Samsung NX300 and Tutankhamun

Before all the hullabaloo I was able to get to the Tutankhamun Exhibition at Silverstar Casino recently and it is truly an amazing experience.  The exhibition has been extended to 12 April 2015.

The rules of the exhibition state that you are allowed to take photos but ONLY for personal use and if you do not interfere with the viewing of others.  Also no tripods, flashes or backpacks allowed.

So naturally I took along two cameras lol.  I took my Canon 650D with 50mm (low light lens) and my Samsung NX300 with 18-55mm kit lens (I wanted a wider angle as the 50mm doesn't having zooming capabilities).  Both fit into my small shoulder bag.

The photos posted here have been taken with the Samsung NX300 and 18-55mm.  A member of my photographic community will be working with my one photo (the same composition taken with the NX300 will be posted here) and when available on his site I will post the link here.  He's the reason I started playing a little more with Lightroom 4.

I'll admit I'm not an expert where LR4 is concerned because I have been working with PSE the entire time.  But thought I'd give it a try.  Other than adding my watermark in PSE, all other editing has been done in Lightroom 4 (including using the Cloning Brush).

You will see that with some photos the ISO was 3200, which is quite high but working with the Luminance and Detail slider under Noise Reduction helps to reduce the noise greatly.  Just go easy with the Luminance slider as it will start to soften the details the higher you go.  Work with the Detail and the Contrast slider to bring back more detail.

Also, most of the photos were taken using the Smart Shooting Mode. Although I won't remember which feature (EXIF data shows these features as Normal) I think I used the Rich Tones feature the most.

ISO 3200, 1/25 seconds, f4.5

ISO 1600, 1/50, f4

ISO 3200, 1/20, f5

ISO 3200, 1/30, f5.6

ISO 3200, 1/30, f5.6, here the statue was on a stand which I cloned out in LR4. A very common image but still an experience.  See below for settings in LR4.

ISO 3200 1/40, f3.5

ISO 3200, 1/30, f4.5 - taken in Manual Mode, RAW, no tripod or flash

ISO 3200, 1/50, f4

Learn to use your Lightroom 4 software that came with your Samsung NX300 because it's a pretty powerful program that gives far more flexibility with exposure, shadows, colour etc than Photoshop Elements (but does not allow for layers and composites).

Settings used for the Tutankhamun Head Statue:

The colour on my screen, which has been calibrated, is more golden and darker than it may appear in your browser.

Under Basic:
Temp: +2
Tint: 0
Exposure: +12
Contrast: 0
Highlights: 0
Shadows: -40
White: 0
Blacks: -52
Clarity: +7
Vibrance: +10
Saturation: 0

Tone Curve was left on Linear and customised:

HSL/Color/B&W:

Color was selected with the following adjustments:

Red - no adjustment
Orange - Saturation -9, Luminance +13
Yellow: Saturation -13, Luminance +4
Green to Magenta - no adjustment

Split Toning

Highlights - Hue was set to 60 and the Saturation set to 21
Shadows - Hue 43, Saturation 27
Balance was set to +10

I like to add some blue to some images that have an orange hue to take away some of the warmth.

Detail

I don't really like to add sharpening unless I work with Topaz Clarity as sharpening can increase the noise in a photo.  As it is the ISO is quite high in this photo so noise is also increased.  But under Detail I prefer to use the Luminance and Detail Slider.

Sharpening amount is set to 0.  Don't worry about the greyed out settings beneath it.

Noise reduction settings:
Luminance: 32
Detail: 56
Contrast: 0
Colour: 0, greyed out Detail is also 0

I didn't use Lens Correction, Effects, or Camera Calibration settings.

Books on Lightroom and Photography in General

I'm a huge book fanatic but books have become extremely expensive.  Being a bit of a bargain hunter, price and quality is a must and finding both in one package isn't always possible.  Below are books that I have, with the exception of LR5 and PSE 11.

The Samsung NX300 comes with Lightroom 4 and I went searching for a how to book on LR4, even though LR5 is currently out.

Martin Evening's book The Adobe Lightroom 4 Book is extremely detailed and quite a large reference book (around 681 pages).  It does read a bit like a textbook but for the price it's worth owning as far as I'm concerned as being a newbie means starting from scratch.  I have looked at other authors like Scott Kelby but his books are a bit over priced for me.  I do have his Photoshop Elements 10 book, which I will link to.

For those who have Lightroom 5, I'm also providing a link below.

Scott Kelby - The Photoshop Elements 10 Book for Digital Photographers.  Scott Kelby is good at what he does but at times I feel he is a little too jovial.  Some people will go for his way of teaching and others want a slightly more serious way.  It's all about opinion.  He does know what he is talking about and the PSE 10 book provides valuable information on working with your photos.

TAKE NOTE: Scott Kelby doesn't like to repeat himself in updated versions of his books so if you are looking for a book on PSE 10 from beginning to end, this book won't be it.  See this as more of an extension of information.  I'm a firm believer in having at least one fully detailed reference book that explains from start to finish and then adding on other books more based on technique.

I will include books on the later versions of the software as well.

Adobe's Photoshop Elements 10 Classroom in a book is pretty thorough but tends to lean more towards organising your photos (as they seem to have done in the past with previous versions).  A CD is included that contains the project photos and is fairly good starting point for anyone new to PSE.  The link to the Photoshop Elements 11 Classroom in a book is for an ebook.

As said above, I find Scott Kelby's books too expensive but there is one book/DVD combo I think is worth looking at.  The price is way overstated and I was lucky enough to get this for a bargain.  Here you are taught lighting techniques and shown behind the scenes of how a photo was taken.  The book is small, only 73 pages with a few blank pages (maybe for notes).  The DVD is of more importance.

