4, 2002)

OK, time to lock this thread. I'm selling the camera on eBay.


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## BahnBaum (Feb 25, 2004)

Test_Engineer said:


> It might not look better to you and I, but for someone who is comparing a P&S to a DSLR, it will.


I was completely agreeing with you. I was also sure that he wouldn't even try it.

So you owe me $10. 

Alex


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## Dave 330i (Jan 4, 2002)

BahnBaum said:


> I was completely agreeing with you. I was also sure that he wouldn't even try it.
> 
> So you owe me $10.
> 
> Alex


Done  You owe test_engineer some money.
not a very sharp pic, but I wasn't going to waste time taking it again.


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