Blurry DNG files in Lightroom

Lev · 01-22-2018, 01:01 AM

Hi,

Today I've noticed that in the lightroom DNG files look blurry compared to any other DNG processor software. It even exports blurred photos to any extension. I've compared the original DNG file with lightroom exported DNG file and difference is like if you add lens distortion correction to it, but nothing is applied there. Any ideas folks?

**Alex645** · 01-22-2018, 01:26 AM

It may be just the preview of the DNG files. I know that in Adobe Bridge, when you preview any DNG files, they look very soft, low saturation, low contrast. The actual DNG is not like that and I think itʻs a function of allowing faster previewing of large files. Applesʻ now defunct Aperture was superb for fast and accurate RAW previewing.

Iʻm not 100% certain what ails BR also affects LR, but thatʻs my guess.

Lev · 01-22-2018, 02:20 AM

Originally posted by Alex645

It may be just the preview of the DNG files. I know that in Adobe Bridge, when you preview any DNG files, they look very soft, low saturation, low contrast. The actual DNG is not like that and I think itʻs a function of allowing faster previewing of large files. Applesʻ now defunct Aperture was superb for fast and accurate RAW previewing.

Iʻm not 100% certain what ails BR also affects LR, but thatʻs my guess.

Why I don't think it's a preview is because it also blurs exported files. I was thinking same and reimported original file with 1:1 preview but it's same

victormeldrew · 01-22-2018, 03:01 AM

Do you have any import presets active in the 'Apply During Import' section of the import screen?

Lev · 01-22-2018, 03:26 AM

Originally posted by victormeldrew

Do you have any import presets active in the 'Apply During Import' section of the import screen?

no, nothing at all, everything is turned off

Na Horuk · 01-22-2018, 05:50 AM - **1 Like**

Raw software has some "default" actions that it applies. It is possible that other software applies more sharpening, etc. than Lightroom does. SilkyPix might apply the same PP to the raw as was set in-camera, which should look much nicer than the raw alone
Its also possible you need to update Camera raw and update the Process (LR, touch photo, Develop, bottom tab). Keeping software at latest update is a good idea in general
And remember, raw does not look good. It is too grey, too soft, too noisy. You have to develop raw to make it look as good as an in-camera jpeg. But once you learn this, you can make it look even better than that jpeg

I find LR to be quite good with Pentax files. Its sharpening algorithms are not as aggressive as some other software, though

Lev · 01-22-2018, 06:04 AM

Originally posted by Na Horuk

Raw software has some "default" actions that it applies. It is possible that other software applies more sharpening, etc. than Lightroom does. SilkyPix might apply the same PP to the raw as was set in-camera, which should look much nicer than the raw alone
Its also possible you need to update Camera raw and update the Process (LR, touch photo, Develop, bottom tab). Keeping software at latest update is a good idea in general
And remember, raw does not look good. It is too grey, too soft, too noisy. You have to develop raw to make it look as good as an in-camera jpeg. But once you learn this, you can make it look even better than that jpeg

I find LR to be quite good with Pentax files. Its sharpening algorithms are not as aggressive as some other software, though

I was thinking same before I've tried Digital Camera Utility along with Acdsee, both are showing DNG files just perfectly! Also, lightroom is up to date and there is Camera Raw 7 and later compatibility set.

TonyW · 01-22-2018, 02:00 PM

I agree with Na Horuk raw software vendors can apply a default value to sharpening that may be more or less than another vendor. Adobe sharpening tends to be conservative vs others as is usually the case with their standard camera profile.

I cannot speak from recent personal experience of Acdsee or DCU but would be surprised if they are not just applying more as their default modes and by applying a little more Amount with LR/ACR that you would not be able to match

Lev · 01-22-2018, 02:32 PM

Originally posted by TonyW

I agree with Na Horuk raw software vendors can apply a default value to sharpening that may be more or less than another vendor. Adobe sharpening tends to be conservative vs others as is usually the case with their standard camera profile.

