It really depends on the lighting and what you're shooting. I sometimes use Normal with Matrix in
in high contrast situations or faces shadowed under cowboy hats...you'll have to play around some
as there's no "one size fits all" setting. I don't use auto anything on my D800, tweaks are 1/2 the fun.
Chris Dees wrote:
Shoot RAW and D-lightning to off (like all of those settings ). Use Lightroom or Capture NX (or other RAW converter) for processing.
+1
That's the best strategy... at least for me. Of course if you need to shoot in jpeg then is a different story... but as Will pointed out there is no reason to leave the camera to decide, so Auto will be my last option.
To get the full dynamic range of the D800 which is at ISO 100 I use active D-lighting set to high, other than that I have it OFF for most shots as it will increase noise levels in the shadows at higher ISO's due to it shifting the exposure to the left when ON.
). Use Lightroom or Capture NX (or other RAW converter) for processing.