Nikon Coolpix Questions

[jntradofseas]

I have a Nikon Coolpix 7600 and am taking Radiance of the Seas on my first cruise to the Western Caribbean.

 

This camera has 16 scene modes and has several adjustments that can be made for changing white balance. There are 6 different White Balance settings to choose from (Automatic, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy and Shade). I'd like to practice some more with indoor photos. Does anyone know which type of lighting the Radiance has???

 

I'd appreciate any advice on settings to improve indoor photos. I tried the indoor mode but it has too much of a reddish hue. The museum mode without flash takes nice pictures but it is very subject to blurring.

 

It takes spectacular outdoor shots but I'm not sure if I'll need to use the beach/snow scene exposure when on the deck and out in the sea.

 

Thanks,

 

Jim

[Tater1800]

Jim,

I have a CP8700. I have taken many shots inside our cruise ships. The problem is always lighting. Using the built-in flash with all settings in auto should do best. This will result in harsh images but there is nothing else you can do without a tripod. With a tripod you can disable the flash and take longer exposures. Auto should work here as well. The beauty of digital photograpy is the ability to dump a shot and try again with different settings. With practice you will get the best shot. Good luck.

[mountainhouse]

Sorry haven't been on the ROS. However, on our cruises, I've generally not compensated shots of the ocean or being out on deck. In the ship, I usually rely on flash, so your automatic white balance should be okay (should know the flash is on). WB changes have pluses and minuses. If you leave it on automatic, the WB might not be optimal. However, if you play around with the WB, and have it set the wrong way, it will definitely hose up the photo. As far as your reddish hue... yes, I would guess that's incandescant bulb lighting, and the correct WB should help. At low light, the automatic WB might not be working right.

 

Also, this all varies a bit by camera. Since its digital, I would experiment now, before the cruise. Try to shoot photos by an incandescant light at home and try various WB settings. Play with them on a cloudy day.

 

Again, above all, if you mess with these settings, checking them EVERY time you use the camera becomes critical. Have fun,

[jntradofseas]

Thanks for the replies,

 

I thought about a tripod but decided against it because of all the hassle of carrying it around and setting it up. I've been trying most of the different modes and usually the automatic settings work the best. I've got a lot of practice "hosing" up shots...turning the flash off... leaving the zoom all the way out...face priority in the wrong setting...etc. I actually get the best most consistently reliable photos with the sports mode and fast shutter.

 

Jim (Hubby of Terri but not Terri102066).....kind of eerie:eek:

[zackiedawg]

This camera has 16 scene modes and has several adjustments that can be made for changing white balance. There are 6 different White Balance settings to choose from (Automatic, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy and Shade). I'd like to practice some more with indoor photos. Does anyone know which type of lighting the Radiance has???

 

Hey Jim. All the choices of todays' cameras, huh! Actually, I would use the best white balance tool you've got - your eyes. You may shoot with the viewfinder to save batteries, but in a questionable scene, if you aren't already, go ahead and use the LCD screen. The greatest feature of a digital camera is that you see it before you shoot it. Looking on the LCD screen, you'll see that reddish hue, or outdoors if you are a little too blue. Go into the white balance settings, and scroll through the choices until one of them ends up looking best.

 

An even better way of doing it is to manually set the white balance. I believe your camera has a manual white balance mode - all you have to do is find something white to point the camera at - fill as much of the screen with the white object as possible, then set the manual white balance. The camera will adjust the object to true white, thereby properly adjusting the other colors in that lighting environment!

 

I'd appreciate any advice on settings to improve indoor photos. I tried the indoor mode but it has too much of a reddish hue. The museum mode without flash takes nice pictures but it is very subject to blurring.

 

Auto mode will still probably be best - but as mentioned, you either need to use the flash, or still the camera. Without a tripod, you can try learning a nice, steady stance and hold your breath as you snap, or put the camera on a ledge or tabletop, and use a slower shutter.

 

It takes spectacular outdoor shots but I'm not sure if I'll need to use the beach/snow scene exposure when on the deck and out in the sea.

 

Probably not...Auto mode or Program mode should properly compensate in daylight conditions - the shutter speed will be fine. Scene modes are more designed with preset white balances and aperature settings to reduce glare, reflections, increase or decrease depth of field, etc.

[Titan(ic)5.6]

Cruise ships use many different types of lighting so you will have to change the settings in accordance. Look at the screen on the camera to see which one looks best before you pull the trigger. Any additional color corrections can be made with Photoshop.

[jntradofseas]

The more you learn, the more you learn what you don't know.

 

I had completely forgotten that I could preset the WB if I wanted instead of using the auto (this makes me feel like a professional, have to remember to take a Pure white card). I'll just have to remember to change back when I'm done.

 

I also didn't know you could preview the colors with the LCD screen. I just used it to see if the pic was framed close enough to use and to make sure it wasn't blurry BTH.

 

I tried looking at the color preview with the obvious B&W and Sepia and it hit me like a blinding flash of light that this was a pretty cool advancement. Then I tried with the indoor/party mode and could easily see that the colors under incand. light were just plain un-natural.

 

Thanks for the great tips. I can't wait to try them some more.

