Raw Converter Changes Colour of Images

anpqnguyen · 07-04-2009, 08:51 AM

Hi everyone,

I am using Lightroom at the moment. Great software with very effective photo management tools. Easy to work with and very user-friendly. I can go on and on about how much I love using this software.

However, I have a major problem with this software which has been very annoying lately. Lightroom tends to change colour of Raw images and it is very obvious. It doesn't do this to all Raw images (maybe only on the ones I like most

). I only found out when I opened the image by Lightroom and Pentax browser and compare the colour. I found that Pentax photo browser read the colour very accurately but it is too difficult to work with. It takes so much longer to edit an image. And with the amount of pictures ppl take nowadays, I don't think anyone would like to work with the Pentax software. It's really shameful.

Please advise if you have a way to fix this colour changing problem in Lightroom or pls recommend another soft which read Pentax Raw more accurately.

Cheers,

**Marc Sabatella** · 07-04-2009, 10:19 AM

How do you define "accurate"? Are you using color calibration test charts or something? It's normal for different RAW processing programs to interpret color slightly differently, and it's also easy to make the mistake of assuming the Pentax interpretation is the "correct" one just because it often happens to be the one you see first (on the LCD). As you said, you were happy with the color from Lightroom until you compared it to PPL, but who's to say it is PPL that is "correct"? They are just two different interpretations. And most likely, you could adjust one to look like the other if you prefer with just a couple of tweaks to a slider.

Lightroom does, from wha I understand, provide special profiles you ca install that attempt to mimic the Pentax processing, if you find you really do prefer it.

stevebrot · 07-04-2009, 10:45 AM

What Marc says...

I will add some additional thoughts regarding colors in Lightroom. I suspect the differences you are seeing have to do with the color space used by Lightroom. The common color space in the Windows environment is sRBG. Lightroom displays its images using a color space with a wider color "gamut" called ProPhoto RGB. As a result there is often a shift in color rendition between Lightroom and other programs.

There is more to this subject as it relates to color profiles, exported JPEG and TIFF images and the programs that open them, but I don't have time to go into the details. It is enough to say that what you see may or may not be what someone else sees. I would suggest that you Goggle "Lightroom color space".

Steve

anpqnguyen · 07-05-2009, 12:07 AM

Thank you for your responds.

To Marc,
I think the word "accurate" might be a wrong word for me to use this time. I meant to say the colour in lightroom is different from the colour I see on my camera's review which is often the colour I tried hard to achieve when I'm shooting. Therefore, seeing it changed by lightroom is quite annoying.
Pentax software again was defined as accurate only because the colour it produces is the same as in the camera's review.
Thank you for the suggestion on Special Profiles, I will do more research on that. It may be just what I need.

To Steve,
Thanks for your explanation, it was just what I need to know. I will do more research on Lightroom color space. I suspect that color space and the "special profiles" Marc mentioned are the same thing. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

An,

photog · 07-05-2009, 02:56 AM

An, have you checked in LR2 to find out which of the camera profiles you are using. I have had excellent results with the K20D using Adobe Standard, but if you are aiming to look more camera like you could make asme tests with Camera Standard.
BTW when you export the results of your work in Lightroom you can chose sRGB, Adobe RGB1998 or whatever you fancy. Most other software can not recognise the Lightroom adjustments.
Ron McDermott

anpqnguyen · 07-06-2009, 06:08 AM

Thank you all for your replies. I've just found that the answer I need can be found from this post
K10D-K20D Lightroom Presets 20081120

The presets and pentax profile are all I need to solve my problem.

That's not to say that your replies weren't useful. They were good suggestions for me to learn and understand Lightroom better. So thank you all.

mithrandir · 07-06-2009, 06:51 AM

I just love the way a person can ask a question on this forum and get honest technical information from the experts without feeling put off.