Canon 10D Color sucks!

[EdgeKrusher]

Travis,
I'm having major issues with color reproduction when using the 10D. It's really starting to frustrate me. The bright pink Coraline in my tank appears purple when I look at a picture I've taken. Even when using the 10D subtle color action in photoshop I can't fix the colors. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

EK

[drdrew]

try bracketing your shots with slightly underexposed and slightly overexposed and see if you like either result.

[EdgeKrusher]

How do I over or underexpose the shot. I'm fairly new to photography if you can't tell.


EK

[Curtswearing]

I don't know much about this (as people here can attest to), but I think you need to adjust your white balance. Your camera has numerous white balance settings.

[reefrunner]

You can try auto bracketing with WB and with exposure compensation (+ or - 1EV or more or less). Consult your cams manual for how to. How bout posting a pic, so we can get an idea what the problem might be.

[reefrunner]

Also check your cameras menu and see what your saturation is set at, if your undersaturating your pics that would explain the problem as well.

[Scooterman]

Ek you have one nice camera there(little costly) but well worth it if your a pro. It might actually be easier to snap shots with the RebelD.

[Travis]

EK take a deep breath... the 10D color, I can assure you, doesn't suck.

RR has some good suggestions about bracketing but I suggest you post a sample pic here so we can see what the issue is before we try pushing you further along the learning curve with the camera's bracketing functions.

Have you done a levels adjustment? This should be your VERY first step... image-->adjustments--> auto levels.

Also, I shoot everything with in-camera contrast, sharpness and saturation (if it exists) set to zero so I can have the control after taking the shot. This is the way the 10D was built... Canon knew it was for serious photographers who would be doing post-processing in Photoshop. That's why they bundled it with PS elements. So while the color straight off the camera is definitely bland, that's because it allows maximum flexibility for the photographer when post-processing.

Also.... and this is a big one.... what lens are you using? I have a Sigma 70-300 and I absolutely HATE the color that thing gives off. So if it's a cheap consumer lens, fly down to TX and I'll let you test-drive the Canon 100mm macro.

T

[Travis]

Hey EK try this out for white balance.... that is one feature of the 10D that I might be inclined to say sucks... the auto white balance leaves a lot to be desired. Nothing a coffee filter can't fix though!

Coffee WB- The results are in!

Also- do you have Photoshop CS yet? Shooting in RAW so I can adjust exposure/white balance after shooting has to have been the biggest leap forward in my photography since I got the 10D.

[EdgeKrusher]

Travis,
I've tried the coffee filter thing, and can't tell a difference. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. LOL I also shoot in RAW, don't know why but I always have. Yes I do adjust levels, but I read your photoshop post on level adjustment, and have gone with that, my pics seem to turn out better. I only have PS 6, don't have the money for CS yet. Didn't know one could adjust white balance after the pic was taken.

Scooterman,
I won this beast in a contest.

here's a picture. The Zoos turned out goo, but the coraline algae that appears in the picture appears to my eye to be pink, but the camera always seems to take pictures that are overly blue in color.



and you can defenitly see it here. It's almost the same color as my purple shrooms which aren't this dark.

[Travis]

Hey EK, can you post the EXIF data for those pics? That's the shooting information- browse to the JPEG, right click, go to properties, then advanced. I'm also not sure how you can be shooting in RAW, with PS6, and not adjusting white balance. What RAW converter are you using?

This does definitely seem to be a white balance issue. If you're truly shooting in RAW, and using the right RAW converter, it is easily fixed. As far as the coffee filter trick, something tells me you're missing a step.

-point camera at tank
-put coffee filter over lens
-shoot a pic
-push "menu" button near your LCD screen.
-navigate to "custom WB" and push the button in the center of the big dial on the back of the camera.
-scroll to and select (button in center of dial again) the pic you took with the coffee filter over the camera.
-get out of the menu, a half-push on the shutter button will do.
-look at the top of the camera for a "af/wb" button. Push that. Use the big dial (I think) to scroll through the WB icons on your top LED screen until you get to the flower-looking icon. That's custom white balance.

Now you should be set. See? Easy! LOL

[Travis]

BTW you know you can upgrade to CS from the copy of Elements that came with your 10D for $299? I'll post the link for you if you want.

And what lens are you using?

T

[David]

Damn, the colour may be off, but that's some nice shots.

[Scooterman]

Ek there nice shots but I understand what your saying, last night I snapped some shots with my G5. I had to go manual focus & WB to get decent shots, no flash on close-up, in portrait mode. I still had to go to Photoshop to adjust color, seems the camera gets confused with antics! I have to say they were awesome after minor touching but I hate that part, seems like every time you make adjustments, you rob from the original photo & loose quality even at the highest formatting. On a different note but similar effects, I've taken 35mm photos and scanned them with a 48 bit HP scanner, I tried 5 or 6 different scanners and never will they make an exact color match, digital conversions IMO still has a long way to go but regardless, if your not comparing apples to exact apples, you get awesome photos & the Cannons are the best at digital processing.

[EdgeKrusher]

Im using the 28-90mm lense for all those shots. I've done that with the coffe filter, exactly as you said. All my pics seem to be blue, even in the snow. I can shoot a picture of the snow, the white stuff no the yellow , and they still are turning out blue. I'll try again though. I was shooting in RAW/JPEG I beleive, consulting the manual... LOL I was wrong, I was shooting Large/Fine. My bad.

EK