if you're shooting raw the picture controls do nothing.

don't worry about what colours are the most popular. you can't make art based on what others like. base it on what you like.

copy a picture (virtual copy in lightroom) and try many different colour settings, saving each one as a jpeg. choose the one you like. do this a dozen times for different photos. did you like the same setting pictures most of the time?

this should help you decide.

Frankchen said:
Maybe at first time, the photo shot by NL will be some kind of gray(not vivid), but it is more real and not tired to watch it.

I am confused, dose the photo with high contrast vivid color mean nice photo? Or, should we just capture the real natural scene?

How do you decide which picture control is to be chosen?

You will notice "noise" even at minimum ISOs on clear blue skies/grayish backgrounds on your JPEGS if you choose to go vivid - which is a combination of increased contrast and sharpness.

Unfortunately , it seems to be the choice of all those who start using a Nikon DSLR for the first time - thanks mostly to Mr Ken Rockwell who insists everyone use Vivid+2 , Saturation +3 or sharpness +7 settings in picture control .

It takes a while to kick this habit and start looking beyond bright/vivid colors in photos . So if you want to save yourself a few months , I'd say forget Vivid , forget high sharpness or contrast - just stick to Standard and maybe +1 saturation while you are shooting JPEG.

DaveyJ - have to disagree with You, what is the reason to use RAW and jpg fine? IMHO none, as this jpg is too big to put it directly on web page, and not as versatile as RAW. I would go for RAW + jpg small, as it gives You the ability to share Your pictures almost instantaneously

There is a discussion on NR about RAW versus JPEG. If you are not sure and have a camera that can take both I strongly suggest you use RAW plus JPEG fine, large. I do when it really counts. Most of the time I prefer JPEG fine, large over raw. Suggest you do a search on this topic on NR as the discussion on this topic is very important! I shot JPEG fine large most of the time on my D700 (and D300, D90, etc.) but you'd better find out what the deal is on JPEG versus RAW.

If you shoot in raw, switching between the various picture controls in even View NX is so simple, it's not worth loosing too much sleep over at the point of capture. My D700 is set to record 12bit RAW & small basic jpegs.

Thanks for reply.

Then, maybe stupid quesion: What do you often take JPEG OR RAW?
And how much time will you spend in doing Raw afterwork?

It seems that Jpg neutral actually dulls the natural colors a bit on both the D90, D700, and D5000. Another reason to shoot raw.

To adamz
Thanks for your kindly reply.

I understand that it depends on personal choice. Then, Which is more popular?

if You are shooting raw than picture control is not making a big difference, it works with jpg though

as for vivid versus flat/natural photo it's a personal choice IMHO, I like when the subject has high contrast, and the overall scene is vivid, but it all depends on personal choice as I wrote before

Hello everyone, I'm new here, and please forgive my poor English.

I am the user of D700, and almost be shocked by its amazing performance.
Usually, I use SD or Landscape for outside shotting by RAW, but in these days, I found that the NL of Picture Control with Brightness-1 can make the photo closer to its own real color.

Maybe at first time, the photo shot by NL will be some kind of gray(not vivid), but it is more real and not tired to watch it.

I am confused, dose the photo with high contrast vivid color mean nice photo? Or, should we just capture the real natural scene?

How do you decide which picture control is to be chosen?

PS: sorry for poor English again.
Looking forward for your answer.