Why is Nikon DSLR so complicated?

[Travis Wallace]

I was asked for a photo to be taken with a minimum 300dpi resolution, so I whipped out my 16MP Nikon d5100 set on AUTO and took a photo. First photo taken with Nikkor 18-105 was dark so I switched it for a Nikkor 35/1.8 and it was yellowish. I changed so many parameters/settings in search of a good shot that I gave up and reached for my Canon elph 300hs - the picture was a bit bright but 95-98% perfect, problem is it's just 12MP. What should I do? Photo being taken under 4100k flourescent tubes. Thanks

[jferrari]

What should I do?

Up-rez in Photoshop

[Petrus]

Many points to think about here…

Nikon DSLR is complicated, because there are many things which can be adjusted and/or preset about the pictures, and even more features which (some) people want to adjustable in their cameras, like what each dial and button does. My Nikons must have hundreds of adjustable things in the menu, only maybe a dozen are really important and need to set mostly just once.

Is somebody asks for 300dpi resolution, he/she does not know what he/she is talking about. DPI setting is just a flag in the file which can be changed at will without altering the content of the file at all. Does changing the font size from 10 points to 12 change the content of a Word file? It does not, same thing with the dpi setting. The only thing which matters is the pixel resolution, they should ask for a certain amount of pixels, like at least 16 Mpix etc, not DPIs. Which is sharper and higher resolution, 4 Mpix file at 300 dpi or a 36 Mpix file with 72 dpi?

Then: if the first picture came out too dark, why change the lens? Increase exposure. Either by using exposure compensation with auto exposure, or using manual exposure and checking the histogram.

Lens should not affect the white balance, that must have been tweaked while changing lenses. Use either auto white balance, or choose fluorescent, or 4100 K. There are adjustments for this because it is needed.

Shooting RAW would make this white balance problem disappear, as you could adjust the WB perfectly when converting the RAW file to JPEG. There is never an excuse not to use RAW.

Is having a 12 Mpix file a problem? The client asked for 300 dpi which is easy to set in photoshop for any file, but they did not specify what the real resolution of the file in pixels must be. You could, just for fun (?), down sample your picture to 1 Mpix with 300 dpi and if they complain say it is 300 dpi like they wanted.

[Otto Phocus]

The Nikon may seem more complicated because it appears that you are more familiar and comfortable with the Canon 300h than you were with your Nikon d5100.

[PeterAit]

You do not take a photo at a particular resolution, but you print it at a specific resolution. And your lens has nothing to do with a photo being too dark or light or off-color. When your first shot came out too dark, you should have used the camera's exposure compensation to increase exposure. And if the second photo came out yellow it suggests the white balance was not set properly.

Digital SLRs are complicated because they are so flexible. But to make sense of them you need to know at least the basics of photography. You need to know what exposure compensation is and why you use it before figuring out how to set it on a particular camera. Same for white balance, focus mode, exposure mode, ISO, etc etc etc. Believe me, we all went thru this - no one is born knowing photography. And this forum is a durn good place to learn a lot.

[Travis Wallace]

I am not sure how to convert it to 300dpi, I run Adobe PSE 11 so can someone give me a hint?

Yes the old Canon is great and always on auto to not miss a shot. As a former inspector I saw many strange things that only a quick photo could provide on the fly. I bought $1500 in Nikon gear about 2 years ago as an intro to R-E-A-L Photography but plan on selling gear since I rarely use it, only 1000 shutter actuations in 2 years is not worth lugging around all this equipment. Daylight pictures and bokeh are great, but I rarely stray from my backyard so it's time to let it go.

Can anyone can recommend a small P&S that is a top performer and is dummy proof? My hands shake so I would need something that has excellent VR. Thanks

[hjulenissen]

I am not sure how to convert it to 300dpi, I run Adobe PSE 11 so can someone give me a hint?

Basically, you need to change a string in your image files metadata from something like '72' to '300'. Voila, 300 dpi. This thread seems to have some suggestions:
http://superuser.com/questions/607663/how-to-change-the-dpi-of-an-image

People requesting 300 dpi probably don't know what they are talking about. If they are paying me money, I might do whatever they demand and take their money, if they don't pay me, I'll try to educate them.

-h

[SZRitter]

Basically, you need to change a string in your image files metadata from something like '72' to '300'. Voila, 300 dpi. This thread seems to have some suggestions:
http://superuser.com/questions/607663/how-to-change-the-dpi-of-an-image

People requesting 300 dpi probably don't know what they are talking about. If they are paying me money, I might do whatever they demand and take their money, if they don't pay me, I'll try to educate them.

