[Gian]

Hello All,

the question is addressed to those who shoot RAW and do prints at home.

Which color profile do you set in the K1?

sRGB or AdobeRGB?

thanks for your comments,

-Gian

[jatrax]

I use AdobeRGB, though as I understand it there is no difference at the camera level. Except the naming convention is slightly different. The color space is used during post processing and can be changed at will as long as you are using the RAW file. At home I print from Lightroom so again the color space is not important as long as you stay in the RAW format. Once you change to a different format you will need to decide what to use.

When exporting to print elsewhere you need to choose the color space required by your recipient. Most printers will specify sRGB but some will accept AdobeRGB.

[Gian]

Thanks, I did know that WB setting doesn't matter if you shoot RAW, but wasn't sure about the color profile.

I print to a Canon Pixma-Pro 10s.

[pschlute]

Thanks, I did know that WB setting doesn't matter if you shoot RAW, but wasn't sure about the color profile.

I print to a Canon Pixma-Pro 10s.

I dont print at home but use a commercial printer. I believe you should be using a colour profile associated with your specific printer, applied during pp work.

[othar]

I always thought sRGB or adobeRGB is only important for jpg and not for RAW?

[TonyW]

It really does not matter as this setting relates to in camera JPEGS and is ignored by raw. sRGB, Adobe RGB, Prophoto are all artificial colour spaces used during editing - they do not represent any real world device.

What you should be using for printing is an ICC profile specifically for your printer and ink combination.

If sending outside to a lab, ideally avoid those labs that specify sRGB or even Adobe RGB, they are paying lip service to colour management and there is no guarantee they are doing anything more than trying to provide you with an acceptable (to them) print. Instead look for a lab that provide you with a profile specific to their printers and paper combinations and expect you to provide an edited version converted to that profile

[macman24054]

WB setting doesn't matter if you shoot RAW

This is technically true, but if your shoot stuff like weddings, events or even portraits, having the WB set correctly will save much time in post.

[pschlute]

If sending outside to a lab, ideally avoid those labs that specify sRGB or even Adobe RGB, they are paying lip service to colour management and there is no guarantee they are doing anything more than trying to provide you with an acceptable (to them) print. Instead look for a lab that provide you with a profile specific to their printers and paper combinations and expect you to provide an edited version converted to that profile

Great advice. I use DS Colour Labs in England, and they have profiles to download, or they accept sRGB. I have found both to produce excellent results.

[Michail_P]

It really does not matter as this setting relates to in camera JPEGS and is ignored by raw. sRGB, Adobe RGB, Prophoto are all artificial colour spaces used during editing - they do not represent any real world device.

What you should be using for printing is an ICC profile specifically for your printer and ink combination.

If sending outside to a lab, ideally avoid those labs that specify sRGB or even Adobe RGB, they are paying lip service to colour management and there is no guarantee they are doing anything more than trying to provide you with an acceptable (to them) print. Instead look for a lab that provide you with a profile specific to their printers and paper combinations and expect you to provide an edited version converted to that profile

I generally agree. But if you try once or twice a lab that asks for sRGB and you are ok with the results , it’s just as good.
I understand that sRGB is a more compressed color space than Adobe RGB or Prophoto. You don’t have to worry if you shoot RAW. But it does matter in printing because the step down to sRGB may sometimes cause moody reds and /or magentas (this compressing leaves “outside” more warm gamut colors than cool ones) depends on the photo. The right ICC will probably save you a lot of trouble and time (if not money). The better the printer, the more precise someone has to be with the color profile of the final image. Home printing is less demanding but you get what you pay for.

[TonyW]

You do not print in sRGB, Adobe RGB, Prophoto or any other editing space.

Your printer does not expect any of these synthetic spaces - it does expect the image data you are sending to be converted into a particular profile for the specific printer/ink/paper combination chosen for the work i.e if you expect to get a match print to screen using soft proofing.

