Which photo looks better?

View attachment 12721

They are different.

Top one. Which one do you prefer? That is what matters.

D5100Shooter said:

Top one. Which one do you prefer? That is what matters.

Click to expand...

I do have a preference, but I want to see what others think first. Thanks.

Top one. Has more contrast. Bottom one is to flat

Top one too. Same reason, contrast and it seems to have a tiny bit more saturation.

Agreed. top one. More detail, more depth, better blacks. IMHO

Both photos were taken with my D5100. Both were set on AUTO. The only difference is the top photo was taken with a Nikon L 1A filter.

I agree that the top photo "looks" better. There was no post-processing. I read that the L 1A can be left on the camera for general shooting. I thought it was kind of interesting.

If they were shot in auto, you may have 2 different exposures. Might be interesting to repeat with identical settings to make sure the comparison is on a level field.

Excellent point.

Top photo: 1/125 F5.6 ISO 400
Bottom photo: 1/160 F6.3 ISO 200

So.... what does that say about the filter?

It underexposes exactly one stop! That is why you see the contrast and saturation boost. Looks like it may warm it up a tiny bit too.

Do I win a prize?

Eye-level said:

It underexposes exactly one stop! That is why you see the contrast and saturation boost. Looks like it may warm it up a tiny bit too.

Do I win a prize?

Click to expand...

Actually, yes. Here it is......