K5+Lightroom default settings

Skog · 07-19-2012, 01:42 PM

I stole someone elses post with this problem I have, so I figured I'd try and ask here. I think I posted a similar question (or the same) once before, but I haven't found a good solution, so I'll try once more.

Do anyone have a good default setting for the k5 raw files to use as a default in lightroom? I cant for the life of me mimic the pentax processing. I like the k5 bright setting well enough. What do you set as default to make lighroom import the pictures and look alright to begin with?

Why im asking this? I like to have the opportunity to edit some raw images, but I dont have time or will to do them all. I know the pentax software can make jpg's as in camera, but I cant stand that piece of software. Also shooting jpg+raw, or storaging both the jpg + the raw is not a good option for me. I would just like Lightroom to show my images with nice colors etc right off the bat. It's not fun to show other people/view my images with the normal neutral import look.

If anyone could post presets, or setting to achieve this I would be very very grateful!

Optionally, try to shoot a jpg+raw in bright setting, and mimic the look on the jpg with the raw file in lightroom, and see what settings you end up with. I've tried this a lot, but cant make up my mind

thebigcat · 07-19-2012, 01:47 PM

You can edit one picture and then highlight all the rest and "sync" the settings cant you?

Skog · 07-19-2012, 01:54 PM

Yes I can. But Im asking for a setting to do that with

vonBaloney · 07-19-2012, 02:10 PM

Which LR? The new 4.x uses an updated process which is different from 3.x (2012 vs 2010).

NewportPreacher · 07-19-2012, 02:44 PM

I guess I'm still not clear on your issue. You want some kind of near-magical preset that makes all pictures taken w/ a K5 look good in LR? Surely you know such a thing doesn't exist. I second thebigcat's recommendation: do the work on one photo & sync the rest. Then, if you like, save that as a preset for future reference.

**jatrax** · 07-19-2012, 03:36 PM

As noted, do your best, then save that as a preset. Maybe take some images of a test subject or chart in RAW+ so you have the jpeg to compare to. When you are happy save that as a preset. Then in the import dialog set it to apply that preset upon import. During the import it gets applied and then you can tweak the ones you want to mess with.

vonBaloney · 07-19-2012, 03:56 PM

Originally posted by NewportPreacher

I guess I'm still not clear on your issue. You want some kind of near-magical preset that makes all pictures taken w/ a K5 look good in LR? Surely you know such a thing doesn't exist. I second thebigcat's recommendation: do the work on one photo & sync the rest. Then, if you like, save that as a preset for future reference.

I think he wants one that will do what the Pentax software does when it opens up RAW files (it's default preset, if you will). I never have used the Pentax software -- it may not be doing anything but reading the jpg preview that the camera embedded. But if it is applying some default settings to image after loading, it probably still isn't possible to match it exactly in another program, but it is a reasonable request. More likely however, is that it is doing something more like the "auto" button in LR where it analyzes the individual image and applies settings accordingly -- not a one-size-fits-all solution. No way to emulate that in another program, although if you find the LR "auto" button to work reasonably well, you can set that to be your default starting point upon import. Part of the problem is that there is no profile for the K-5 in LR as there are for earlier Pentax models (not even in LR4 I don't believe) so you have to work a little harder. I think it is possible to make a profile though (can't remember for sure), which may help...

Skog · 07-21-2012, 01:35 AM

Originally posted by NewportPreacher

I guess I'm still not clear on your issue. You want some kind of near-magical preset that makes all pictures taken w/ a K5 look good in LR? .

No, and I think you'd understand that perfectly if you wanted to help me and not make fun of me.

I just want help/input in making a setting in lightroom that looks like the k5's bright setting..
So that when I import my raw files in to lightroom, they look more or less like the k5 "bright" jpg's.

The lighroom default setting is too neutral and dull for my liking. I would rather have them look like the "bright" jpg's to begin with and then adjust from there.

Skog · 07-21-2012, 01:41 AM

Originally posted by jatrax

As noted, do your best, then save that as a preset. Maybe take some images of a test subject or chart in RAW+ so you have the jpeg to compare to. When you are happy save that as a preset. Then in the import dialog set it to apply that preset upon import. During the import it gets applied and then you can tweak the ones you want to mess with.

