Setting For L1 D3

[d_lague]

Can anyone suggest initial settings for the L1/D3? I think there was a post on this subject here.

What are recommendations?

Dick

[jdlaing]

For basic settings on my D3 I set the sharpening to the right (up) one notch and the noise reduction all the way to the left (down to off). I use that setting as My Film Mode 1.

Try that one and adjust to suit your needs.

[fschubert]

You can also experiment with the built-in different film modes. Use right-arrow button to select and check the shartness, noise reduction, and other settings and create yours to best suit your tastes. In my My Film 1, I have Contrast and Saturation +1, Sharpness +2, Noise Reduction off. As a comparison, the built-in Dynamic mode differs in that its Sharpness is +1. The rest are the same as mine.

[spylaw4]

I have (at last) located what was posted on the forum by users after considerable experiment, and can confirm that I got excellent results from these and similar settings.

1. To optimise a D3/L1, change the following......

AF, is 3-zones, ie left-center-right which slows down and confuses the focussing. If you change this setting to 'center only', the D3 is many times faster to focus.

Create a 'Film 1' profile, based on 'dynamic' and ensure sharpness is set to highest, and Noise Reduction set to lowest.

Set OIS to Mode 2.

2. ,,,,,,,,,, the biggest negative is that the standard default settings out of the box allows the capture of quite mediocre images, which could be resulting in many of the Internet's poor reports on this camera's ability. The default settings-
a) 3x zone autofocus .... this really confuses the focussing, and slows it down whilst the camera goes back and forth across the 3x zones (Left - Center - Right)
b) Auto WhiteBalance,
c) Auto Aperature Control
d) Standard Film . <<< This one deserves lots of testing by the user.


3. From the same poster... I have changed my mind 3x over the last 3 months, as I'm optimising this Camera.Now I am using the following settings:

a) "Central Zone only" Autofocus..... and this is VERY fast for autofocus.

b) Manual Whitebalance, there are the usual pre-sets, plus also a really nice Variable setting by Colour Temperature.

c) Manual Aperature, I find F5.6 (+/- half to one stop) is a nice sweet spot

d) ISO 200 is as good as ISO100..........99% of the time
ISO 400 is as good as ISO100........97% of the time
ISO 800-1600 is very good considering the circumstance you would use it

e) Film 1 setting based on Dynamic Colour with minimum Noise Reduction
I'm also using also using Dynamic Colour sometimes.

f) for B&W I have been using ISO400 and Dynamic B&W and manual aperature control.

g) OIS set to Mode 2 only.

I've got to say, anyone who has played with these settings will see how awesome this camera really is. Leica and Panasonic have really taken the D2, and turned it inside out by providing the flexability of these settings to really tweak this High-Performance Camera.

Any reviewer, who doesn't document these parameters has not really understood the product.

Of course you should make sure you have the latest firmware installed! I would agree about the NR setting and as far as I can recall the sharpening also. It pays to experiment a bit and YMMV.

Good luck and let us see the results.