sRGB or ADOBE RGB?

[b_va]

I have read the D200 manual and am still unclear as to the real world

difference between the two color space options. Up to now I have been climbing

the digital learning curve by shooting JPEG in sRGB but will now venture into

RAW, which I assume means resetting color space to ADOBE RGB. What are the

practical differences and where can I find more info on the proper use of the

color space option?

[shawngibson]

The basic rule I use is, always capture in AdobeRGB, because it's better for printing. If I want to put something on the web/screen, I convert to sRGB.

 

I think that's a pretty basic answer (sorry) but sometimes basic answers work great!

 

Shawn

[ericreagan]

http://www.smugmug.com/help/srgb-versus-adobe-rgb-1998

[jasonj]

Let me try and explain the basics. Adobe RGB can hold more colour information compared to SRGB. I always shoot Adobe RGB all the time, that way you will have a file with all the colour information to start with. The internet uses Srgb, so for the internet you will want to convert the Adobe RGB profile to SRGB ('edit' -> 'convert to profile' in photoshop). If you do not do this your colours will all look washed out and simply wrong on the internet (see the examples). Printing is a entire different story, the best way to deal with a printer is to convert your profile to the printer's colour profile, since not all printers come with a profile and the fact that Windows can not colour manage you will be stuck (assuming you use windows) A trick I have learnt is to convert your photo to SRGB for a online printer or a printer that can not work with profiles. SRGB is the safe option because the colour information is compressed into a small space that can fit easly into bigger colour spaces.

 

I hope this helps you.

 

Jason

www.2point8.com<div></div>

[joseph_smith3]

I shoot in Adobe RGB, color mode II, and in NEF. To see some of the differences, open your NEF image in Nikon Capture and explore the various color space options for that particular image. (Make sure your monitor has been calibrated properly.) Personally, I have never bothered to change any image to sRGB even when asked to do so for nature competitions. I just send them the JPEG version of my image and I have never experienced a problem. Others can point out the problems with this approach. Joe Smith

[iwong]

I guess there is a confusion between JPEG vs. RAW and sRGB vs. AdobeRGB. Even if you save the file in JPEG, it doesn't mean that it is automatically in sRGB (although the colours it contains may be limited if you originally shot it in sRGB mode.) You only tag a JPEG file with which colour space it is intended to be viewed/worked with. Since most consumer applications and most internet browsers don't understand colour management, everything is assumed to be in sRGB colour space. You can leave a file untagged and it will open correctly in browsers, but Photoshop will warn you. If you save a JPEG file in aRGB, opening it in browsers will result in washed out and plain wrong colours.

 

Now if you shoot RAW, you can leave the decision to whether to use sRGB or aRGB till post processing. If you use ACR, it will ask you which colour space and which bit depth (8 vs. 16) to use when you open it in Photoshop. If you have the necessary skills (and hard disk space) to shoot and process RAW files, it doesn't make sense to use anything other than aRGB since aRGB gives you wider colour gamut than sRGB. If you need to send the pics later via email to friends etc., downsize it and convert it to sRGB.

[ellis_vener_photography]

<I>What are the practical differences and where can I find more info on the proper use of the

color space option?</I><P>Try <A HREF = http://tinyurl.com/jtcnq> Photoshop CS2 RAW

by Mikkel Aaland</a> for a pretty strightforward and very informative diguide to using a raw

capture format (along with Adobe Camera Raw 3.4 in PsCS2 and Photoshop Elements

4.0).<P>

<A HREF = http://tinyurl.com/kro24> Real World Digital Photography, second edition by

Katrin Eismann, Tim Gray, and Sean Duggal</a> is an excellent and accessable over view of

the entire field.

[hashim a]

I've got some NEFs from a D200 shot in Mode Ia...

 

I've just recently used a spyder on my display...

 

I've also downloaded a printer profile for a Fuji Frontier (which is used by the lab I'm thinking about take the images to) and have saved the jpgs with this profile.

 

The question I have is should I convert the NEFs to Adobe RGB jpgs for printing to get the best prints (or close to what I see on my display)?

[cjfraser]

If you're shooting raw, it doesn't matter what you set the color space or color mode to in the camera, since you can change the setting in your raw converter.

 

Open a raw image and compare how the histogram looks when you select different color spaces. This will probably convince you not to use sRGB. I myself use Adobe RGB, but some people recommend ProPhoto, an even wider gamut. It exceeds what today's output devices can deliver, but they may catch up in the future.

 

Ignore Nikon's recommendation that color mode II be used with Adobe RGB. If you're using Capture, just use whatever mode you think looks best for a particular picture. If you're using Adobe Camera Raw, buy a Colorchecker and calibrate ACR to match online reference charts and, if you like, to match Nikon's color modes, so that you have a range of choices. (The calibration function is one of ACR's strengths.)

 

A prerequisite is that you need to calibrate your monitor with an Eyeone or Spyder or similar product.

 

When posting to the web, using PS's "Save for web" function. It will convert your web version to sRGB. You'll notice a bit of a shift in color and saturation. Usually you can compensate for this by temporarily oversaturating your image slightly before using "Save for web."

[hique]

"...AdobeRGB, because it's better for printing"

 

It's not that simple. AdobeRGB is better for editing, since it capture more information.

 

sRGB is the color space of most web-browsers. It's a narrower color space and the manual suggests that it's better for direct printing. A direct print from AdobeRGB can appear to lack contrast.

 

I always prefer to shoot RAW and AdobeRGB, post-process as I want and just then...print it.