Yes, this is the method I have been using. Many many times. But I cant get it right, so that's why I ask if anyone else have presets they wish to share, or if anyone could give it a go and see where they end up.

hooverfocus · 07-21-2012, 03:47 AM

Somebody made this. It might be a good starting point, if I understand what you want to do.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-processing-articles/181587-pentax-k-...iants-use.html

amoringello · 07-21-2012, 05:54 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Skog

No, and I think you'd understand that perfectly if you wanted to help me and not make fun of me.

I just want help/input in making a setting in lightroom that looks like the k5's bright setting..
So that when I import my raw files in to lightroom, they look more or less like the k5 "bright" jpg's.

The lighroom default setting is too neutral and dull for my liking. I would rather have them look like the "bright" jpg's to begin with and then adjust from there.

Yes, for some reason some people would rather waste their time and ours with useless comments than to be helpful.
But to his credit on this issue, he is definitely correct that there is no magic set of settings that will do what you want.

You can play with LightRoom/CameraRaw settings to get close... Realize though that those in-camera modes such as "Bright" affect JPEGs, not RAW files.
JPegs are 8 bit images and K5 RAW, I believe, are 14bit. You are going to have the potential for some color variance as well as potential loss of detail in highlights and shadows. This is going to be darned near impossible to replicate with the RAW files.

So, what to do......
If you look at what the camera does for the Bright mode, it ups the Contrast slightly and adds some Sharpening.
These you can do in Lightroom quite easily and get a fair approximation.

I simply took a photo in RAW+JPG mode with the camera set to Bright and compared the two I'm Lightroom.
- I upped Contrast to 50 and sharpening also to 50.

That was more than expected for one tick-mark on the scroller in the camera's settings, but it brightened up the RAW image to closely match the JPG.
But again due to differences in RAW v.s. JPG you are not always going to get exact matches regardless of the settings you supply.
Hopefully that is a close starting point.

Additionally, you can get something like ColorChecker Passport as mentioned. I have it and it helps a lot in some conditions.
But this is a calibration device and has little to do with the modes such as Bright, Natural, Portrait, etc...
Calibration also works for only One (1) lighting condition. You need to use the color palette and create a custom profile every time you shoot.
Unless you're in a studio with controlled and static lighting setup, it becomes a huge pain in the ass.
You can create some generic calibration profiles and get marginally better results than what is built into Lightroom.
I would not suggest that anyone NOT get one. It is helpful when its needed.
But I also would not suggest that everyone get one.

Skog · 07-21-2012, 07:35 AM

@Hooverfocus: Not sure if a camera profile is what I'm looking for, but I will look into those. Thanks !

@amoringello: Thank you for understanding my question perfectly. And thanks for explaining why I can never get the two to match up perfectly. The pentax software can match my raw files to one of the k5 jpg setting perfectly, since they (camrea and software) use the same processing (I think). All I know Is that I can set the pentax software to for example bright, and it will render my raw file to look exactly like a bright jpg straight out of the camera. If Lighroom can't do this, ok. But I still want it to be close :-) I have been using settings similar to the ones you came up with. But It's still off some how, the jpg is more pleasing to me. It's hard to describe, but It looks like the jpg has a slightly warmer tone, and perhaps some fill light effect. No matter what I adjust though, it wont match up

**Deimos** · 07-21-2012, 09:00 AM

There is also a preset which is pretty close to the bright setting on the k-5, it does much of your basic tweaks, but no NR. Otherwise edit a batch of files and see what you tend to do for every file and make a custom preset which you can then tweak

Library -> Saved Preset -> "General - Punch"

Skog · 07-21-2012, 01:05 PM

Deimos: Good tip, never saw that preset. It has a bit hard contrast, but I will play some with it and see what happens

**Deimos** · 07-21-2012, 01:19 PM

Originally posted by Skog

Deimos: Good tip, never saw that preset. It has a bit hard contrast, but I will play some with it and see what happens