-h

I would argue, that people asking for 300dpi are more than likely printers or designers. That said, it should be accompanied by a physical image dimension. So 8x10 at 300dpi. This is something I have gotten requested more times than I can count. They know what they are doing, they just don't understand pixels and digital image formats.

To the OP, look up and learn the basic triangle of camera settings: ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture. Once you have a firm grasp on that, most cameras (excluding view cameras) will operate in a similar way.

[Lightsmith]

If you do not want to invest the time to learn how to use the Nikon camera then sell it and go back to a point and shoot camera or a smartphone camera. The gain has to be worth the investment of time and thought and for you it may not be worthwhile.

[TwistedShadow]

How is Nikon anymore complicated than Canon?

They both have white balance, ISO, Aperture, and Shutter speed settings. These settings has to be balance on any camera in order to produce a usable image. The same goes for shooting settings such as Auto, Aperture Priority, Manual, Shutter Speed Priority, and P. Switching glass isn't going to change anything. Now with that said, I would use the 35mm 1.8 over the 18-105mm if possible. The Canon was probably set up right or on auto vs the Nikon being set up wrong. It just takes time and practice.

As mentioned above, DPI can be changed in Post via Photoshop.

[BobShaw]

If you are shooting on AUTO then you can't complain that it doesn't do what you want it to do, because you haven't told it what that is.

If you want to continue with a DSLR then I suggest you do some training, starting by reading the manual at least twice. These things are not toasters.

Is Nikon more complicated than Canon? Possibly. It has been my experience at workshops that the Nikon users need more help to set things than the Canon users. The Canons have separate buttons for most controls, whereas the Nikon makes more use of menus. I prefer buttons because I can change the settings without taking my eye off the viewfinder. But really they both have 5 letters and both do the same thing.

Printing is a separate science. You can spend your life learning it, or you can just give it to a lab or I just throw the largest 16Bit TIFF file I can make at a printing programme called Mirage and it just does everything. Any size, any time.

[TwistedShadow]

Is Nikon more complicated than Canon? Possibly. It has been my experience at workshops that the Nikon users need more help to set things than the Canon users. The Canons have separate buttons for most controls, whereas the Nikon makes more use of menus. I prefer buttons because I can change the settings without taking my eye off the viewfinder.

I can change Modes, Focal points, ISO, Shutter speed, and Aperture on my D800 one hand and without taking my eye off the view finder.  I generally leave White Balance on auto and adjust in post.

Now I'll admit, this is all possible due to a new firmware that allows me to swap out my record button for ISO I don't think Nikon offers 2 dial wheels until your get to the 7xxx models. So anything below that utilizes a menu screen more. The D750 is different, I can adjust most things without moving my eye off the view finder BUT the menu comes on every time you make an adjustment...which is very annoying at night.

[Travis Wallace]

I was referring to a Canon P&S not DSLR, so I am not trying to start a Canon vs Nikon war. Apologies

So I got this book, UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE by Brian Peterson, and planning to study how to use a camera. Bottom says "How to shoot great photographs with any camera" so fingers crossed.

[TwistedShadow]

I was referring to a Canon P&S not DSLR, so I am not trying to start a Canon vs Nikon war. Apologies

So I got this book, UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE by Brian Peterson, and planning to study how to use a camera. Bottom says "How to shoot great photographs with any camera" so fingers crossed.

I was just assuming this was about DSLRs since the thread is titled that way. As for PS cameras, I would think the less buttons the better. I mean  their called point in shoot for a reason...people just want to point and shoot.

[Otto Phocus]

I was referring to a Canon P&S not DSLR, so I am not trying to start a Canon vs Nikon war. Apologies

So I got this book, UNDERSTANDING EXPOSURE by Brian Peterson, and planning to study how to use a camera. Bottom says "How to shoot great photographs with any camera" so fingers crossed.

That was a good choice of books.  His writing style is easy to follow and he explains stuff clearly, which not always the case in photography books.

[Justinr]

Mainly because I'm a masochist and loved to be sneered at (by others here, not you) I'll go ahead and suggest you switch everything to manual (except focus and white balance) then set ISO at 400, aperture at f8 and shutter speed at 125. Take the photo and look at the viewer. If its obviously too bright then you have three ways of reigning in it, if too dark then you have three ways of opening it up.  Make adjustments one stop at a time until its about right. You can then switch to using the histogram to ensure the highlights aren't burnt or the shadow detail not lost, depending on what you want from the picture. A bit of practice and you'll get the hang of it.

Edit: Also ensure that jpeg quality is set to 'fine' if not shooting RAW.

But whatever you do don't even dare suggest that AE is not all it is cracked up to be!