contrast and saturation in camera or software

Does it make any difference if I adjust the contrast and saturation in the
camera settings or with software afterwards? If I don't like the results
from camera settings, can they basically be reversed with software without
getting any artifacts?

TIA.

mike

If you have the choice, do it yourself. Once done within the camera, it
cannot be reversed and some tones will be lost forever. At least if you do
it yourself, you can keep the original file unedited.

That's why the output from semi-professional dslr looks rather dull and flat
compared to a popular "amateur" model - no enhancement.

"mike regish" wrote in message
...
Does it make any difference if I adjust the contrast and saturation in the
camera settings or with software afterwards? If I don't like the results
from camera settings, can they basically be reversed with software without
getting any artifacts?

TIA.

mike

mike regish wrote:

Does it make any difference if I adjust the contrast and saturation in the
camera settings or with software afterwards? If I don't like the results
from camera settings, can they basically be reversed with software without
getting any artifacts?

If you record RAW, then you can do whatever is needed after the fact.

I don't believe contrast and saturation are reversible, at least at the
extremes.

I believe sharpness is reversible if you know how the sharp algo in the
camera is set.

In any case, the monitors on the camera are far too small to do any
useful judgement of where these setting should be, IMO.

Cheers,
Alan

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-- slr-systems FAQ project: http://tinyurl.com/6m9aw
-- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin
-- e-meil: Remove FreeLunch.

If you have the choice, do it yourself. Once done within the camera, it
cannot be reversed and some tones will be lost forever. At least if you
do
it yourself, you can keep the original file unedited.

Exactly. Doing otherwise is like throwing the negative away after making
the first print.

--
Mark Lauter

Photos, Ideas & Opinions
http://www.marklauter.com

If you have the choice, do it yourself. Once done within the camera, it
cannot be reversed and some tones will be lost forever. At least if you
do
it yourself, you can keep the original file unedited.

Exactly. Doing otherwise is like throwing the negative away after making
the first print.

--
Mark Lauter

Photos, Ideas & Opinions
http://www.marklauter.com

mike regish wrote:

Does it make any difference if I adjust the contrast and saturation in the
camera settings or with software afterwards? If I don't like the results
from camera settings, can they basically be reversed with software without
getting any artifacts?


No you cannot reverse these without loss of information but I believe it
is best to let the camera do the adjustments if they are the appropriate
adjustments because the camera should be using the raw data. If the
scene is already too saturated, too contrasty or too noisy for
sharpening, then it's better to turn that stuff off & do it yourself
because highlights will be blown irretrievably, colors posterized, etc.
I'm assuming RAW isn't an option for your camera or you don't have the
energy to go through that for all shots. If you had the option to shoot
RAW + high quality jpeg, you could probably ignore the RAW for most
shots & use the jpeg. I would definitely boost the settings in that case.

In article ,
Alan Browne wrote:

I believe sharpness is reversible if you know how the sharp algo in the
camera is set.

Not true, in general.

Plus, of course, if you're taking processed output from the camera,
you've probably thrown away all the extra precision in the raw file.

I have raw as well as raw plus jpeg. Basically I was wondering if I could
save tima at the computer by adjusting saturation and contrast in the
camera, but from the answers here I'll leave the settings neutral.

Thanks all.

mike

"paul" wrote in message
...
mike regish wrote:

Does it make any difference if I adjust the contrast and saturation in
the camera settings or with software afterwards? If I don't like the
results from camera settings, can they basically be reversed with
software without getting any artifacts?


No you cannot reverse these without loss of information but I believe it
is best to let the camera do the adjustments if they are the appropriate
adjustments because the camera should be using the raw data. If the scene
is already too saturated, too contrasty or too noisy for sharpening, then
it's better to turn that stuff off & do it yourself because highlights
will be blown irretrievably, colors posterized, etc. I'm assuming RAW
isn't an option for your camera or you don't have the energy to go through
that for all shots. If you had the option to shoot RAW + high quality
jpeg, you could probably ignore the RAW for most shots & use the jpeg. I
would definitely boost the settings in that case.

I have raw as well as raw plus jpeg. Basically I was wondering if I could
save tima at the computer by adjusting saturation and contrast in the
camera, but from the answers here I'll leave the settings neutral.

Thanks all.

mike

"paul" wrote in message
...
mike regish wrote:

Does it make any difference if I adjust the contrast and saturation in
the camera settings or with software afterwards? If I don't like the
results from camera settings, can they basically be reversed with
software without getting any artifacts?


No you cannot reverse these without loss of information but I believe it
is best to let the camera do the adjustments if they are the appropriate
adjustments because the camera should be using the raw data. If the scene
is already too saturated, too contrasty or too noisy for sharpening, then
it's better to turn that stuff off & do it yourself because highlights
will be blown irretrievably, colors posterized, etc. I'm assuming RAW
isn't an option for your camera or you don't have the energy to go through
that for all shots. If you had the option to shoot RAW + high quality
jpeg, you could probably ignore the RAW for most shots & use the jpeg. I
would definitely boost the settings in that case.

mike regish wrote:

I have raw as well as raw plus jpeg.


Then yes you can save time for most images if you have enough memory
card capacity. If you have enough memory & not enough hard drive, delete
the RAW files for exposures that look fine.


Basically I was wondering if I could
save tima at the computer by adjusting saturation and contrast in the
camera, but from the answers here I'll leave the settings neutral.

Thanks all.


"paul" wrote:

If you had the option to shoot RAW + high quality
jpeg, you could probably ignore the RAW for most shots & use the jpeg. I
would definitely boost the settings in that case.