Nikon
D3 Color Rendition
© 2008 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
The Nikon D3 with 50mm f/1.4 AF-D. enlarge. I got mine from Ritz. Just as well I'd get another from Adorama, Amazon or B&H Photo Video. It helps me keep adding to this site when you use these links to get yours, thanks! Ken.
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January 2008
My work is all about color. I don't care about noise or sharpness unless I already have the right color.
My Nikon D3 gives me the hit-you-in the head color I demand. When I crank the saturation settings as I prefer, the colors are loud enough to leave a heavy-metal drummer's ears ringing. I like it! These results are slightly more vivid than reality, which is as I see things.
The Nikon D3 has the same potentially wild color rendition as my D300. See my Nikon D300 Color Rendition page for more examples and commentary.
THese few snapshots are exactly as I shot them in JPG. Vertical shots were cropped to fit your screen better.
Moonlit Sky, hand-held!
Nikon D3, Nikon 28mm f/1.4 AF-D, program auto exposure (1/4 sec @ f/1.4), auto-ISO chose ISO 6,400, tungsten WB to make the sky blue, auto focus. All I did was point and shoot from my usual settings, except for making the critical change to the WB to make the sky blue.
The wide lens, a 28mm true and equivalent on the D3, lets me hand-hold a stop slower than a 50mm lens. I easily can get sharp shots at 1/4 second with a 28mm lens, firing a burst and picking the best. This shot is under a nearly-full moon. It's what I was expecting I could do with the D3 and a fast lens. I didn't need the higher ISOs; people with less steady hands might. You could get this, albeit much grainier, at 1/15 at ISO 25,600 at f/1.4. Wait for the really full moon at Zenith and you'll be at 1/30 at ISO 25,600.
Fire Palm, Palm Desert, California.
The palm was backlit, and lit by reflections from a tan building behind me.
Nikon D3, Nikon 28-80G at 50mm, 1/60 at f/16, program shift, auto everything, Auto ISO chose ISO 220, Auto -A2 WB, VIVID +3 saturation.
Fiery Clouds.
Nikon D3, Nikon 80-400mm VR at 80mm, 1/125 at f/5.6, auto everything, Auto ISO chose ISO 200, Auto -A2 WB, VIVID +3 saturation.
Balls.
Nikon D3, 14-24mm at 14mm, 1/15 at f/2.8, auto everything, Auto ISO chose ISO 800, exactly as shot in dim tungsten light in Auto -A2 WB, VIVID +3 saturation.
Blue.
Nikon D3, 24-120 VR, auto everything, VIVID +3 Saturation, AWB -A2.
Yellow.
Nikon D3, 24-120 VR, auto everything, VIVID +3 Saturation, AWB -A2. The D3 turned the light tan building a vivid yellow, which looks far better than it did in person, yay!
Green.
Nikon D3, 24-120 VR, auto everything, VIVID +3 Saturation, AWB -A2. THe grass is backlit, intensifying the greens because the sun is shining through the leaves instead of bouncing off them.
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PLUG
If you find this as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone.
Thanks for reading!
Ken
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