Newbie asking questions...

[chris1968]

they say the only stupid question is the one you dont ask so, here goes a couple....
(btw - as a newbie i said hi in the Northern Hemisphere thread!)

couple of quick ones -

on the instant the camera focuses i notice in the viewfinder and toplate display that the frame counter suddenly reads 'r12', is this important?

Software question - picture project installed - i can clealry see the icon on my desk top,have also bought a sandisk usb 2 card reader, have installed the software i think - theres a folder on C drive calling itself ArcSoft media Card Companion but no ikon on the desk top - am i right to presume this means the system will automatically read the card without prompting when i insert one - assuming i've plug the usb lead in

guess i could try inserting a card but dont want to bugger things up..

sorry to trouble you with this but the whole thing is completely new to me...

[leek]

The Rnn count in the viewfinder represents the number of photos that can be stored in the camera's buffer (i.e. before writing to the CF Card)... This is only important if you want to shoot continuously at 3 frames per second.
If you do shoot continuously, you will notice that this count reduces... When it hits 0, the time between shutter releases will increase until the buffer is cleared...

R12 seems unusually high though... My D70 usually normally reads R04 to begin with.
What camera do you have and what mode are you shooting in? JPG or RAW?
If JPG, check the size and quality as well... It sounds like you are using something less that Large & Fine and this will adversely affect the quality of your photos.

I can't help with the Picture Project question - never used it...

[chris1968]

thanks for the speedy response John, puts the mind at ease!
edited to add - its a d70 i'm using

shot a quick sequence to check and it just flicked from 12-11!

currently shooting on 'factory'settings - except i turned off the sodding annoying focus confirmation beep - so i am currently capturing JPEG shots.

[Onyx]

Regarding PicProj, I am guessing it will only detect what's on the card if you plug your camera straight into the USB port of your computer. Since this practice is discouraged by many for various reasons we won't get into - I would simply suggest using your Sandisk card reader to transfer images directly and not use Nikon Transfer (or similar application automatically run by Picture Project). PS. At the image setting that yields 'r12' shot buffer, you will never reach r0 (given a fast enough CF card) during continuous shooting.

[leek]

currently shooting on 'factory'settings - except i turned off the sodding annoying focus confirmation beep - so i am currently capturing JPEG shots.

I just experimented with my camera and came to the conclusion that you are probably shooting in Large - Normal JPG mode... I would suggest that you change the image quality setting on the Shooting Menu to Fine instead of Normal. You can always reduce the quality of your images on the PC, but shouldn't do it in the camera unless you have a good reason...

Once you gain familiarity with the world of Digital, I'd actually recommend that you consider using the RAW setting as this gives you the highest quality and a whole realm of flexibility to change / correct your shots on the PC.

[chris1968]

onyx - thanks for that - i'll allways use the card reaader as opposed to connecting the camera direct to the PC

John - thanks for that - my mind is now at ease and i now understand yet another of the multitude of functions this camera has to offer. will now switch to 'fine'

reference RAW - thats the plan for the future, having read about issues with Nikon encoding WB information am i right in thinking that i'll have to have Nikon Capture software to convert / work with NEF files, moving them into say Photoshop Elements for further work? or do i simply commit to Photoshop CS at this stage in my digital imaging life as i think that can handle the NEF encoding? Right now i only posses pictproj so i want to be sure i commit to the right thing

one final thing if i may - work flow - do i download my card direct to processing software or do i dump the information in a separate folder, importing the individual images to the processing software as / when i want to?

