• 07-24-2005, 06:52 AM
    BrianFoster
    Switching from film to dslr... hints?
    After many years of film -- the last five with my trusty Nikon N80 -- I'm switching to full-time digital, I just bought the D70s, an 18-70 Nikkor lens and a b+w circular polarizer. I've read a lot about the importance of white balance, for example, and about the different file types you can save your shots in (basic, raw, raw+basic, etc). Any guidance on these two areas especially, or other tips, is greatly appreciated. PS I'm new to this forum, too, and I am really enjoying reading the posts.
  • 07-24-2005, 08:14 AM
    Franglais
    Keep buying
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrianFoster
    After many years of film -- the last five with my trusty Nikon N80 -- I'm switching to full-time digital, I just bought the D70s, an 18-70 Nikkor lens and a b+w circular polarizer. I've read a lot about the importance of white balance, for example, and about the different file types you can save your shots in (basic, raw, raw+basic, etc). Any guidance on these two areas especially, or other tips, is greatly appreciated. PS I'm new to this forum, too, and I am really enjoying reading the posts.
    1. Shoot RAW+basic and get yourself a decent RAW Editor (I use Nikon Capture). The basic JPG I get from the camera is useful for a first look at what I've done - but I always replace it with a high-quality JPG from the RAW file after editing. White balance at shooting time really isn't that important - I can change it in NC.

    2. Get yourself a good flash like the SB600 or SB800 and use it often to fill in the shadows. The camera usually does a good job of smoothing out excess contrast and enhancing the colours.

    Charles
  • 07-24-2005, 11:03 AM
    Michael Fanelli
    Re: Switching from film to dslr... hints?
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BrianFoster
    After many years of film -- the last five with my trusty Nikon N80 -- I'm switching to full-time digital, I just bought the D70s, an 18-70 Nikkor lens and a b+w circular polarizer. I've read a lot about the importance of white balance, for example, and about the different file types you can save your shots in (basic, raw, raw+basic, etc). Any guidance on these two areas especially, or other tips, is greatly appreciated. PS I'm new to this forum, too, and I am really enjoying reading the posts.
    I would suggest shooting in RAW mode and saving the results as your "negatives." You can adjust the WB to anything you want with a RAW file. I use BreezeBrowser Pro to convert/manipulate RAW files and then save them in an appropriate format (JPG, TIF, etc.) for use elsewhere.
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