G1's 'Film Modes'

[aureliaaurita]

So I've taken some happy snaps at the zoo with my G1, all of which I am please with

on saturday I am taking it with me to visit a friend and her horse, going to do a bit of a photo shoot

I don't have very high expectations of it, told her it's just so that I can play with my camera and she can have some pleasant pictures.

now I know I should have played more but what are the 'film modes' 😱

I saw someone on here posted some black and white shots that were done with one of these automatic settings on and they looked fantastic but does anyone have any examples of the different modes?

also, are there any marked disadvantages to using them?

 

[retnull]

For B+W, I prefer "Standard B+W" -- it preserves more detail. Using "Dynamic B+W" makes the shot look punchy right out of the camera, but leaves you fewer possibilities for post-processing. You can make an image shot in "Standard" look like it was shot in "Dynamic", but not the other way around.

Oh, and be sure to set WB (white balance) correctly, any time the light changes.

 

[250swb]

I like to leave my G1 on 'Smooth' with maybe a click less saturation. I find 'Normal' a bit harsh for most things and prefer the easier option of ramping things up in post processing rather than the more difficult job of calming down unruly tones, contrast, and saturation.

Steve

 

[JBurnett]

My preference is to simply and always shoot RAW, and to apply any desired effects later in software. Raw files give one the greatest flexibility for post-shoot processing.

 

[JoeV]

I've shot raw, raw+jpeg and now mostly jpeg only. I use the standard film mode, but have the contrast, sharpening, noise reduction and color saturation dialed down a few notches, then have saved this as a "custom 1" film setting. In PS I find I can extract good images from the camera using this setting.

~Joe

 

[Tuolumne]

I was surprised to note how much better the raw files were than the jpgs with this camera, and I happen to be big fan of jpgs. Once you learn how to process them, the raw files give a really splendid image. I use the jpg as a reference for what to do to the raw.

/T

 

[aureliaaurita]

I don't really understand the raw / jpg thing to be perfectly honest.

how do I turn off the noise reduction? I don't want my noise reduced.

 

[JBurnett]

I don't really understand the raw / jpg thing to be perfectly honest.

RAW files contain the data that your sensor captured without modification. If you choose JPG, then your camera choices of sharpness, contrast, white balance and so on are applied to the file before saving. If you choose JPG only (as opposed to RAW + JPG), then the RAW data is discarded when the JPG is recorded. Having said that, many of your camera choices (sharpness, etc.) are also recorded along with the RAW file and can be applied by the RAW processing software at your discretion. Depending on the RAW processing software, it may even present these camera choices as "the default" when presenting the RAW file for processing.

RAW files are unique to each camera. RAW files must be "processed" by sofware that has the details about the camera's RAW format. Your G1 comes with a version of SilkyPix that will process G1 RAW files. Adobe Camera Raw (5.4) also processes G1 files. There are others. RAW files are uncompressed.

JPG is a "universal" file format, rather than specific to one camera. JPG was designed to be a compressed file format with some nominal (but typically unnoticeable) data loss. One thing to watch when editing JPGS -- by default, many editors are set to recompress JPG files (with additional data loss) each time a file is edited and resaved. The amount of compression is usually choosable. Even if you start with RAW, you will typically use the JPG format for files to be presented on the web, and sometimes when sending a file to a print service.

For many photographers, JPG is perfectly acceptable, and certainly less hassle than RAW. Bear in mind that the camera settings are applied at the time of shooting. If you want to change something afterwards you can certainly do that with editing software. When making changes, however, I would rather start with a "clean" RAW file, than a JPG in which parameters have already been saved. In my experience, I have greater flexibility and better results going back to the RAW file.

As an example, consider a JPG that has been shot and saved with higher contrast and with noise reduction. You may notice some loss of detail in the highlights and shadows. In the JPG, that detail is gone. In the RAW file there may be detail still available, and the file can be processed for it. In fact, RAW files can be processed in multiple ways (e.g. once for highlights, once for shadow detail) and the results combined in software.

 

[JoeV]

John's reply was excellent; I just wanted to add that, should you choose to shoot JPEG, the various "film modes" each have parameters that can be custom adjusted to your liking. FYI, even if you don't consciously choose a film mode, the camera is actually recording JPEG's in the "standard" film mode, unless you've chosen otherwise. And even if you're shooting RAW only, what you see on the EVF/LCD is actually from the JPEG settings on the camera. The various parameters -- contrast, exposure, color saturation, noise reduction, sharpening -- can be tweaked for each film mode, and saved as custom settings.

Another shooting mode that I've played with is when shooting B/W, it's nice to previsualize the scene in the EVF/LCD in B/W, but still have the option of full RAW file conversion later. In that case I shoot RAW+JPEG, and select one of the B/W film modes. The view on the EVF/LCD is from the B/W film mode you've selected, so you can see your compositions in monochrome. But the RAW file is still in full color, with which you can perform your B/W conversion later, using channel mixer or your other preferred conversion method, lending you more flexibility. I do this especially when shooting high-ISO in low light situations where the color noise may be objectionable, but a good B/W conversion can often remove more noise and lend the scene a great B/W documentary look.

~Joe

 

[Chris101]

...
how do I turn off the noise reduction? I don't want my noise reduced.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmcg1/page19.asp

Scroll down to where it says "Raw Noise" and it discusses turning NR off on the G1.