may I join you guys?

[louis]

Hi, my name is Lou and i have been lurking for a couple of weeks now, picking up as much info as i can. I am thinking very seriously about purchasing a Canon d-30 with a 28 - 135 IS lens. I have been reluctant to purchase so far because I hear grumbling about the quality of the photos from the camera, Re: a recent post by DaveMarks, which seems to be the major complaint on the camera. It appears that there is a lot of work to
do to make the photos acceptable for ones' personal preferences, especially in the photo's focus.

I have downloaded some RAW photos and Canon's program for converting them to the TIFF format. I use Photoshop 6.01 exclusively for photo processing and I have found that i have to use almost 500% sharpening to get a real nice sharp photo.

I am now using a older Sony DSC-770 digital with 1.5 meg pixel. This is a good all around camera, especially good for close-ups as i have converted it to accept most all Nikon lens'. The photos from the Sony come out needing a little contrast and no sharpening to speak of, very acceptable.

I would appreciate some help on my questions.

I want to compliment you all on a very intelligent, helpful discussion group.

[jpbeale]

A lot of D30 owners have come to appreciate the fact that the camera doesn't do much sharpening internally, leaving the choice of just how much sharpening you want, and what specific algorithms to use, up to you. Less expensive consumer cameras typically apply considerable sharpening, which you are stuck with.

Programs like Photoshop (full version, anyway) allow you to automate sharpening and other image processing if you so choose. I think a lot of artists and pros like to spend some time tweeking each image separately, before it is published or displayed.

On the other hand, for example in news media or events with onsite printing, the deadline is everything. If for whatever reason you require fully sharpened photos out-of-the-camera, if for instance you give the flash card directly to a printer without going through a computer first, then the D30 may not be the right solution for you.

[Roger_Cavanagh]

Welcome Lou the Lurker!

The D30 is definitely not a point-and-shoot, great pictures-out-of-the-box-onto-the-printer-camera. If you want that go buy a Polaroid. :)

Yes most of the time images do need some post-processing, especially with raw format. But just like photolabs, Photoshop allows you to automate. The trouble with PS is that there are usually a zillion ways to skin the cat. I started to collect different sharpening methods on my site and, without much effort, have got 5 different techniques already (http://www.rogercavanagh.com/tips/t03_sharpening.htm). I have now started to use Pekka's LinearSharpen action. There are 25 steps (quite a lot of processing), but the only thing I have to do is make standard adjustments to 2 levels curves. If you examine the steps, you'll see that USM is applied twice.

There are several threads discussing Pekka's action, so I won't repeat the info here. I suggest you check them out. I have not done too much picture-taking in the last few weeks (the weather over here in SE England has been too grey and dull :( ), but I have put a lot of old images throough LinearSharpen. Most of the time I am happy with results with no further intervention (crop and resizing doesn't count); sometimes I find that another levels adjustment helps and occasionally a contrast mask.

I think you will find (as I did and many others) that once you have "got the hang" of the D30 and what to do with the images, you won't be spending too much time in your digital darkroom (at least not per image :) ).


Regards,

Roger
www.rogercavanagh.com

[bnsfr]

There are some excellent discussions about the D30 in various on-line reviews of the camera that I highly recommend reading (you should be able to get a good list by going to Google and putting in "D30" and "review" as key words. They explain Canon's apparent decision to understate some of the camera's settings, and the rationale for it. (What sharpness and the like that is not there can be added, but not visa-versa.) The camera has performed beautifully in tests discussed in in these reviews, and I understand the TWAIN driver accompanying the camera will allow you to adjust certain aspects of the picture with some facility -- though the reports are that it does take some time, a number of reviewers consider it well worth the effort. Like you, I have been contemplating the D30/28-135 IS purchase. I dove in and ordered at the end of last week. I will let you know when the camera arrives and I am able to test it.

[louis]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your replies. I know I will get the D-30, I just have to satisfy myself with research. I am in no hurry.

I am glad I found this site, it has been extremely helpful. Currently I am leaning towards the d-30 with the medium IS zoom.