Home printing is no more or less demanding than the standards you set for yourself. Oftentimes undertaking your own printing will exceed that produced by a lab and match your exact visualisation and the way the image data looked under soft proofing on your monitor, particularly for a lab that ask for sRGB images without giving you any profile for the paper they use.

---------- Post added 12-26-20 at 03:55 PM ----------

Great advice. I use DS Colour Labs in England, and they have profiles to download, or they accept sRGB. I have found both to produce excellent results.

Yes DS Colour are good. In the days before digital (30+ years ago) I was professionally involved in setting up the C41 and print process and quality control systems.

[Breakfastographer]

The question is an absolutely legitimate one if, as a "raw shooter", one uses the JPEG as backup in the unlikely case that the raw file becomes corrupted. AdobeRGB will, generally speaking, give you more raw-like editing abilities, although admittedly by a hair.

---------- Post added 12-26-20 at 04:32 PM ----------

Great advice. I use DS Colour Labs in England, and they have profiles to download, or they accept sRGB. I have found both to produce excellent results.

Right, the better printing labs have profiles to download. I also suspect that many that use desktop or browser-based submission convert image files to whatever their machines need without the end user realising.

[Michail_P]

You do not print in sRGB, Adobe RGB, Prophoto or any other editing space.

Of course, that’s the point. Thus the conversion.

Your printer does not expect any of these synthetic spaces - it does expect the image data you are sending to be converted into a particular profile for the specific printer/ink/paper combination chosen for the work i.e if you expect to get a match print to screen using soft proofing.

Home printing is no more or less demanding than the standards you set for yourself. Oftentimes undertaking your own printing will exceed that produced by a lab and match your exact visualisation and the way the image data looked under soft proofing on your monitor, particularly for a lab that ask for sRGB images without giving you any profile for the paper they use.

Again, absolutely agree. But if you have a setup like that home, you wouldn’t need a lab. The occasional printing is very often and many people don’t have a high quality printer or a calibrated screen. And I mentioned sRGB and printing issues because of these. I know that my occasional printing wouldn’t justify the cost of a printer. By demanding, I mean mostly the printing size and material. Don’t have a lab where I live. I don’t have many options, no matter how high I would want to raise the bar. So, online file exchange and communication with one, and mostly trust the reputation of the professional. I do get your point but...What else...?

[Alex645]

the question is addressed to those who shoot RAW and do prints at home.
sRGB or AdobeRGB?

As others have noted Color Space will not affect RAW files. However it does affect jpegs.

Theoretically AdobeRGB is technically more data and better jpeg to post process, so IF I shoot jpegs AND edit, I shoot AdobeRGB.
If I want to do the minimum to my files and may have it printed elsewhere, you're safer with sRGB jpegs for better more consistent results.

[Ian Stuart Forsyth]

If sending outside to a lab, ideally avoid those labs that specify sRGB or even Adobe RGB, they are paying lip service to colour management and there is no guarantee they are doing anything more than trying to provide you with an acceptable (to them) print. Instead look for a lab that provide you with a profile specific to their printers and paper combinations and expect you to provide an edited version converted to that profile

This is so very true

---------- Post added 12-27-2020 at 01:01 AM ----------

When exporting to print elsewhere you need to choose the color space required by your recipient. Most printers will specify sRGB but some will accept AdobeRGB.

Printers don't want you to use either of those, you should be using the spaces provided by your printer and specific to the paper also.
Many printers have a color gamut larger and much of the reproduceable colors than are found in both sRGB and Adobe .

Here is one of my favorite image that I print frequently, the wire frame is the sRGB color space and all the dots that fall outside can be printed by my printer

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

So even saving it in sRGB I would be cutting much of the colors that my printer can reproduce

Here is my printers space shown in as a wire frame and as you can see that all the data falls within that space

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[Oldbayrunner]

There's a lot more to it then what the camera's initial color setting is set to. For internet posting it's easy it's still save and post in srgb. When it comes to printing then there is a whole lot more to consider and balance out if one wants to have correct color control over what they see when editing on their monitors and having it print the same out of a printer, be it at home or via a lab.