I cannot speak from recent personal experience of Acdsee or DCU but would be surprised if they are not just applying more as their default modes and by applying a little more Amount with LR/ACR that you would not be able to match

Guys what are you talking about, I've opened not only one file but many DNG files strait from the camera in Photoshop, Bridge, Acdsee, DCU and the sharpness is 100% same except in Lightroom. You are saying that except of Lightroom, all other DNG processing software is trying to give me a sharp image with absolutely same sharpening settings and algorithms? If the photo is new Lightroom first loads it correctly and then applies this blur and weird saturation color just in a second or two, I can see good one but then it applies something, maybe it's a color profile thing I don't know. Updated one version of Lightroom, installed another version, same there.

pschlute · 01-22-2018, 02:34 PM

Originally posted by Lev

Hi,

Today I've noticed that in the lightroom DNG files look blurry compared to any other DNG processor software. It even exports blurred photos to any extension. I've compared the original DNG file with lightroom exported DNG file and difference is like if you add lens distortion correction to it, but nothing is applied there. Any ideas folks?

Just a thought. Where do you import your DNG files to when you first get them off your SD card ?

If you import them (as i do) to a separate hard drive, then that hard drive must be connected to your pc when you later want to process those DNG files. If you do not connect the source files to Lightroom then they can appear blurry.

I work with lightroom now and do not have the issue you are experiencing.

Lev · 01-22-2018, 02:54 PM

hmm.. now I've compared my old photos with Acdsee and Lightroom - they are same... very strange thing is happening here :/

---------- Post added 01-22-18 at 03:00 PM ----------

Originally posted by pschlute

Just a thought. Where do you import your DNG files to when you first get them off your SD card ?

If you import them (as i do) to a separate hard drive, then that hard drive must be connected to your pc when you later want to process those DNG files. If you do not connect the source files to Lightroom then they can appear blurry.

I work with lightroom now and do not have the issue you are experiencing.

thanks

yes I know that, sometimes I forget to connect it and the result are the way you describe but not it's not the case. Something really strange is happening here. Took some pics yesterday with my new 50-135, just imported them into lightroom, directly from SD card, doing this way every time and no prob, but now I just have no idea what is wrong. Checking them with other software I mentioned - no problem with sharpness, but the weirdest thing is that when I'm comparing photos that I took earlier, they seem pretty ok....

TonyW · 01-22-2018, 03:15 PM

Originally posted by Lev

...I've opened not only one file but many DNG files strait from the camera in Photoshop, Bridge, Acdsee, DCU and the sharpness is 100% same except in Lightroom.
....You are saying that except of Lightroom, all other DNG processing software is trying to give me a sharp image with absolutely same sharpening settings and algorithms?
...If the photo is new Lightroom first loads it correctly and then applies this blur and weird saturation color.....

Would have been helpful to post this in first post.
Photoshop ACR are the same raw engine so as you are seeing a difference some LR setting may be incorrect.

I don’t think we are saying that all raw processing software is trying to give sharper images. Just the fact that they all apply defaults that differ and you should realise that all use their own proprietary algorithms to do a similar job.

A big clue here is that PS appears to be sharp and LR not. As they are the same raw engine then they should be exactly the same image processing parameters. So after you have processed an image in Photoshop Adobe Camera Raw and opened the image, that DNG should appear exactly the same when now opened in LR as all the edit instructions should be applied

Lev · 01-22-2018, 03:45 PM

ok, I got something! Looks like my Lightroom's Details pan has no effect whether it is turned on or off. I mean, when you set something there and then turn it off (Details pan entirely), that setting still affecting image. So I've turned that on, then moved noise reduction to zero, sharpness setting to default and then it appears slightly similar to others now, but still not as good as in PS for example. I wonder why I'm facing this problem now after taking tons of pictures already.

Na Horuk · 01-22-2018, 03:45 PM

Originally posted by TonyW

I don’t think we are saying that all raw processing software is trying to give sharper images. Just the fact that they all apply defaults that differ and you should realise that all use their own proprietary algorithms to do a similar job.