You can play with it and resave

07-19-2012, 01:42 PM	#1
Skog Inactive Account Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 167	K5+Lightroom default settings I stole someone elses post with this problem I have, so I figured I'd try and ask here. I think I posted a similar question (or the same) once before, but I haven't found a good solution, so I'll try once more. Do anyone have a good default setting for the k5 raw files to use as a default in lightroom? I cant for the life of me mimic the pentax processing. I like the k5 bright setting well enough. What do you set as default to make lighroom import the pictures and look alright to begin with? Why im asking this? I like to have the opportunity to edit some raw images, but I dont have time or will to do them all. I know the pentax software can make jpg's as in camera, but I cant stand that piece of software. Also shooting jpg+raw, or storaging both the jpg + the raw is not a good option for me. I would just like Lightroom to show my images with nice colors etc right off the bat. It's not fun to show other people/view my images with the normal neutral import look. If anyone could post presets, or setting to achieve this I would be very very grateful! Optionally, try to shoot a jpg+raw in bright setting, and mimic the look on the jpg with the raw file in lightroom, and see what settings you end up with. I've tried this a lot, but cant make up my mind

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07-19-2012, 01:47 PM	#2
thebigcat Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Chicago Posts: 95	You can edit one picture and then highlight all the rest and "sync" the settings cant you?

07-19-2012, 01:54 PM	#3
Skog Inactive Account Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 167 Original Poster	Yes I can. But Im asking for a setting to do that with

07-19-2012, 02:10 PM	#4
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	Which LR? The new 4.x uses an updated process which is different from 3.x (2012 vs 2010).

07-19-2012, 02:44 PM	#5
NewportPreacher Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia Photos: Gallery Posts: 150	I guess I'm still not clear on your issue. You want some kind of near-magical preset that makes all pictures taken w/ a K5 look good in LR? Surely you know such a thing doesn't exist. I second thebigcat's recommendation: do the work on one photo & sync the rest. Then, if you like, save that as a preset for future reference.

07-19-2012, 03:36 PM	#6
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	As noted, do your best, then save that as a preset. Maybe take some images of a test subject or chart in RAW+ so you have the jpeg to compare to. When you are happy save that as a preset. Then in the import dialog set it to apply that preset upon import. During the import it gets applied and then you can tweak the ones you want to mess with.

07-19-2012, 03:56 PM	#7
vonBaloney Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 6,029	Originally posted by NewportPreacher I guess I'm still not clear on your issue. You want some kind of near-magical preset that makes all pictures taken w/ a K5 look good in LR? Surely you know such a thing doesn't exist. I second thebigcat's recommendation: do the work on one photo & sync the rest. Then, if you like, save that as a preset for future reference. I think he wants one that will do what the Pentax software does when it opens up RAW files (it's default preset, if you will). I never have used the Pentax software -- it may not be doing anything but reading the jpg preview that the camera embedded. But if it is applying some default settings to image after loading, it probably still isn't possible to match it exactly in another program, but it is a reasonable request. More likely however, is that it is doing something more like the "auto" button in LR where it analyzes the individual image and applies settings accordingly -- not a one-size-fits-all solution. No way to emulate that in another program, although if you find the LR "auto" button to work reasonably well, you can set that to be your default starting point upon import. Part of the problem is that there is no profile for the K-5 in LR as there are for earlier Pentax models (not even in LR4 I don't believe) so you have to work a little harder. I think it is possible to make a profile though (can't remember for sure), which may help...

07-21-2012, 01:35 AM	#8
Skog Inactive Account Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 167 Original Poster	Originally posted by NewportPreacher I guess I'm still not clear on your issue. You want some kind of near-magical preset that makes all pictures taken w/ a K5 look good in LR? . No, and I think you'd understand that perfectly if you wanted to help me and not make fun of me. I just want help/input in making a setting in lightroom that looks like the k5's bright setting.. So that when I import my raw files in to lightroom, they look more or less like the k5 "bright" jpg's. The lighroom default setting is too neutral and dull for my liking. I would rather have them look like the "bright" jpg's to begin with and then adjust from there.

07-21-2012, 01:41 AM	#9
Skog Inactive Account Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 167 Original Poster	Originally posted by jatrax As noted, do your best, then save that as a preset. Maybe take some images of a test subject or chart in RAW+ so you have the jpeg to compare to. When you are happy save that as a preset. Then in the import dialog set it to apply that preset upon import. During the import it gets applied and then you can tweak the ones you want to mess with. Yes, this is the method I have been using. Many many times. But I cant get it right, so that's why I ask if anyone else have presets they wish to share, or if anyone could give it a go and see where they end up.

