03.26
Adobe provides some good camera calibration presets for Lightroom (included in Lightroom 2.3), but you may want to tweak them some more.
I have spent a lot of time tuning my “D300″ preset for making the Nikon’s NEF (RAW) files look good in Lightroom, and think it’s a good start when working with Nikon D300’s NEF (RAW) files.
NEF (RAW) image straight out of the camera
NEF files look very dull and lifeless without any processing. When shooting JPEG, the camera does the processing automatically (adjusting brightness, contrast, color adjustments, sharpening, etc), but a NEF file only contains what the sensor sees. It’s not a finished image, just a start. The camera does not do any of the processing done when shooting JPEG or TIFF.
With the D300 develop preset
This is how the above image looks using my Nikon D300 develop preset, which I automatically apply during the import (see Adobe Photoshop Lightroom: Workflow and tips).
You can download the preset here: Lightroom preset for Nikon D300 (d300.lrtemplate).
For information about how to import the preset, see Adobe’s Create and apply Develop presets.
If you do not already shoot in NEF (RAW) format, read Understanding RAW Files at Luminous Landscape. I shoot 14bit raw most of the time, but switch to 12bit when I need high frame rates.
What do you think?
Which develop settings do you use? What do you think of this one? Suggestions for improvements? Let me know in the comments – thanks!
Update!
I just discovered that the file I uploaded was not the very latest version of the preset! The file has been updated now, so anyone who downloaded the previous one should get the new file for the very latest tweaks. The current/latest file uses the “Camera Standard” camera calibration preset.
Update 2
LifeInDigitalFilm has an excellent tutorial on how to install presets: Presets, In Depth – Part One: Installing and Reading Presets.
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Hi,
Thanks for posting this. I’ve been using the D2x modes but have grown increasingly dissatisfied with them. I installed this and like what it does for some of my initial tests.
the link to download doesntw ork
Chris: I just tested, and it works fine for me. Just right-click, choose “Save as…” and place it where Lightroom can import it. Your web browser should automatically save the file with the name “d300.lrtemplate” (if not: change/update your browser). Full URL to the file: http://automagisk.no/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/d300.lrtemplate
Hi Christian,
This is brilliant. I know a lot of Nikon shooters out there will love this preset.
I’d like to invite you to write a post on the Presetting Lightroom group on Flickr about this preset. I think you’ll find you get a ton of traffic as a result.
Cheers, Markus
Thanks, Markus. I’ve posted a message in the “Presetting Lightroom” group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/presets/discuss/72157615864819129/
Thanx for your work and sharing. Bookmarked this page, will come back when I bought my own D300 (soon I hope).
[...] um preset customizado para a Nikon D300 e acompanhe dicas de workflow no blog [...]
Bought my D300 and downloaded. Looking forward to using it. Thanx.
Congrats with the new camera, Anton! Hope you’ll like the preset too :-)
I like how it brings out the colors and contrast. Thanks.
Chris: Thanks! Nice to hear that there are others out there that find it useful :-)
Hey Christian,
I am new to LR2, and I thank you for the preset! I have been using LR2 for about a week, and it has been a slow learning process, which I am sure I will one day master ;-) My question I have that I am hoping you might be able to help me with..I shoot sports, and usually take many pictures at one event. Because I take so many pics at a event, I shoot jpeg. Do you have any similar presets for jpeg?
Thanks again,
Sean
Sean: Thanks! I only shoot raw, and have no JPEG presets. JPEG offers much, much less post-processing options. The JPEG files are already processed by the camera, in the same way Lightroom processes the raw data, but where Lightroom processes based on your preferences, the camera just gives you standard JPEG with no further tweaking possible. Google “raw vs jpeg” for more information. I recommend switching to raw! :-)
[...] results above, I changed the White Balance to Daylight to warm it up a bit. Then, I applied this wonderful Nikon D300 Preset developed by Christian Løverås of Oslo, Norway. We just started using this preset yesterday and [...]
Hi Christian,
just wanted to DL your preset, but LR 2.4 is always giving me a error message, unsupported format.
If i directly click the link both browsers (IE8+ Firefox 3.0.11) interpret it as an txt-File.
Clicking “save target as” results in File which looks like a LR-Template, LR doesn´t accept it.
Never had those problems using other LR-Templates.
Could you provide your template zipped, to overcome the misinterpretation as ZIP-File
Thanks in advance and best regards,
Mike
Hi, Mike – I just downloaded and imported into LR 2.4, no problems. You must be doing something wrong..
Hey, thanks for the preset. However when comparing the “Camera Standard” to this preset there is not much of a difference between the two, esp as seen in the example above. Is this preset still “needed” with Lightroom 2.4 and the latest ACR?
Cheers!
Thanks, Johan! You’re right, there’s not much difference between the “Camera standard”, but there is some. Check the “camera calibration” part. I use the preset with Lightroom 2.4, and in the end it’s just personal preference, really. And: This preset is the “default”, so most pictures will benefit from some additional tweaking/fiddling..
Hello,
i found your preset in dpreview (D300-D100 forum) yesterday
it’s a great preset … very useful
thank’s
Jose E. Neves
I like the look of the preset with my D90 files–great!
I’m wondering though whether the look is the same as if I were using it with D300 files, as the sensors are nearly the same (not sure about microlenses, etc, though).
Anyone compared?
Thanks
Good preset.. funny, your settings are not too far off from what I’ve worked out myself but I’ve been too lazy to make a preset out of them :) I tend to use a bit more sharpening but everything else is very close to my own starting points including the noise reduction.
Thanks! Maybe I’ll adjust my sharpening a little..
What about this preset in Lightroom 3 (beta)? Does it work as it does in Lightroom 2.5?
Presets can be imported into LR3. I have only tested LR3 briefly, but because it does not import LR2 catalogs, etc I will wait a little before I switch. I hope Adobe will include lens corrections in the official release :-)
I clicked on your link to download the d300 LR preset. However, there was no template, but only the script of your program. What do I have to do to actually download your d300.lrtemplate ?
Thank you for your help
Please read the blog post above and the comments before yours.
[...] All the images are taken with D300 and Sigma 10-20mm at ISO 1600. The only adjustment is my standard develop preset for D300 in Lightroom. [...]
[...] Lightroom presets are really just simple text files, as you can see in this D300 preset: d300.lrtemplate. The same goes for file name presets (for import), metadata presets, etc. Lightroom saves all these files in a hierarchy inside a folder called “Lightroom Settings”. [...]