Nikon D3200 Picture Controls

RocketPhotographer

Hello
I am somewhat new to photography and just bought my first DSLR, the Nikon D3200. I have used DSLRs in the past, but usually they were Canons and had low megapixel levels, so I decided to switch to Nikon, because they seem superior in image quality. I had a Nikon Coolpix, and the images were so vibrant on those photos, and I wanted to get the same level of vibrancy on the DSLR photos. So I followed this guide- http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d300/picture-control.htm
But I couldn't find "Manage picture control" in the shooting menu of the camera. I want to be able to quickly go through the settings for different types of photography.

Thank you!
Alex

Golf007sd

Welcome NRF,

Managing your picture controls is located in your Shooting Menu:

1)Press the Menu button on the back of your camera
2)Select the icon that looks like a camera...2nd from the top.
3) Set Picture Control. (Thx Ade for the correction).

Good luck and happy shooting....

tcole1983

I believe you should also be able to access the picture settings for black and white or vibrant from the main lcd menu. Should be one of the options like ISO and stuff, but don't hold me to that. Check the instruction manual, it should be pretty easy to find.

Paperman

Ken Rockwell will always recommend you to go VIVID and UP the saturation & sharpness to near max in picture control... Just don't do that !

Ironheart

Unless you are going for the Velvia 50 look, which by his own admission is his favorite film.

Ade

@RocketPhotographer @Golf007sd

The D3200 does NOT have the "Manage Picture Control" menu. This menu is only available on the D5xxx series and above. The D3200 only has the "Set Picture Control" menu which can be used to select and modify existing Picture Controls, but you cannot make custom new ones.

The D3200 also doesn't have the "My Menu" system, so one cannot assign it to the Fn button for making quick changes as described in Ken Rockwell's article. Unfortunately I believe only the high-end D7xxx model (and above) can assign menus to the Fn button.

The D3200 is a great little camera, but since it is meant for novices some of the more complicated/advanced functions have been removed. This means you may have to dig into the menus more often than you might prefer.

Golf007sd

Ok, so I stand corrected...thx Ade. I was unaware of that.

Alex, I full agree with, Paperman. The best way to be able to make changes to your photo's is during post. So just shot in RAW (a.k.a NEF) and not what KR does..which is mostly JPG. You will be able to make all the color corrections you like.

RocketPhotographer

Hello. Thank you for all the suggestions! So I guess it doesn't have the manage picture controls. However, should I listen to Ken Rockwell about the saturation up to max? What is the best mode for vivid photos of rocket launches or natural landscapes in Arizona? And should I shoot in RAW? DO I have to correct each one myself or is there a batch editor?

Thank you!

spraynpray

Lightroom is the editing/management program you need, it can handle both formats BUT if you shoot in .jpg you lose a lot of information and so will not realise the full potential of your images when editing. Lightroom can batch process but you will always end up tweaking your best ones individually.

If you want to learn about photography, the easiest way to do it is the hardest - shoot everything in manual mode, chimp (look at the screen afterwards) then compensate. When you have that mastered, you will realise that the other modes lose you control in some way or another and you can decide which mode you can use (find the loss of control acceptable when traded off against the increase in speed of use) for which genre.

Golf007sd

@RocketPhotographer: Take what KR has to offer or recommend with grain of salt.

You have taken the next step by joining us, your exposure to real photographers and photography is going to improve by being pro-active and you will find yourself taking steps in your photography that will be far more rewarding.

Spend some time exploring our forum and the many topics we cover, almost everything you will read will build a foundation for you that will yield positive results as you begin to play with your camera. Even if you don't fully understand the topic being covers, take it for what its worth...the light will go off in due time and then you will see what I mean.

Photobug

+1 @Golf007sd on his comments about KR and using the NRF. Nicely put Golf.

RocketPhotographer

Thank you everyone for the responses! I think I will switch to RAW, and LightRoom is right now out of my budget, so I found something comparable called LightZone and it works really well and I am starting to get used to it. Even for RAW, there still is a setting on my camera where I can turn up saturation and vividness. Should I do this or take care of that on the computer. I do photograph rocket launches and pictures of the rocket at the pad, and I am a bit worried the buffer will fill up too quickly on the camera for numerous shots of the launch. What kind of speed in a memory card is needed to give the camera a bunch of shots nonstop of the launch?

Ironheart

@RocketPhotographer, If you want to have the camera do the work and not do much (if any) post processing, you can set the camera up to produce jpegs that are close to the final product you are looking for. If you turn RAW off, the trade-off will be that your buffer count will go up tremendously, but you will have much less lattitude for adjusting exposure. You need to mostly nail it in the camera, your histograms will help here. Next, I'd make sure active d-lighting is turned on. Then modify the "standard" picture control to suit your needs. For rocket launches I might start with the "vivid" settings and dial up or down from there. If you want to crank out 100s of photos in a minute or so, you either need to shoot jpeg, or upgrade your camera.

