Do you change your Picture Control?

[george013]

A converted raw image and the embedded JPEG will be close but not exactly the same. This explains why so many people stress that the histogram being displayed in the camera is the histogram of the embedded JPEG, not of the converted raw file, and that the two histograms will usually if not always be at least a little bit different to the extent that you'll see the differences if you look for them. I suppose you could capture a raw file, use external software to extract the embedded JPEG, and then open both in Capture NX to confirm that the histograms are different and, thus, also confirm that the two images are different.

I can only talk about Capture. They, camera and capture, use the same converter and the same settings. The result is the same. With 1 exception. The jpg is a disk file containing the compressed RGB rasterfile. When using the converter you start with the RGB rasterfile directly. If you use another converter, there might be much more differences.

I showed this picture before.


The conversion process exist out of 2 parts. The demosaicing part and the pp part. I believe the demosaicing algoritme isn't a standard one, that one could be different. Then the adding of the camera settings, the picture control. That can be different in different converters.

If you want to discover the differences of the image out of the converter and the jpg, just take a RAW file convert it, save it as jpg and open it again in that converter. Use the same converter.

George

[george013]

Overall this thread has helped and allowed me to understand the options and if it worth using them when out shooting.

I like going with either Flat or Standard, the later being what I was shooting before, unbeknownst to me. Really, I am not as concerned as to "how" the photo looks in the LCD beyond Focus and Composition, both of which are difficult if not impossible to change in PP. I would like a good representative Histogram to ensure that I am not clipping any details - Luminance or RGB or allows me to Expose to the Right if needed.

I would have to go back and review my photos and look deeper at my test images - but could you end up in a situation where given your Picture Control you would show clipping that might not be seen in another Picture Control Setting. I am thinking yes...but not sure.

Compare your camera screen with the pc screen. I don't believe the camera has a treshold for the clipping but I'm not sure. On the pc you must set the treshold to 0 and 255 just for comparing.

The picture control for getting a starting point in the external converter only works if the converter uses the picture control from the camera.

George

[NorthernFocus]

...but could you end up in a situation where given your Picture Control you would show clipping that might not be seen in another Picture Control Setting. I am thinking yes...but not sure.

With Nikon(or at least with the bodies I own) the answer is yes. This is easy enough to test in less than five minutes. Simply take a series of shots at the same scene (with constant lighting) and change the camera control setting for each shot. Then chimp the shots and compare the histograms and/or blinkies. It's actually a great way to do it because you can quickly switch from one shot to the next very quickly.

That was the point of my first reply to the thread. The image displayed in the camera LCD is the imbedded jpeg created (even when shooting RAW) by the in-camera processing that it set by the picture control settings. So if you want to see a histogram that best represents the data in the RAW file, you need to have picture controls set such that there is no boost in contrast, saturation, etc.

[Manfred M]

It depends on what I am shooting. When I am away from home, I will often have little to no editing capability along and the jpegs are more than good enough to post on social media; i.e. I will stick with the "basic" setting on my jpegs. I'll often play with the settings and will go a bit overboard with funky colours for landscapes / cityscapes and tone things down when I shoot people (they tend not to look good with the saturation turned up).

As I generally shoot jpeg + raw, it really doesn't matter, as I can pretty well do anything I want once I get home and open the shots in Photoshop..