Tom Ang is known for producing excellent books.  He has a slightly more intense and serious approach towards photography than Scott Kelby.  Don't get me wrong, both are the first authors people turn to when learning about photography.  However, I like Tom Ang's way a little more.

Tom Ang's Fundamentals of Modern Photography was reprinted in 2009 and includes information on both digital and film photography.  I did not find this an easy book to read and yet it's one my of favourite books.  Tom Ang discusses how a camera works as well as what photography is all about.  I consider it a must have for my reference books.  There are colour photos on practically every page including set up ideas.

Tom Ang - The Complete Photographer.  No matter how many books you read there isn't a single book out there that is in fact complete for any photographer.  The Complete Photographer does cover the popular photography styles and so on, but oddly enough seems to be missing a section on Food Photography.  I would have liked to have seen Food Photography at least given some interest so while this book claims to be "Complete" it isn't.  

If any book was "Complete" it would be massive but still, The Complete Photographer wouldn't have suffered by adding a few more pages dedicated to Food Photography.  Other than that, Travel, Fashion and Nude (yes nude), Architecture and other styles/subjects are covered nicely.  The book doesn't contain step by step instructions on how to take the photos mentioned and contains portfolios and behind the scenes of other photographers.  There is a massive amount of photos in this book with image analysis of photos, showing you what to look out for.

Small assignments are also added for the reader and while this is a book you would want to add to your collection, it's not what I would call a reference book.  I look to The Complete Photographer as an aid for inspiration and to get the creative juices flowing.

DK Publishers are known for having photos on every page, making their books a visual experience.

Keep in mind, not one book on photography is perfect and each book contributes to a bigger picture.  I usually take a look at the reviews on book sites especially Amazon.com.  Pay close attention to the negatives as well as the positives as not everyone complaining is doing so just to complain.  It doesn't mean you should forget that specific book, it just helps to know what the good and bad is beforehand.

If you have any books you think are worth reading, please leave a comment below.  I always like to hear what others think :-D.

Samsung NX300 - Program Mode

Personally, I'd say that Program Mode (P on the dial) is the next step up from Smart Auto Mode for beginners in SLRs.  Here you gain a little more control by adjusting the shutter and aperture yourself while the camera keeps the exposure the same.  If you increase the shutter speed the aperture (the F and number seen at the bottom) decreases and visa versa.

Right: number of shots available, battery, Dynamic Range, photo size (20M), Drive, Flash, Metering, AF mode, Focus Area, OIS, RAW format, Fn menu

Left: Program Mode, Autoshare, AF options, Menu, Histogram (the graph)

You have the option of changing the following on the camera via the Fn button:

 EV (exposure value where you can adjust the brightness), ISO, White Balance, Picture Wizard (with various effects, AF Mode (sets focus mode), AF Area (sets the focus area), Drive, Flash, Metering

The menu button also offers the options above.

The following photos were all taken in Program Mode.  Here I'm showing the before (taken straight from the camera, unedited) and after photos (with some basic colour correction and some photos with a little more artistic fun).

ISO: 800, shutter speed: 1/200, aperture: f/5.6, no flash, handheld

ISO: 100, shutter speed: 1/60, aperture: f/5.6, no flash, handheld

ISO: 100, shutter speed: 1/250, aperture: f/7.1, no flash, handheld

ISO: 100, shutter speed: 1/640, aperture: f/5.6, no flash, handheld

The photo of the parrots was taken just before sunset, so light was low.  Considering that the parrots were moving and the low light which resulted in a slower shutter speed, the Samsung NX300 did a good job of capturing a sharp photo.  I could have opened my aperture further but then the DOF would have been narrower.  

Unlike Smart Auto Mode (where you can only save in JPEG format), in Program Mode you can select to have the camera save your photos in RAW format (SRW file extension for Samsung NX300).  SRW format requires Lightroom 4's update (which is free) in order to view and edit the file.  As said before, software manufacturers are still updating for the newer cameras.

A green line appears under the shutter speed and aperture indicating that the exposure is correct for these settings (in other modes the settings will turn red for incorrect exposure).  You will find that in some cases you won't be able to go past a certain aperture or shutter speed number (example, in low light) as this would not maintain the same exposure according to the settings.  See it as the camera looking out for you by not allowing you to over or underexpose the photo.

As you can see with the Balloon photo and Plane photo, the Program Mode on the Samsung NX300 exposed the photos fairly well. Both contained enough light to work without editing whereas the Parrots photo and Flower photo needed some minor adjustments.

The Plane photo was taken on a sunny day around mid morning where the sun was shining directly down without any coverage for me or the camera.  Direct sun can blow out highlights and look harsh, causing unwanted reflections.  The plane (a Harvard, I think), was also moving, as can be seen by the slight blur of the propeller.  

The sky is a little bland but being a typical South African Winter, no clouds were visible.  However, the NX300 still captured the blue from the top fading down to the ground into the white, smog filled part of the sky.  In the past I have had to deal with a bleached sky when using my other DSLR, where not one part of blue was visible.  It's not difficult to replace a sky or use other techniques to bring out more detail.  But that can be time consuming and I'm pretty happy with result from the NX300.

I start out any RAW format files from the Samsung NX300 in Lightroom 4, make a few adjustments and then Export to PSE 10.  You can do all of your adjustments in Lightroom 4 as it's a powerful program with quick and easy edits.  I like to add a little something extra, which is why PSE 10 is usually the last software used in my workflow.

In the Plane photo, the second plane was made to look like an old photo using Lightroom 4 and a few easy adjustments.  Nothing further was done to the photo in any other photographic software. I did try a similar effect in Photoshop Elements 10 but couldn't get the result that I wanted (and that LR4 provided), even with the Guided feature. 

That's it for now.  Next shooting mode is Aperture Priority.