Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/09/03

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Subject: [Leica] Re:Skin tone - film vs. digital (not a debate)
From: scott at adrenaline.com (Scott McLoughlin)
Date: Sun Sep 3 11:33:09 2006
References: <44FA25D8.3030006@adrenaline.com> <004501c6cefe$b6976cf0$0a01a8c0@MacPhisto> <44FA3B99.6020105@adrenaline.com> <9b678e0609030632l5f48280o454213c10f09b71f@mail.gmail.com>

I'll definitely take a look. Thanks.

Scott

Don Dory wrote:

> Scott,
> I will dare raise the subject again.  For a $100 or so dollars buy an 
> Expo
> Disc and use it for custom white balance.  Use like an incident meter and
> your color will fall where they should.  Well built, easy to use and
> consistant.  You don't have to worry that your white card has gotten 
> grungy
> or bent or isn't the correct shade of white.
>
> Don
> don.dory@gmail.com
>
>
> On 9/2/06, Scott McLoughlin <scott@adrenaline.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Chris,
>>
>> Thanks for going through all the variables I should consider.
>>
>> I've taken one vivid shot, of a rusty lamp on a boat. Dunno
>> why, but that captured the greenish patina where my normal
>> mode didn't.
>>
>> I have the camera setup for Adobe RGB. That should be ok,
>> right?  I don't recalibrate every week, but I also use a Trinitron
>> CRT that I'll calibrate every month or two.
>>
>> Perhaps it is a WB problem.
>>
>> First, generally, I'm a low contrast NPH (now 400H) kind
>> of guy.  And in the next few days I'll dip into my new
>> stash of Sensia.  NPH is more or less made for people
>> pics - popular wedding film, etc.  I wonder if I'm just not
>> going to get that kind of look out of my DSLR "in camera."
>>
>> Second, while I carry around a white card, I don't use it
>> nearly as much as I should (like having dental floss....) I
>> have to have better habits here. I have little excuse, because
>> I'm rarely a quick shooting kind of shooter.
>>
>> Third, now that I think of it, I use my DSLR with flash quite
>> a bit - either an SB800 or especially a pair of Alien Bees 800's.
>> This might present a particular kind of WB problem.
>>
>> But, I'm going to tweak the in camera settings a bit until
>> something good happens or I get bored :-)
>>
>> So, now a question - how to get a good custom WB when
>> using artificial lighting, either with on camera flash (or a flash
>> bracket) or with studio strobes?
>>
>> And a comment. My brother adopted a little black girl, and
>> her skin tones come out just fine. It seems I have a white
>> people skin problem.
>>
>> Again, thanks.
>>
>> Scott
>>
>> Christopher Williams wrote:
>>
>> >Welcome to digital colors. Yes, Nikon and Canon have different color
>> looks.
>> >To me personally Nikon has more of a "film" look. I've shot both 
>> kinds of
>> >cameras and that's just my opinion, means nothing else. Fuji has come
>> close
>> >to great skin tones in their dSLR's but they have never achieved a 
>> great
>> >dSLR camera to use(slow focus, poor VF, bad body build).
>> >
>> >Most dSLR's have 3 color modes. You want to use sRGB or Abode RGB with
>> skin
>> >tones. Using RGB II or III is for landscape colors. Horrors if you have
>> your
>> >D70 or D200 on VIVID!! Shooting in NEF/RAW can keep you from constantly
>> >trying to change color corrections. And do not use Auto WB(I don't care
>> what
>> >camera you have), try using a Custom WB whenever possible - yeah I know
>> it's
>> >bitch sometimes. I usually have a good 2 minutes to do this in a church
>> or
>> >reception hall. Some cameras allow you do store Custom WB modes so you
>> can
>> >save a WB in #1 for a certain church or #2 for a certain reception 
>> hall.
>> >Kind of like having different kinds of film. I'd never shoot Fuji 800
>> Press
>> >for bridal portraits - who wants red skin? But it works very well in 
>> low
>> >light rooms where the skin tones may not matter as much as the overall
>> >feeling of the mood.
>> >There's even the ability to create a Custom Curve in your Nikon with
>> Nikon
>> >Capture. I have this in all my Nikons and believe me it helps later 
>> with
>> >post processing.
>> >
>> >Then there's the fun part of getting skin tones to look correct with 
>> home
>> >printers but that's just like at a lab where they may print with Fuji,
>> Agfa
>> >or Kodak paper.
>> >
>> >My crappy 1 cent anyway.
>> >
>> >Chris
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >----- Original Message -----
>> >From: "Scott McLoughlin"
>> >Subject: [Leica] Skin tone - film vs. digital (not a debate)
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >>I've been shooting with a D70 and now a D200.
>> >>
>> >>I find that skin tones with film have a certain opaque
>> >>quality, and a lean toward beige, that I like. I've never
>> >>personally shot Kodachrome, but as a viewer, I see
>> >>these qualities playing out in force.
>> >>
>> >>By comparison, my DSLRs seem to render skin tones
>> >>with a kind of transparency and pinkness.
>> >>
>> >>So I find myself in color correction mode quite frequently,
>> >>tweaking skin tones toward yellow on the color cube (I use
>> >>PWP).
>> >>
>> >>Any clue as to the causes of this discrepancy? I don't mean
>> >>to start a debate. The DSLR may well be more "true to life"
>> >>for all I know.  But I don't like it.
>> >>
>> >>Might this be a quality unique to Nikon DSLRs?
>> >>
>> >>Even better, any ideas how I might do something in camera
>> >>so that I'm not goofing with color correction all the time?
>> >>
>> >>Thanks.
>> >>
>> >>Scott
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >_______________________________________________
>> >Leica Users Group.
>> >See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>> >
>> >
>>
>> -- 
>> Pics @ http://www.adrenaline.com/snaps
>> Leica M6TTL, Bessa R, Nikon FM3a, Nikon D70, Rollei AFM35
>> (Jihad Sigint NSA FBI Patriot Act)
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information


-- 
Pics @ http://www.adrenaline.com/snaps
Leica M6TTL, Bessa R, Nikon FM3a, Nikon D70, Rollei AFM35
(Jihad Sigint NSA FBI Patriot Act)



In reply to: Message from scott at adrenaline.com (Scott McLoughlin) ([Leica] Skin tone - film vs. digital (not a debate))
Message from leicachris at worldnet.att.net (Christopher Williams) ([Leica] Re:Skin tone - film vs. digital (not a debate))
Message from scott at adrenaline.com (Scott McLoughlin) ([Leica] Re:Skin tone - film vs. digital (not a debate))
Message from don.dory at gmail.com (Don Dory) ([Leica] Re:Skin tone - film vs. digital (not a debate))