Nikon D5200: My Video and Photos are washed out on export. Please help!!

Hello Nikonites,

Im Jaya(Youtuber) and I'm new here coz my camera is new!! I bought the Nikon D5200 with 18 mm to 105 mm. I used to use panasonic lumix fz35(edit: Windows Movie Maker) to shoot my YT videos and wanted to improve quality so got this cam.

I shot a video using Nikon D5200, so true to color, excellent quality and clarity but when I export to my HP laptop(Windows 7 Core i3) photos, videos are all washed out !! I have no idea what to do. I tried playing it in VLC player, Quicktime player, pinnacle studio 17 same - washed out video and photo. I converted the MOV file to WMV still the same. I used Auto not Raw. Please anyone help me to solve my problem.

Did you try on another computer and screen?

I tried in Dell Laptop - Latitude E 6430, slightly better but not as same as quality I saw in viewfinder.

You have to keep in mind that the smaller it is, the darker/sharper. A shot on my cam's LCD always looks different than the same shot on my computer monitor.

If I save a shot to post here, I usually increase the exposure a bit because of the smaller format.

I understand that. Below I have attached a screenshot of the video.



It is totally washed out

I think we both have a different opinion on what is considered washed out.

May I know the difference?

Jaya said:

I understand that. Below I have attached a screenshot of the video.

View attachment 130688

It is totally washed out

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When someone says an image is "washed out" they normally means there is a high degree of clipping in the highlights across the entire image. I'm looking at your screenshot and I am not seeing any clipping in the highlights... None at all.

I might like to see a little more saturation, and/or contrast in the shot, but that's a matter of personal taste. The shot is certainly not "washed out", however.

....

Then what could be the problem?

I don't see any problem. Maybe you dislike that her face is slightly overexposed in comparison to the rest?

As a shot that is easily corrected in post. As a video you'd have to ask someone else. If you use any auto-mode and want everything correctly exposed, I'm afraid you have to start working with lights and metering and balance everything out before the actual shoot.

Your cam will always expose in a certain way and although you can influence it by using different metering or compensating, it is always all or nothing. If you want certain parts lighter and others darker, you have to go manual and set up or control the light in your scene.

It could be the lens you're shooting with, or the aperture....lighting conditions....a whole host of potential problems. Why don't you post some of those in your next post so we can tell what you were shooting? Thanks. Hope this helps.

Jaya said:

Then what could be the problem?

Click to expand...

Well, in all honesty, I'm not entirely certain there *is* a problem...

However, if you don't like the look of your video on playback, have you tried adjusting the in-camera settings for things like White Balance, Contrast and Saturation?

Also, are you doing any post processing of your video? I don't know what all the cool kids are using these days but Sony Movie Studio is some good software and not very expensive. If you're going to be doing anything serious with your video you're going to need something along these lines to process your video and get the most out of your camera.

...

This is your shot showing the clipped areas. Of course it'll not be identical to the shot taken since this is the JPEG you posted but even here you see there is hardly any highlight clipping (red).



I adjusted the shot: lowered the highlights, some more shadows and contrast and upped vibrance a bit.



Not a drastic change but it brings her face a bit down.

Thanks a lot for helping me guys!! Actually in the video, the subject is overexposed but the background is perfect. Actually its a make up video for Youtube, the colors have to perfect but thats the thing thats missing in the video.

Lens VR-18-105mm

I shoot myself in front of a window(very close to window) so sunlight is the light for the video.

May I know what I need to change or adjust in the Camera(D5200) so I'm not overexposed in the video?

If by post work, what software will be good to bring the video quality back to original?

Thanks again for helping me guys!

If you use any auto-mode, the cam will expose depending upon the brightness of the whole scene. You can adjust it by either using spot or center metering and have that weigh more in the calculation or by using exposure compensation and lower it until it is right. Remember, all those changes apply to the whole scene but if the background is less important, lowering brightness there doesn't matter.

Jaya said:

I shoot myself in front of a window(very close to window) so sunlight is the light for the video.

Click to expand...

I would suggest using "Spot" metering on your face which will ensure exposure is correct for your face all the time, even if the background gets blown out because it's so bright. Your camera has limitations and you're going to have to work within them, so if the background being blown out is a problem in your present shooting location, then I'd suggest you move to another location where it's not as bright.

Jaya said:

If by post work, what software will be good to bring the video quality back to original?

Click to expand...

A couple good options to try would be Corel VideoStudio Pro X7, about $80; or you might like Adobe Premier Elements which sells for around $70. Both have free trial versions you can download and experiment with.

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Thanks guys! I will try using the suggestions and hopefully I do it well. Will surely reply back with screenshot.