Color accuracy?

I've a Kodak DX6340, recently noticed that some colors are not
reproduced accurately. A deep blue/almost purple flower I was
taking a close up of did not appear in the digital viewfinder
to be the correct color, nor the finished image as displayed
on my PC screen. It appears lighter than the real thing.
I don't know if this is typical for this type of camera
of if the sensor is aging? Camera is 4 yrs old and has been
used quite a bit. Do the sensors degrade over time especially
if exposed to bright sunlight? Thanks

 

Doesn't seem likely that the sensor has degraded. It's easy to imagine a
camera having difficulty metering an exposure properly on something of
that color, though. You might try a different metering mode or try
bracketing. Don't expect center-weighted or spot metering to get it
right. If you have manual exposure controls, try setting the exposure
for stuff in the background.

Ron

 

Ron,

The only options for metering light are multi-pattern, center-weighted
and spot metering. The camera was set to multi-pattern when I took the
image of the flower. What is bracketing? Also, how would I set
exposure "for stuff in the background", assuming this camera has that
capability? Lastly, would it have made any difference in color
accuracy, had I taken the picture in a setting other than "Close-Up Mode"?
Thanks very much for your reply.

Mike

 

Mike,
Multi-pattern would be the best of those 3 choices. If you don't have
manual exposure control, you might be stuck. Bracketing consists of
taking additional exposures at settings like 1 f-stop higher and 1
f-stop lower to increase the chances of getting a good shot. Some
cameras can do this automatically. If you can adjust EV (exposure
value), that might also help. Close-Up Mode wouldn't likely affect the
exposure. On the other hand, if you took the picture from farther away,
metering might do better. You could crop the image later.

Ron

 

Ron,

The camera does allow aperture priority settings, so next time I will
try the 1 f-stop higher lower idea. It also does (I think) have EV
which lets you choose from -2 to +2. I'm not sure, but I think changing
those values changes both f-stop and shutter speed automatically.
What exactly do u mean by manual exposure control? Wouldn't that
be a combination of f-stop, shutter speed and ISO settings?
I can adjust all of those to some extent, but not for just
the background of a close up shot.
Thanks again for all your help. It's much appreciated.

Mike

 

Hi Fellows. new guy here - Harvey -I use a Panosonic Lumix FZ3 - a
fixed lense digital with lots of settings - I have started using the
bracketing mod +1.5 - & -1.5 for most all of my "Specila" shots that
along with photoshop seems to get most all I could ever want from my
photos.
I even recently shot the full moon and got my first decent shot.
spot light metering mode
spot focuseing
-2 steps on light
the camera took the photo at F2.8 at 1/25

Harvey in the California Sierras about 75 mi South of Lake Tahoe.

 

In manual control, you set the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture
yourself, hopefully with the help of an internal or external light
meter. Most non-SLR digital cameras don't have that capability. Sounds
like you can change EV, so you might not need it.

Ron