07-21-2012, 03:47 AM	#10
hooverfocus Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 210	Somebody made this. It might be a good starting point, if I understand what you want to do. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-processing-articles/181587-pentax-k-...iants-use.html

07-21-2012, 05:54 AM - 1 Like	#11
amoringello Veteran Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Virginia, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,562	Originally posted by Skog No, and I think you'd understand that perfectly if you wanted to help me and not make fun of me. I just want help/input in making a setting in lightroom that looks like the k5's bright setting.. So that when I import my raw files in to lightroom, they look more or less like the k5 "bright" jpg's. The lighroom default setting is too neutral and dull for my liking. I would rather have them look like the "bright" jpg's to begin with and then adjust from there. Yes, for some reason some people would rather waste their time and ours with useless comments than to be helpful. But to his credit on this issue, he is definitely correct that there is no magic set of settings that will do what you want. You can play with LightRoom/CameraRaw settings to get close... Realize though that those in-camera modes such as "Bright" affect JPEGs, not RAW files. JPegs are 8 bit images and K5 RAW, I believe, are 14bit. You are going to have the potential for some color variance as well as potential loss of detail in highlights and shadows. This is going to be darned near impossible to replicate with the RAW files. So, what to do...... If you look at what the camera does for the Bright mode, it ups the Contrast slightly and adds some Sharpening. These you can do in Lightroom quite easily and get a fair approximation. I simply took a photo in RAW+JPG mode with the camera set to Bright and compared the two I'm Lightroom. - I upped Contrast to 50 and sharpening also to 50. That was more than expected for one tick-mark on the scroller in the camera's settings, but it brightened up the RAW image to closely match the JPG. But again due to differences in RAW v.s. JPG you are not always going to get exact matches regardless of the settings you supply. Hopefully that is a close starting point. Additionally, you can get something like ColorChecker Passport as mentioned. I have it and it helps a lot in some conditions. But this is a calibration device and has little to do with the modes such as Bright, Natural, Portrait, etc... Calibration also works for only One (1) lighting condition. You need to use the color palette and create a custom profile every time you shoot. Unless you're in a studio with controlled and static lighting setup, it becomes a huge pain in the ass. You can create some generic calibration profiles and get marginally better results than what is built into Lightroom. I would not suggest that anyone NOT get one. It is helpful when its needed. But I also would not suggest that everyone get one.

07-21-2012, 07:35 AM	#12
Skog Inactive Account Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 167 Original Poster	@Hooverfocus: Not sure if a camera profile is what I'm looking for, but I will look into those. Thanks ! @amoringello: Thank you for understanding my question perfectly. And thanks for explaining why I can never get the two to match up perfectly. The pentax software can match my raw files to one of the k5 jpg setting perfectly, since they (camrea and software) use the same processing (I think). All I know Is that I can set the pentax software to for example bright, and it will render my raw file to look exactly like a bright jpg straight out of the camera. If Lighroom can't do this, ok. But I still want it to be close :-) I have been using settings similar to the ones you came up with. But It's still off some how, the jpg is more pleasing to me. It's hard to describe, but It looks like the jpg has a slightly warmer tone, and perhaps some fill light effect. No matter what I adjust though, it wont match up

07-21-2012, 09:00 AM	#13
Deimos Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Kingdom of Wonder Posts: 1,777	There is also a preset which is pretty close to the bright setting on the k-5, it does much of your basic tweaks, but no NR. Otherwise edit a batch of files and see what you tend to do for every file and make a custom preset which you can then tweak Library -> Saved Preset -> "General - Punch"

07-21-2012, 01:05 PM	#14
Skog Inactive Account Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 167 Original Poster	Deimos: Good tip, never saw that preset. It has a bit hard contrast, but I will play some with it and see what happens

07-21-2012, 01:19 PM	#15
Deimos Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Kingdom of Wonder Posts: 1,777	Originally posted by Skog Deimos: Good tip, never saw that preset. It has a bit hard contrast, but I will play some with it and see what happens You can play with it and resave