Exactly! Different demosaicing, processing, different WB styles, different NR algorithms and strength, different sharpening algorithms and strength, different camera colour profiles, colour interpretation, etc. etc. It is not only "more" or "less", but it is "different". For example, Topaz suite has great NR. NikEffects has good sharpening. RawTherapee has some really interesting features, but poor NR and can easily be oversharpened. LR is sort of in the middle. It does everything fairly well and its almost difficult to do things terribly wrong, but LR is not "the best" at any single feature imo. It still wins, because it has everything and its easy, fast.

Secondly, I think your problem, OP, might have to do with Lightroom, specifically. Lightroom has photo thumbnails that it shows for preview. These are not high quality. Then when you load the image, or zoom in, it usually quickly switches to the actual image, which should show you the raw data with the PP that was applied. Maybe this process is not working correctly and you get stuck with the preview? Could it be CPU or Ram or HD space? This is why I recommended updating Lightroom, because getting the latest version can fix some hiccups. If there even is a LR update for your version
I really don't know what could be the problem. Maybe if you post some screenshots? I have been using LR3 and LR6 with no such problems.
Maybe try searching online for Adobe and Lightroom help. There are many forums for those and someone probably encountered similar issues before

TonyW · 01-22-2018, 04:04 PM

Originally posted by Lev

ok, I got something! Looks like my Lightroom's Details pan has no effect whether it is turned on or off. I mean, when you set something there and then turn it off (Details pan entirely), that setting still affecting image. So I've turned that on, then moved noise reduction to zero, sharpness setting to default and then it appears slightly similar to others now, but still not as good as in PS for example. I wonder why I'm facing this problem now after taking tons of pictures already.

Something weird happening in Adobe products can often be cured by resetting preferences. You might want to consider using this option to see if it helps

Something Acting Weird? Try Resetting Lightroom CC's Preferences - Lightroom Killer Tips

01-22-2018, 01:01 AM	#1
Lev Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia Posts: 1,197	Blurry DNG files in Lightroom Hi, Today I've noticed that in the lightroom DNG files look blurry compared to any other DNG processor software. It even exports blurred photos to any extension. I've compared the original DNG file with lightroom exported DNG file and difference is like if you add lens distortion correction to it, but nothing is applied there. Any ideas folks?

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01-22-2018, 01:26 AM	#2
Alex645 Site Supporter Join Date: May 2015 Location: Kaneohe, HI Photos: Albums Posts: 3,526	It may be just the preview of the DNG files. I know that in Adobe Bridge, when you preview any DNG files, they look very soft, low saturation, low contrast. The actual DNG is not like that and I think itʻs a function of allowing faster previewing of large files. Applesʻ now defunct Aperture was superb for fast and accurate RAW previewing. Iʻm not 100% certain what ails BR also affects LR, but thatʻs my guess.

01-22-2018, 02:20 AM	#3
Lev Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia Posts: 1,197 Original Poster	Originally posted by Alex645 It may be just the preview of the DNG files. I know that in Adobe Bridge, when you preview any DNG files, they look very soft, low saturation, low contrast. The actual DNG is not like that and I think itʻs a function of allowing faster previewing of large files. Applesʻ now defunct Aperture was superb for fast and accurate RAW previewing. Iʻm not 100% certain what ails BR also affects LR, but thatʻs my guess. Why I don't think it's a preview is because it also blurs exported files. I was thinking same and reimported original file with 1:1 preview but it's same

01-22-2018, 03:01 AM	#4
victormeldrew Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: South West UK Photos: Albums Posts: 1,493	Do you have any import presets active in the 'Apply During Import' section of the import screen?

