glenerrolrd
Workshop Member
It seems with any debate regarding nikon verse any other equipment ..the issue comes up about “how bad the color is “ or “how much post processing it takes to get it right” . I never see much of this in the equipment tests or from reviewers that use the nikon equipment regularly . But my own experience is that the .NEF files can have a yellow tint making the greens too warm and desaturating the blues .
To be completely open I shoot enough with the nikon D3s /D3X and the D7000 to understand the color bias or signature of a .NEF file but my primary equipment is the Leica M9 . For a while I was getting pretty close with a preset called M9 on a D3 ....established to move the color of the D3 toward the rendition of the M9 . I like the M9 files especially in the new version of LR and for my purposes they provide a decent reference of “what do you consider good color” .
Each manufacturer creates its own signature creation of the raw files . I still remember a lunch in the Leica cafe where the designers were debating how warm to make the output of the M8 . But two other factors seem critical:
1. The glass itself can impart a color tint ...the older Nikkors are warm and the whites look yellowish . I have always found the Zeiss glass to render cooler than the Nikkors and because of the strong macro contrast they often have a blue black look to the shadows . The Leica R glass has the best balance and shooting a Leica R lens on a D3X looks a lot like a Leica rendering (not quite but closer). The newest Nikkors have lost the yellow bias and by new I mean the 70-200/VR2 ,the 24/1.4,35/14 and the 85/1.4 G lenses . (don t use the 24-70/2.8 as your reference its not the same even though its nano coated ).
2. The post processing must be important . If you use a Phase back you use C1 right ? Its matched and obviously brings out the very best color you can get . Would you use LR for a Phase file ...didn t think so . For a lot of subjects ..the color of the adobe products is decent and with the proper calibration and presets it seems that the potential must be there to get good color. Yet when I ask Nikon pro (the ones they pay) about color they all say use NX2 . (I know the interface sucks but the new version is reported as much better) .
I haven t gotten to where I want with my .NEF and maybe it can t be done .
To be completely open I shoot enough with the nikon D3s /D3X and the D7000 to understand the color bias or signature of a .NEF file but my primary equipment is the Leica M9 . For a while I was getting pretty close with a preset called M9 on a D3 ....established to move the color of the D3 toward the rendition of the M9 . I like the M9 files especially in the new version of LR and for my purposes they provide a decent reference of “what do you consider good color” .
Each manufacturer creates its own signature creation of the raw files . I still remember a lunch in the Leica cafe where the designers were debating how warm to make the output of the M8 . But two other factors seem critical:
1. The glass itself can impart a color tint ...the older Nikkors are warm and the whites look yellowish . I have always found the Zeiss glass to render cooler than the Nikkors and because of the strong macro contrast they often have a blue black look to the shadows . The Leica R glass has the best balance and shooting a Leica R lens on a D3X looks a lot like a Leica rendering (not quite but closer). The newest Nikkors have lost the yellow bias and by new I mean the 70-200/VR2 ,the 24/1.4,35/14 and the 85/1.4 G lenses . (don t use the 24-70/2.8 as your reference its not the same even though its nano coated ).
2. The post processing must be important . If you use a Phase back you use C1 right ? Its matched and obviously brings out the very best color you can get . Would you use LR for a Phase file ...didn t think so . For a lot of subjects ..the color of the adobe products is decent and with the proper calibration and presets it seems that the potential must be there to get good color. Yet when I ask Nikon pro (the ones they pay) about color they all say use NX2 . (I know the interface sucks but the new version is reported as much better) .
I haven t gotten to where I want with my .NEF and maybe it can t be done .