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Camera Raw color issue

jonathanthomson
 
Posts: 8

Camera Raw color issue

Post Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:42 pm


Okay, I finally bit the bullet and bought Adobe CS4. When I open Camera Raw and view my NEF files the thumbnails are vibrant. But when I open one of those images in Camera Raw the vibrant color is gone and looks flat like I'm shooting in Adobe RGB even though the blue link below the image reads sRGB IEC61966-2.1; 16bit. So, my color setting are already at sRGB. Do I need to change something else in color settings or the preferences menu?
Thanks

mennoh
 
Posts: 2

Re: Camera Raw color issue

Post Sun Jan 11, 2009 10:08 pm


Actually, the thumbnail is a (not so) small JPEG, produced by the camera. What you see in the raw image is - well, the raw data. The colors as you perceive them have nothing to do with the color space.

I am using GIMP and UFRAW for processing so you may find some words strange, but this is my " workflow fwiw:
  • Adjust the white balance if necessary. I am usually departing from camera white balance as my Olympus does that quite well
  • After that I adjust the repsonse curve; what part of the histogram needs more bang and what needs less. Experiment!
  • Saturation may also need adjustment. Use with care. I remember that at first I thought there was little difference with the response, but there is. It can falsify colors terribly and cause nasty color blotches.
After that, usually only finetuning of color balance or sharpening in the picture processing is necessary.

HTH

Menno

jonathanthomson
 
Posts: 8

Re: Camera Raw color issue

Post Sun Jan 11, 2009 10:34 pm


Thanks for your response. So if that's the case, the in-camera color settings don't make much difference when shooting NEF, correct? The image will appear (approximately) like it's been shot in Adobe RGB until I make adjustments in ACR to match the thumbnail, even if my in-camera settings are for sRGB and VIVID.

dang
 
Posts: 3780

Re: Camera Raw color issue

Post Mon Jan 12, 2009 3:33 am


jonathanthomson wrote:Thanks for your response. So if that's the case, the in-camera color settings don't make much difference when shooting NEF, correct? The image will appear (approximately) like it's been shot in Adobe RGB until I make adjustments in ACR to match the thumbnail, even if my in-camera settings are for sRGB and VIVID.

You didn't say which camera you're using, but when shooting RAW with a Canon, jpg settings do not affect the RAW file. Depending on the camera, you should be able to shoot RAW + jpg, if you want to keep an unprocessed image.

mennoh
 
Posts: 2

Re: Camera Raw color issue

Post Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:23 pm


jonathanthomson wrote:Thanks for your response. So if that's the case, the in-camera color settings don't make much difference when shooting NEF, correct? The image will appear (approximately) like it's been shot in Adobe RGB until I make adjustments in ACR to match the thumbnail, even if my in-camera settings are for sRGB and VIVID.

I am not sure about the color space (sRGB) but VIVID is a property for the jpeg converter and has no bearing on your raws.

Menno

heinsite
 
Posts: 151

Re: Camera Raw color issue

Post Tue Mar 10, 2009 8:44 am


jonathanthomson wrote:Okay, I finally bit the bullet and bought Adobe CS4. When I open Camera Raw and view my NEF files the thumbnails are vibrant. But when I open one of those images in Camera Raw the vibrant color is gone and looks flat like I'm shooting in Adobe RGB even though the blue link below the image reads sRGB IEC61966-2.1; 16bit. So, my color setting are already at sRGB. Do I need to change something else in color settings or the preferences menu?
Thanks


Regardless of camera (Nikon, Canon, other) whenever you shoot in RAW format the display on the camera will be a processed JPEG based on your settings. So if you had adjusted the white balance for a cloudy day and tweaked vibrance and sharpening settings, those are what you'll see in the preview. This image may show up as a thumbnail in many processing programs too. When you first import your images to the computer with Bridge you'll see those processed thumbnails... but since the images are RAW the computer will soon "take the color away" and instead show you flat images. These are the actual RAW photos. They're totally unprocessed. When you open the image in ACR you're seeing just what the sensor saw... an unprocessed, uncorrected image. Sometimes it can be difficult to get that same color back. Fortunately nowadays there are a number of options.

One way to begin in ACR is to try the settings found in the Camera Calibration Camera Profile dialog. This wll vary depending on your camera model. Another place to check is the White Balance Presets. This will often get much of your color back. From here you can go back to the Basic tab and continue adjusting.

You also want to check the working space setting. For web displays use sRGB. Most printing processors nowadays also want you to leave the workspace at sRGB. But if you have your own color printer you'll get the best results with Adobe RGB.

Here's the non-ACR solution:

If you want to shoot in raw but get pictures out in a hurry with your camera settings but without spending a lot of time in ACR there's another way. There's a very slick program online called 'JPEG from RAW'. It does just what it says, it takes a full directory of raw images and converts them to JPEGs for you. It doesn't do anything other than get you the same JPEG images you saw on the back of the camera. It's fast and safe and you can find it here: http://rawworkflow.squarespace.com/inst ... w-utility/

Enjoy!
Dave.

nelu_goia
 
Posts: 16
Location: Calgary

Re: Camera Raw color issue

Post Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:04 pm


There is no color issue with Camera Raw. Raw files don`t care about any presets in the camera. As their name show, they are just raw information from the sensor which MUST be processed using somekind of RAW converting software.
What you see on the camera`s display is just a sRGB version of the raw file and you should not pay too much attention to it. Use the histogram instead to make sure that you have all the information there and it is not clipped too much.
If you really like the way the small image looks on the camera`s display, that can easily be duplicated in any decent program.
Anyways, for best results, after you are done editing the photo, convert it to sRGB before uploading it to web but leave the "master-copy" as ProPhoto RGB or AdobeRGB and if possible, as tiff or .psd file.
I always backup my files as plain simple raw files also.
Happy shooting!:)
Nelu

lediana
 
Posts: 2

Re: Camera Raw color issue

Post Sat Jul 18, 2009 1:11 am


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aideen
 
Posts: 10

Re: Camera Raw color issue

Post Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:52 pm


Hi,

There are lots of new features in raw your best bet is to buy Scott Kelby`s book
The Adobe Photoshop CS4 book for digital photographers
I have been using his books since photoshop 7 over 6 yrs now. I buy because with each new version of ps there are new features from the last one.

You must start in raw by adjusting your white balance. Then the exposure making sure that the histogram is lit to show you highlight and shadows spills. You have a spot remover crop etc.......

It is worth the price of the book to take full advantage you this new version of pscs4 and it's raw panel.
You can do most of the editing in Raw.

You must set your Raw to RGB also, not just the camera.

Good luck
Aideen

nikko2
 
Posts: 5

Re: Camera Raw color issue

Post Sun Jan 31, 2010 6:37 am


This is something everyone needs to read in regard to Raw files, browsers that read or not color spaces, etc etc etc

http://regex.info/blog/photo-tech/color-spaces-page1

Color management and proper profiles = Happy Reading ~ thank me later~


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