01-22-2018, 03:26 AM	#5
Lev Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia Posts: 1,197 Original Poster	Originally posted by victormeldrew Do you have any import presets active in the 'Apply During Import' section of the import screen? no, nothing at all, everything is turned off

01-22-2018, 05:50 AM - 1 Like	#6
Na Horuk Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Slovenia, probably Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,186	Raw software has some "default" actions that it applies. It is possible that other software applies more sharpening, etc. than Lightroom does. SilkyPix might apply the same PP to the raw as was set in-camera, which should look much nicer than the raw alone Its also possible you need to update Camera raw and update the Process (LR, touch photo, Develop, bottom tab). Keeping software at latest update is a good idea in general And remember, raw does not look good. It is too grey, too soft, too noisy. You have to develop raw to make it look as good as an in-camera jpeg. But once you learn this, you can make it look even better than that jpeg I find LR to be quite good with Pentax files. Its sharpening algorithms are not as aggressive as some other software, though

01-22-2018, 06:04 AM	#7
Lev Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia Posts: 1,197 Original Poster	Originally posted by Na Horuk Raw software has some "default" actions that it applies. It is possible that other software applies more sharpening, etc. than Lightroom does. SilkyPix might apply the same PP to the raw as was set in-camera, which should look much nicer than the raw alone Its also possible you need to update Camera raw and update the Process (LR, touch photo, Develop, bottom tab). Keeping software at latest update is a good idea in general And remember, raw does not look good. It is too grey, too soft, too noisy. You have to develop raw to make it look as good as an in-camera jpeg. But once you learn this, you can make it look even better than that jpeg I find LR to be quite good with Pentax files. Its sharpening algorithms are not as aggressive as some other software, though I was thinking same before I've tried Digital Camera Utility along with Acdsee, both are showing DNG files just perfectly! Also, lightroom is up to date and there is Camera Raw 7 and later compatibility set.

01-22-2018, 02:00 PM	#8
TonyW Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 706	I agree with Na Horuk raw software vendors can apply a default value to sharpening that may be more or less than another vendor. Adobe sharpening tends to be conservative vs others as is usually the case with their standard camera profile. I cannot speak from recent personal experience of Acdsee or DCU but would be surprised if they are not just applying more as their default modes and by applying a little more Amount with LR/ACR that you would not be able to match

01-22-2018, 02:32 PM	#9
Lev Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia Posts: 1,197 Original Poster	Originally posted by TonyW I agree with Na Horuk raw software vendors can apply a default value to sharpening that may be more or less than another vendor. Adobe sharpening tends to be conservative vs others as is usually the case with their standard camera profile. I cannot speak from recent personal experience of Acdsee or DCU but would be surprised if they are not just applying more as their default modes and by applying a little more Amount with LR/ACR that you would not be able to match Guys what are you talking about, I've opened not only one file but many DNG files strait from the camera in Photoshop, Bridge, Acdsee, DCU and the sharpness is 100% same except in Lightroom. You are saying that except of Lightroom, all other DNG processing software is trying to give me a sharp image with absolutely same sharpening settings and algorithms? If the photo is new Lightroom first loads it correctly and then applies this blur and weird saturation color just in a second or two, I can see good one but then it applies something, maybe it's a color profile thing I don't know. Updated one version of Lightroom, installed another version, same there.

01-22-2018, 02:34 PM	#10
pschlute Moderator Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Surrey, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,198	Originally posted by Lev Hi, Today I've noticed that in the lightroom DNG files look blurry compared to any other DNG processor software. It even exports blurred photos to any extension. I've compared the original DNG file with lightroom exported DNG file and difference is like if you add lens distortion correction to it, but nothing is applied there. Any ideas folks? Just a thought. Where do you import your DNG files to when you first get them off your SD card ? If you import them (as i do) to a separate hard drive, then that hard drive must be connected to your pc when you later want to process those DNG files. If you do not connect the source files to Lightroom then they can appear blurry. I work with lightroom now and do not have the issue you are experiencing.

