Just curious

[arthurking83]

..... I tried a couple of landscapes in jpeg yesterday - massive fail - way too high contrast and either blew out parts of the sky or foreground too dark. .....

If you have ViewNX2 or Capture NX-D loaded onto your PC, you can use the Picture Control editor.
It's a separate (but built in) program that allows you to adjust the look of the picture control look, but it only works on the NEF file.
But what you can do is create a look in your Picture Control(eg. if the landscape PC is too vivid, you can tone down the contrast, colour, etc a bit) using either the sliders in the editor, or better still use the tone curve tool(which is more incremental and hence more accurate in fine tone detail).

Once you have that look you're after, you then have an option in there to save that Picture Control look you've just created and load it into the camera as a user defined PC.
If you edit the raw file in any software, in the exif will be the description of the software used to edit the raw file.
So if you used Nikon's software or Ps/ACR/Lr .. it will say this in the exif.
if you shoot straight out of camera tho, the description of the software used to make/edit the image will be the model of camera you used, and I think with the firmware loaded at the time.

eg. if you used a D7200 with firmware v1.01, then in the software field in the exif it will say something like Nikon D7200v1.01 or something like that.

This can be important if they want you to shoot jpg straight out of camera!

Also, if you shoot raw in camera and don't like some small aspect of the picture control used .. AND want it to be a jpg straight out of camera, with the raw file still loaded in the camera after the shot, scroll down in the menu to the edit feature.. you can adust some of the PC controls in there and then save the image as a jpg.
The software description will still use the camera model to describe the software used to edit the image(ie. straight out of camera!)

[Glenda]

Thanks Arthur - I have the ViewNX on the desktop at home so will look at that when we get back to Qld.

[arthurking83]

Thanks Arthur - I have the ViewNX on the desktop at home so will look at that when we get back to Qld.

AH! OK, so you have a ViewNX2 capable camera(eg. something like a D7100, or D600, or D800 or whatever?

Later this evening I'll post a short write up or how to on what you can do, what to look for, and some caveats.

[Mark L]

No, a raw file is a raw file,

I've read it often, and heard it once, that you should set sharpening to zero in the camera even when using raw?

[arthurking83]

Nikon Picture Control editing and uploading to the camera in this thread.

[Glenda]

AH! OK, so you have a ViewNX2 capable camera(eg. something like a D7100, or D600, or D800 or whatever?

Later this evening I'll post a short write up or how to on what you can do, what to look for, and some caveats.

Yep Nikon D7100. Have skimmed through the thread on the link you posted and will give it a go when I get back to Gladstone. Thanks for that.

[Dazz1]

I've read it often, and heard it once, that you should set sharpening to zero in the camera even when using raw?

I have been hoping that all it does is set a number in the 'recipe' in the raw file, which software like Canon DPP, will use as the initial settings.

[arthurking83]

I have been hoping that all it does is set a number in the 'recipe' in the raw file, which software like Canon DPP, will use as the initial settings.

At least with raw you can still 'turn it off' .. or on or up/down or tune it to however you prefer.

I remember that with Nikon raw files the in camera sharpening was very coarse in it's application.
(but that was with the older cameras that use the NCP Picture Control system, not newer cameras that use the NP2 <PC> image type.
The newer type not only has a few more variables to control .. such as clarity .. it also offers finer grained control over many if not all of those adjustments .. I think.
So I have no experience with the newer Picture Controls ... only the older NCP types.

Also, I'm assuming that all other manufacturer's picture style inner workings are similar if not the same too(they all tend to copy one another in terms of cameras, features and software now .. why not in camera image enhancements!

So for the older types of Picture Controls, if you set a sharpening level of 1(out of 9) it doesn't affect the image too much. It's not overly coarse in it's application.
Even tho this value is not 'hard set' .. it is set, and the embedded preview image in the raw file is now set to display that level of sharpening.
It's just that it can be undone/redone/edited ... and the embedded preview image is updated to reflect this edit point.

At least in Nikon's Picture Controls some of the variables inner workings aren't displeasing!
Sharpening is one of them.
If you set only a level 1 in camera on Nikon Picture Controls, it's a fairly good effect. It gives ok edge enhancement, but little to no grain.
A setting of 9 is always going to give lurid results. Haloing is pretty high, and image will look a little ugly.

Something to note too(in Nikon circles):
If you set sharpening to 1 for in camera Picture Controls, the sharpening effect is similar to setting sharpening to 1 in ViewNX2(on the raw file).
If you set sharpening to 9 in camera, and compared that with a setting of 9 in ViewNX2, they look obviously different. Both have that lurid oversharpened look(which most sane folks would never apply!). A bit more haloing in the in camera application, and slightly less grainy look, and less haloing in the ViewNX2 rendering but with a stronger grain look.

Personally, I'd have expected that ViewNX2 and in camera picture control styles would be more comparable.

CNX2 and CNX-D are a little different, in that they apply a proper USM routine .. not just some predefined integer between 1 and 10(or 9).

So my assessment on Mark's comments(regarding Nikon cameras at least) .. is that a very low sharpening level would help to offset the cameras AA filter(if one is fitted).
Eg. set a level of only 1 or something.
Many of Nikon's Picture Controls are set at something horrid like 3 or 4(out of 9) and the effect is less subtle.
So for lazy bugga's(like me) .. to minimise PP effort, I'd say dunnwurryboudit .. just make sure it's not too high. And remember you can always turn it off in your manufacturer's software.

.. in saying that tho, I have set sharpening to 0 on all my in camera <PC>'s as the default. But the D800E has no AA filter and doesn't need to be compensated for that effect.
If the camera had an AA filter, I'd set it to 1 or 2 as a pre-start to editing the image on any level.