[Asha]

You'll also be surprised at the effect of Orange Luminance & Saturation on Reds & Yellows.

Thanks Brooke--I didn't try any specific color luminance/saturation, just the overall saturation slider in PS Camera Raw. Will try to manipulate just red/orange/yellow to see what happens!

Incidentally, here is a characteristic spectral curve for Si detector response (click the technical images tab): Silicon Detectors - Edmund Optics

I haven't yet found a curve for Si detectors that mimics the exposure curves I'm used to seeing for film (although I've seen them in the past). If I recall correctly, it is fairly linear except there is a shoulder which usually translates as blooming in the high end of the dynamic range.

[RonHendriks1966]

I did mention it too some time ago, when I did sports in the bright sun and the red jersey and socks where clearly overexposed.

[maltfalc]

in cases where the red channel highlights are clipped in the raw file itself and not just in the preview jpeg generated by the raw converter or because of a cheap monitor, there's not much you can do except maybe fill in the blank spots with detail from the other channels and try to blend it in best you can. as for preventing it in the future, you can underexpose your photos a bit, use hdr or use a light blue-green filter to darken your red channel slightly.