Lightroom color difference between develop and library

<p>I am seeing a difference between how Lightroom is rendering images between the library module and the develop module. The Library view is much warmer than the develop module, but I cannot find anywhere to change that to a more neutral setting. Any ideas?</p>

<p>it's a known feature (?) (ie. google-able). Library uses Adobe RGB color space whereas Develop uses LR's 'Melissa' space (Prophoto w/ an sRGB TRC). I'm sure Andrew Rodney will have additional info on this.</p>

<p>Mark Sirota (LR guru) once said:<br /> Color: In Develop, LR is showing you a file rendered in its own internal color space (ProPhoto RGB with an sRGB gamma curve, also known as Melissa RGB). In Library, the previews are in Adobe RGB. It is possible that at the outer edges of the gamut you're seeing color differences. The previews are JPEGs, and in extreme cases there can be color artifacts from the JPEG compression. These artifacts won't be seen in Develop.</p>

<p>Develop uses a somewhat unique preview mechanism compared to the other modules so it's not uncommon to hear of the disconnect to some degree. You need to be sure you view images in Develop at 1:1 or greater for best accuracy of preview data. In other applications like Photoshop, also view at 100% or greater when comparing. Do not use Version 4 ICC profiles for display calibration. <br>

Previews in <em>Develop</em> are working in its internal color space, which is Linear encoded "<em>ProPhoto</em>" (RGB primaries). In terms of color gamut, <em>Linear ProPhoto, ProPhoto RGB</em>, and <em>Melissa RGB</em> all have the same color gamut because they use the same set of RGB primaries from ProPhoto RGB. The difference between them is the encoding of the image values (e.g., linear encoding, 1.8 encoding, and 2.2 encoding, respectively). The differences in this encoding does not affect image appearance in previews. So, within the Develop module, how our images appear in Linear ProPhoto, regular ProPhoto, and Melissa RGB are all correct and all the same and for all files: raw, jpeg, tiff, dng, etc. The facts are however, in Develop, the previews are the unnamed internal color space.<br>

The Library previews are Adobe RGB (1998), because the previews are stored as JPEGs. JPEGs are 8-bit, inappropriate for a wide gamut color space like Linear ProPhoto, ProPhoto RGB, and Melissa RGB. Using an intermediate-sized color gamut as found in Adobe RGB (1998), avoids artifacts, while providing a larger gamut than sRGB. Another reason why the LR user might consider a wide gamut display that closely approaches or exceeds Adobe RGB (1998).<br>

The Develop module doesn't have quantization problems because the image rendering isn't using JPEGs. It is instead performed on the fly using the original image data (e.g., a raw file), using higher internal precision (at least 16 bits).<br>

Within the Develop module, if a user has turns on soft proofing, the gamut is limited to whatever ICC profile the user has chosen for soft proofing.</p>

 

<p>Now I just need to decode whatever the h*ll he just said ;)</p>

<p>HaHa!</p>

Basically, he says the Library view

is limited by JPEG's 8-bit color

space, and will display differently

than the Develop module's native

16-bit color space. No mention was

made of why you might perceive one

to be markedly warmer than the

other.

<p>Andy thanks for that explanation of how LR handles views differently between Library and Develop. Michael I would agree it doesn't clearly explain why one is so much warmer than the other. I am wondering if in a well calibrated and perfectly color managed system if there would be any difference observed; my monitor is admittedly crappy and even though I have it calibrated it doesn't approach the full gamut of AdobeRGB.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I am wondering if in a well calibrated and perfectly color managed system if there would be any difference observed; my monitor is admittedly crappy and even though I have it calibrated it doesn't approach the full gamut of AdobeRGB.</p>

</blockquote>

<p><strong>I told you a few possibilities</strong> as to the cause and the proper way to be viewing images in LR. Recalibrate the display, make sure the software isn't creating version 4 ICC profiles. Examine an image in sRGB in both LR using Develop module and say Photoshop at 100%. They <strong>should</strong> (and can) match exactly!<br /> Here's a test reference image that you can load into LR and examine (it's in ColorMatch RGB, close enough).<br />http://digitaldog.net/files/Printer%20Test%20file.jpg</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Now I just need to decode whatever the h*ll he just said ;)</p>

</blockquote>

<p>IF you spent the effort <strong>asking</strong> about text you don't understand, you might be able to easily decode the facts surrounding how LR produces previews in different modules.<br /><br /></p>

<p>I would just like to thank Andrew Rodney for his contributions to this forum. Brilliant and I for one have learned a great deal from you Andrew. </p>