[stephen]

All good questions Chris that i am needing answers to also.Im tagging along as im about a week behind you and am also unsure how to transfer files and to what programs to use

[stubbsy]

chris

Regarding WB encryption - neither the D70 or the D70s have encrypted WB, so you don't NEED to use Nikon Capture (although Id o cos I like the program). If you wish you can take your images straight into PS CS using Adobe Camera raw (ACR)

[leek]

reference RAW - thats the plan for the future, having read about issues with Nikon encoding WB information am i right in thinking that i'll have to have Nikon Capture software to convert / work with NEF files, moving them into say Photoshop Elements for further work? or do i simply commit to Photoshop CS at this stage in my digital imaging life as i think that can handle the NEF encoding? Right now i only posses pictproj so i want to be sure i commit to the right thing

Encryption of RAW WB only (currently) affects the Nikon D2x, so for the D70, you can take your pick of the available software out there.
Several software packages have the ability to read Nikon RAW files (or NEF files as they are more commonly called).
You will find that most people structure their workflow in different ways to suit their style of shooting. Personally I use Photoshop CS2 for the whole thing. Photoshop Elements should handle NEFs as well, but will not offer the breadth of functionality that the full version has.
There are quite a few tools that will do the RAW conversion for you:
- Nikon View (which is a free utility provided by your camera) - FREE
- Photoshop Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) which is the front-end convertor in Photoshop - EXPENSIVE
- RawShooter Essentials which is a free utility that helps to smooth your workflow (have a look at their excellent user guide which outlines their recommended workflow) - FREE
- FastStone Image Viewer - FREE
- Picasa (Cataloguing tool from Google) - FREE

Even though there are several free tools out there, if you have the funds to buy Photoshop CS2 I would personally recommend that you do that...

You should be able to Google on any of the above to find the download, but give us a shout if you can't find any of them.

one final thing if i may - work flow - do i download my card direct to processing software or do i dump the information in a separate folder, importing the individual images to the processing software as / when i want to?

As I said above, people will do different things.
Personally, I create folders for each year on my hard disk, then within that folders for each month of that year, and then within that folders for each group of photos. I would copy the NEF files from my CF card in my card reader to a new folder on the hard disk (e.g. folder name 2005-05-05 Taronga Zoo) and then review & rank them with Adobe Bridge (part of CS2), Nikon View, or RawShooter Essentials.
I would then carry out different levels of post-processing depending on the intended use of each photo:
- display on computer (screensaver) - automated conversion to JPG
- display on forum - curves, sharpening, resizing
- printing - more attention to detail

You will probably get other views on this and at the end of the day it is up to you to develop a workflow that you feel comfortable with.

[chris1968]

All good questions Chris that i am needing answers to also.Im tagging along as im about a week behind you and am also unsure how to transfer files and to what programs to use

Stephen - feel free to hitch a ride.....

Stubsy and Leek - many thanks again for the replies, as rightly staed everyone has therir own workflow routines - i just wanted to be sure i was at least starting in a sensible (ie safe for the images i wanted to copy to PC / save! manner. Tonight this Luddite is pleased to say he's succesfully created a new folder on the desktop, set up the cardreader and copied all 18 of my first digital shots to the pc!
Even on screen - 17" Dell flat screen, ultrasharp version, they look bloody good!

From what i read here and elsewhere CS2 would make sense - i just know i'd only want it in the future if i work with Elements now, just dunno how i'm gonna get the further hole in the budget passed SWMBO..

As a further starter for 10 i have, for now, adjusted the camera to JPEG, large image, fine - lordy that certainly puts a dent in the capacity of my 1gb sandisk - i'm starting to comprehend just how much data the camera can now capture...
And i'm off to find a download of sharpshooter.

just one more question - how do i use 'quotes' on here?
picked up the quote from Stephen straight from the original post (a reply automatically opened with the quote in it), but i cant for the life of me work out how to go back in and select various sentences of yours that i'd like to quote, as you did when replying to me

[johnd]

just one more question - how do i use 'quotes' on here?
picked up the quote from Stephen straight from the original post (a reply automatically opened with the quote in it), but i cant for the life of me work out how to go back in and select various sentences of yours that i'd like to quote, as you did when replying to me

Chris, just click on the quote button in top right hand corner of the message you want to quote. Then you can edit out the bits you don't want to quote.

Cheers
John