 

Photoshop is great for minor corrections and for just plain having fun as I saw on another cruisecritic thread. See below.

 

http://tinypic.com/dmv4ep.jpg

[Tater1800]

Thanks for the replies,

 

I thought about a tripod but decided against it because of all the hassle of carrying it around and setting it up.

 

Jim,

Tripods are a hassle but sometimes you don't have a choice. This picture was taken with auto WB at Atlantis.

 

[mountainhouse]

Looking at the LCD is helpful, but it's relatively small. I'm thinking of a cloudy day shot with WB set for full sun. Skin tones don't look right, and it's hard to see it in the LCD.

 

I just order one of these cool gray cards and I hope it's going to help me nail the WB when I want it perfect.

[zackiedawg]

Yep...grey card is the best way to do it...though white objects work very well if you don't have one.

 

True that an LCD screen would be harder to use for accurate white balance on a very bright day, given that it is only 1.8" and would be washed out by the sun a bit. But for many occasions, especially those indoor ship shots the OP was talking about...the LCD is one of the best tools at his disposal to make sure the WB isn't off before shooting. And being able to set it manually is, for me at least, better than any of the presets!

 

Tater1800...you're right - with a night shot, a tripod is basically a necessity. Any shutter more than 1/2 second, and even a very steady person and a camera with Image Stabilization would be challenged to avoid blur! My signature is a composite of two photos - one of my hometown bay, and one of a cruise ship...both night shots. The bay and hotel was taken late at night on a tripod, like your Atlantis shot...the cruise ship was taken using a railing to steady the cam. White balance I set manually in both cases.

[jntradofseas]

OK, you've all sold me on the tripod. Now I just have to find a way to squeeze one into my suitcase.

I checked out the gray card...briefly. Not sold yet. Do you use this as a preset for white balance? I don't have a gray balance....(that sounded stupid when I typed it)

And why can't someone decide if it's gray or grey.....I love Earl Grey tea, or is it Earl Gray tea?

[Tater1800]

OK, you've all sold me on the tripod. Now I just have to find a way to squeeze one into my suitcase.

 

Suitcase? My tripod is treated as carry-on just as the camera is. My wife has questioned my reasons for taking a tripod. I made my point last year at Atlantis.

 

Tip: Unless you have a shutter release cable for your Nikon getting the shot can be tricky. There are two choices. You can use the self-timer or use the camera's delay. I like using the delay. Simply hit the shutter button fully and pull back. While the auto-focus is running the camera will become steady.

[zackiedawg]

OK, you've all sold me on the tripod. Now I just have to find a way to squeeze one into my suitcase.

 

What you may wish to look for is either a 'travel tripod' which folds much smaller than a typical one, or a table-top one which are only 6-12 inches but will either take the picture from ground level or have to be placed on a table, wall, or ledge. I managed to get my full-sized tripod in my luggage without any problem so far...but I do occasionally bring my lightweight travel tripod up to Disney when I don't want to lug the full sized one. When compacted, it measures only 11 inches, but extends to 50 inches. The full sized tripod is roughly 28" compacted, and can open to 72".

 

I checked out the gray card...briefly. Not sold yet. Do you use this as a preset for white balance? I don't have a gray balance....(that sounded stupid when I typed it)

 

Yes...it is for accurately setting white balance. Balancing the 'white' doesn't necessarily mean you need to be using white. In fact, any automatic white balance system in any camera is attempting to have the 'average' of the color and light coming into the camera equal to 18% grey. A grey card is precisely that - 18% grey - so when the card exposed to whatever light source you have which alters the perceived color and the camera is white balanced, the card appears back to the proper 18% grey.

 

And why can't someone decide if it's gray or grey.....I love Earl Grey tea, or is it Earl Gray tea?

 

Well, the originators of this language we are communicating in...the English...came up with the word 'grey' to describe the color. Maybe it was because I was born in England, but I adhere to this officially ordained and original spelling. The Americans later decided, as they did with many English words, to alter the spelling to suit their slangy, regionalized patois...and came up with Gray. Only the first American to change the spelling will ever really know why.

 

So, neither (neether, nyther) is incorrect...it can be spelled both ways, officially!

[jntradofseas]

You can use the self-timer or use the camera's delay.

I now have a 40" travel tripod...thanks to you guys. I started thinking about the first time I tried to take night photos and I kept getting severe light streaks. The worst result was when I tried to get a photo of the moon....blur....blur....blur and finally one unblurred shot that was so bright I thought I had taken a pic of the sun. The camera's delay was way to fast for me to snap and let go of the camera. I never thought about the timer. I only viewed that as being needed when I wanted to get myself in the image.

Now I need to try the grey card and try it out. I might even get creative and try leaving the auto WB on so I don't forget and just snap a pic with the card and doctor the images in Photoshop...."Curves, or Levels tool (according to what is available in your image editor), select the "Gray point" eyedropper"...save the setting and redo pics taken in the same setting by applying the Grey card settings.

[Titan(ic)5.6]

True that an LCD screen would be harder to use for accurate white balance on a very bright day, given that it is only 1.8" and would be washed out by the sun a bit.

 

Well, if you are outside on a very bright day, you know to set the white balance to "daylight" without even thinking.