D5100 picture control settings ??? Please help.

surplusshooter

New member
Hello, my fellow Nikon fans. This is my first post. I have a question, please help. I am the proud owner of the Nikon D5100 DSLR. I just got it and I love it, however, I am a little confused as to what the proper and or best settings for the picture control are. I am referring to: "shooting menu" - "set picture control" How do you set the following for the best image quality... color, sharpness etc. ? What are your plus or minus settings for the following ??? Sharpening, Contrast, Brightness, Saturation and Hue. I can see that the + or - combinations are almost endless. Please list your favorite settings and or recommendations. Thanks.
 

pedroj

Senior Member
Your best image quality and mine are probably two different things....

I use auto white balance ISO 200 all others I do in CS5
 

co2jae

Senior Member
Being new to the DSLR and Nikon family this summer, this is the best advice I can think of to offer. Read your manual with your camera in your lap and take LOTS of pictures while you are just sitting there.(I have about 300 pictuers of my ceiling fan...) review the data, review the manual, and then take more pictures. Read LOTS of other threads in here ( I learn something new everytime I visit). Shoot more pictures, read your manual again. Experiment with your settings, find what you like and shoot some more. Remember that it is fun to learn and don't be frustrated when you can't figure something out. That's the time to post your question and it always helps to post a picture so the senior members can check out your problems and offer solutions. Read, shoot, compare, shoot, read, shoot and always smile!
 

pedroj

Senior Member
Being new to the DSLR and Nikon family this summer, this is the best advice I can think of to offer. Read your manual with your camera in your lap and take LOTS of pictures while you are just sitting there.(I have about 300 pictuers of my ceiling fan...) review the data, review the manual, and then take more pictures. Read LOTS of other threads in here ( I learn something new everytime I visit). Shoot more pictures, read your manual again. Experiment with your settings, find what you like and shoot some more. Remember that it is fun to learn and don't be frustrated when you can't figure something out. That's the time to post your question and it always helps to post a picture so the senior members can check out your problems and offer solutions. Read, shoot, compare, shoot, read, shoot and always smile!

Great advice and ditto "The always smile" quote
 

stmv

Senior Member
ok, I'll give a simpler answer, I like my Jpegs set at vivid, a shade of saturation, but not increased sharpening (that can be done in software), its just a starting point anyway.

I'll use the JPEGs when in a hurry, and then go back and do the redits with the RAW, but sometimes, the JPEGs start out pretty fine.
 
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