[Cailean]

I find myself doing this to almost every photo I take (see Wilmot Township Showcase, for example)
The problem I find is that boosting the saturation in post-processing sometimes has a negative affect on quality - noise-like. (when I get home, I'll post an example)

My question is, can I avoid the quality loss if I set the camera to 'high' saturation before I shoot?

[shuttertalk]

My reasoning would be that if you capture the "optimal" image in-camera, and the less post processing and adjustments you need to do, then the higher the quality of the output.

The risk is though, that you get the settings wrong and completely bugger up the picture, and you might not be able to tell until you view on your PC monitor.

[Cailean]

My reasoning would be that if you capture the "optimal" image in-camera, and the less post processing and adjustments you need to do, then the higher the quality of the output.

That's what I was thinking... Since I'm forced to shoot in JPEG, maybe it boosts the saturation as it captures the image before it's compressed? (My knowledge of how these things actually work is limited...) Boosting the compressed JPEG (in post) would presumably result in more artifacts... Yes? No?

The risk is though, that you get the settings wrong and completely bugger up the picture, and you might not be able to tell until you view on your PC monitor.

This is precisely why I leave the in-camera sharpness and contrast settings at 'Standard'.

[slejhamer]

I'm not a big fan on in-camera saturation boosting, and if I do an overall boost I prefer instead to do it in Capture One when I convert from RAW. This is usually pretty modest, maybe 2 to 3% on average - just enough to add a little "crispness" to the colors.

If I'm working on a landscape I might use my velvia emulator in photoshop instead, and for portraits I sometimes use Katrin Eismann's ps technique to warm up skintones:

-Open up a hue/saturation adjustment layer
-Select Yellows
-Here's the cool part: hold down the shift key and drag the eyedropper across
an area of skintones, from a highlight area to a shadow area. The range of yellow
hues at the bottom of the hue/sat dialog box will adjust as you do this.
-Now boost saturation a little bit, maybe 5-10%.
-Next, select Reds in the hue/sat dialog and boost saturation as necessary, 2-5%.

[Toad]

Cailean:

Use RAW. No irreversable in-camera image modifications - no compression. Do what you want afterwards.

It is a more complex workflow - but you will be amazed at the difference in quality you get.

[Cailean]

Use RAW.

Would if I could.... The new FZ20 offers TIFF, but I'm limited to JPEG for the time being.

[StudioJ]

I've found myself shooting in RAW a lot more recently and its driving me nuts, although it now takes a lot less time post processing as I do most of the work when converting it takes me longer getting the actual images to the point of being ready to edit!

I can't remember what you use to edit with Cailean, although in Photoshop I tend to stray away from Hue/Saturation and use the Channel Mixer to increase my saturation.

Hey Mitch with that technique, I've found quite a few images get a green tinge to them given that yellow is complementary to green, have you noticed this happening?

[slejhamer]

Hey Mitch with that technique, I've found quite a few images get a green tinge to them given that yellow is complementary to green, have you noticed this happening?

Actually no; quite the opposite - I find the skintones get VERY warm, and I typically end up at a lower setting than is recommended in the book. (This could be because I tend to bias my WB toward warmth rather than neutral.)

Are you talking about a shift in the rest of the image? I can imagine that happening, but easy enough to remove with a layer mask.

[StudioJ]

I think it could be something to do with my original lighting conditions, it isn't on all images but it is rather common on those taken indoors, there could be some existing fluorescent tint sitting in there that becomes more noticeable.

[smelly]

I tend not to up the saturation on camera as it's risky. I'm not one to falter away from post processing editing so I'd rather saturate on the PC.