dan_belmont Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 OK Guys and Gals, this is probably a million dollar question... Here goes: I have been using a nikon D70 and PSCS to convert RAW files. I shoot only in RAW and do a lot of post processing. Recently I downloaded Picassa version 2 and love it! The thing that I am noticing though, is that almost without exception, my RAW files viewed through the Picassa browser look better than the RAW files viewed through PSCS RAW. Even when I try to match the color with PSCS I can not seem to get it right! I may be wrong but is the reason for the color change when viewed in Picassa because the files are JPEG files? If it is how can I do a batch conversion of my D70 RAW files to JPEG so that the colors match? If not then what settings can I use to improve my RAW files color?? If I could match the color from Picassa I would be very happy. Any help would be appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmichaels Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 The short answer is: 1) understanding color management 2) calibrated monitor (I mean with a hardware calibration device) 3) printer calibration (I mean with a custom profile for that printer, that ink, and that paper) That will solve the problem. Anything else will just nip away at parts of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 Let's start with; what are your current photoshop settings for color space? The factory default for Photoshop CS is sRGb as a workspace. if, when you are converting from NEF (RAW) to Aa large color space like Adobe RGB (1998) then your colors will look more muted in Photoshop. becasue the sRGB workspace, the default for Picasa as well as MIE, is smalelr than Adobe RGB(1998) what is happenig is that the wide range of colro is being squeezed down to fit the smaller color space which makes the colors that are squeezed appear brighter and more intense. Try setting PsCS to Adobe RGB (189980 as the default colorspace and see if that clears up the problem. And as others hve pointed out: it really helps to work ona monitor that is accurately calibrated and profiled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_sokal___dallas__tx Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 Ellis, what are you drinking tonight man? Your posts are usually not so rife with typos. And can I have a swig, whatever it is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_belmont Posted April 14, 2005 Author Share Posted April 14, 2005 I am using a monitor calibration system. Its the 99dollar version of the spyder by color vision. I am also already working in Adobe RGB 1998 for a color space in photoshop. Any other thoughts?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted April 14, 2005 Share Posted April 14, 2005 Wow! that was very bad! thanks paul. What i was drunk on was "lack of sleep, vintage 2005" Let's start with; What are your current photoshop settings for color space? The factory default for Photoshop CS is sRGB as a workspace. if, when you are converting from NEF (RAW) to a large color space like Adobe RGB (1998) then your colors will look more muted in Photoshop as the sRGB workspace -- the default for Picasa as well as MIE -- is smaller than Adobe RGB(1998) what is occurring is a wide range of color is being squeezed down to fit the smaller color space making the colors that are squeezed appear brighter and more intense. Try setting PsCS to Adobe RGB (1998) as the default colorspace and see if that clears up the problem. And as others have pointed out: it really helps to work on a monitor that is accurately calibrated and profiled. Here is an ironic & instructive footnote: This morning I started doing some editing work and immediately noticed that the colors in my images were completely psychedelic: way, way over-saturated. What apparently happened was that at some point the previous day my profile for my monitor just went bad. After re-calibrating and re-profiling with the Colorvison OptiCAL device and software, colors were back to normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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