RocketPhotographer

Ok, but a long series of photos ex. 30 won't work in RAW with a 90mbps card? Is the camera capable of that?

Ade

In RAW mode, the buffer is good for 18 continuous frames before filling up. You'll then have to wait until the buffer clears before shooting again. (The waiting length depends on the speed of your card).

In JPEG you can take 80+ frames before the buffer fills up.

Active D-Lighting kills your buffer. So it's a tradeoff... possibly, you might as well shoot RAW. The best way is to test the different modes and see which one works best to your style of shooting.

Pistnbroke

I have vast experience with this D3200 so ...All photos are taken in RAW its just a question of if you let the camera convert it to JPEG or if you do it on a MAC. I take thousands of pictures in one photo shoot and always let the camera do it . Set the sharpness to +9 all my camera are at +9 and never a problem(D7100/D800) With 40,000 pics on my website my customers would let me know if there was a problem. If you dont go to +9 the pictures are soft . I also shoot JPEG basic for everything. If you pixel peep a basic and a fine there is no difference. (Nero picture viewer gives the best on screen pics if you are going cheap) If you want vibrant then experiment with the saturation. I always use the D lighting at max and never have buffer problems. For best quality and to avoid third party issues always use Nikon Lenses ..best buy and very sharp is the 18-140 .bought grey market its under $400....goes wrong throw it away.

donaldejose

Pistenbroke: good comments, especially the difference between shooting RAW and setting the camera to do the work and give you the "right" image in JPEG right out of the camera so you have much less post processing. There is a big difference between having lots of time to take and tweak scenic landscapes in RAW and large volume production photography in JPEG where the image won't hardly ever be printed larger than 8 x 10 inches. Most of us here seek maximum image quality and tend to give advice with that goal in mind. But such advice is not the best advice for large volume production photography.

Pistnbroke

donaldejose

best most sensibe advice I have seen in a responee to a post...Photography is what you want it to be ..some like to fiddle with the camera ..some like the composition some shoot volume some just a few masterpieces....

donaldejose

And some have a LOT to say about all the steps you should go through for maximum flexibility and control of Image Quality but fail to comprehend that any wedding photographer who actually does all that for the price people are willing to pay him or her will go broke!

Pistnbroke

Perhaps I got you wrong donald but ...I dont see how having your camera set right..sharpness/auto iso/ Fstop/U1U2 can put you at a disadvantage to someone who pratts about in manual,changes lenses and chimps.I find in the UK that over £750 your number of bookings will go down fast thats may be $1000 in the US so there is no real money to be made ,,ie mortgage/kids/food/holidays/car etc . We virtually sell no albums and the ones we do sell with packages are almost never claimed.ie the fact they bought it and paid for it gets forgotten.

RocketPhotographer

Ok, thank you for all the responses. Since it would be my first time using RAW, I think I will use RAW and JPEG setting for the photos around the pad to see how I like RAW and I will try JPEG for the launch. Also, a major problem is zoom on the lenses. I saw these smaller point and shoot cameras that had the equivalent of 1000mm in the small sized lens. Would it be better to try returning the DSLR and trying that out. I really like the DSLR, but zoom is a concern. How many photos can I get constantly as compared to a DSLR? Are the Vivitar lens extenders that attach to the top of the lens any good?

Pistnbroke

Lens converter will seriously reduce the quality. With a DSLR if you go over 150mm with a zoom the quality drops anyway which is why I use the 18-140 ..its cheap on the grey market ,its Nikon so no 3rd party issues and then if you have the camera set right you can crop. Remember if you go to a compact with a 4x6mm chip you will loose any low light ability. and I still say forget the raw. use the camera and get use to it then experiment with RAW and never never never use AUTO

RocketPhotographer

Are the Vivitar 500mm long lenses any good, or is the mirror ok?

Ironheart

Tamron, sigma, and tokina make much better lenses than vivitar. Then again for $94 for 500mm, you can't beat the price, but you get what you pay for. Plus it is only an f/8 lens so forget autofocus.

For my money I would get the 70-300 Nikon for $500, much better value.

KnockKnock

Nikon's included ViewNX can work with your RAW shots, and convert them to any picture style you like after the fact. In theory, it's a great way to get the Nikon "look" without having to lock them into JPEG in the camera. Gives you choices. However, it is an extra step in post-processing, and is not the most elegant piece of software. So before you go pay money, test out ViewNX - why not, it's FREE!

KnockKnock

oops - dupe post