01-22-2018, 02:54 PM	#11
Lev Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia Posts: 1,197 Original Poster	hmm.. now I've compared my old photos with Acdsee and Lightroom - they are same... very strange thing is happening here :/ ---------- Post added 01-22-18 at 03:00 PM ---------- Originally posted by pschlute Just a thought. Where do you import your DNG files to when you first get them off your SD card ? If you import them (as i do) to a separate hard drive, then that hard drive must be connected to your pc when you later want to process those DNG files. If you do not connect the source files to Lightroom then they can appear blurry. I work with lightroom now and do not have the issue you are experiencing. thanks yes I know that, sometimes I forget to connect it and the result are the way you describe but not it's not the case. Something really strange is happening here. Took some pics yesterday with my new 50-135, just imported them into lightroom, directly from SD card, doing this way every time and no prob, but now I just have no idea what is wrong. Checking them with other software I mentioned - no problem with sharpness, but the weirdest thing is that when I'm comparing photos that I took earlier, they seem pretty ok....

01-22-2018, 03:15 PM	#12
TonyW Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 706	Originally posted by Lev ...I've opened not only one file but many DNG files strait from the camera in Photoshop, Bridge, Acdsee, DCU and the sharpness is 100% same except in Lightroom. ....You are saying that except of Lightroom, all other DNG processing software is trying to give me a sharp image with absolutely same sharpening settings and algorithms? ...If the photo is new Lightroom first loads it correctly and then applies this blur and weird saturation color..... Would have been helpful to post this in first post. Photoshop ACR are the same raw engine so as you are seeing a difference some LR setting may be incorrect. I don’t think we are saying that all raw processing software is trying to give sharper images. Just the fact that they all apply defaults that differ and you should realise that all use their own proprietary algorithms to do a similar job. A big clue here is that PS appears to be sharp and LR not. As they are the same raw engine then they should be exactly the same image processing parameters. So after you have processed an image in Photoshop Adobe Camera Raw and opened the image, that DNG should appear exactly the same when now opened in LR as all the edit instructions should be applied

01-22-2018, 03:45 PM	#13
Lev Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia Posts: 1,197 Original Poster	ok, I got something! Looks like my Lightroom's Details pan has no effect whether it is turned on or off. I mean, when you set something there and then turn it off (Details pan entirely), that setting still affecting image. So I've turned that on, then moved noise reduction to zero, sharpness setting to default and then it appears slightly similar to others now, but still not as good as in PS for example. I wonder why I'm facing this problem now after taking tons of pictures already.

01-22-2018, 03:45 PM	#14
Na Horuk Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Slovenia, probably Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,186	Originally posted by TonyW I don’t think we are saying that all raw processing software is trying to give sharper images. Just the fact that they all apply defaults that differ and you should realise that all use their own proprietary algorithms to do a similar job. Exactly! Different demosaicing, processing, different WB styles, different NR algorithms and strength, different sharpening algorithms and strength, different camera colour profiles, colour interpretation, etc. etc. It is not only "more" or "less", but it is "different". For example, Topaz suite has great NR. NikEffects has good sharpening. RawTherapee has some really interesting features, but poor NR and can easily be oversharpened. LR is sort of in the middle. It does everything fairly well and its almost difficult to do things terribly wrong, but LR is not "the best" at any single feature imo. It still wins, because it has everything and its easy, fast. Secondly, I think your problem, OP, might have to do with Lightroom, specifically. Lightroom has photo thumbnails that it shows for preview. These are not high quality. Then when you load the image, or zoom in, it usually quickly switches to the actual image, which should show you the raw data with the PP that was applied. Maybe this process is not working correctly and you get stuck with the preview? Could it be CPU or Ram or HD space? This is why I recommended updating Lightroom, because getting the latest version can fix some hiccups. If there even is a LR update for your version I really don't know what could be the problem. Maybe if you post some screenshots? I have been using LR3 and LR6 with no such problems. Maybe try searching online for Adobe and Lightroom help. There are many forums for those and someone probably encountered similar issues before

01-22-2018, 04:04 PM	#15
TonyW Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 706	Originally posted by Lev ok, I got something! Looks like my Lightroom's Details pan has no effect whether it is turned on or off. I mean, when you set something there and then turn it off (Details pan entirely), that setting still affecting image. So I've turned that on, then moved noise reduction to zero, sharpness setting to default and then it appears slightly similar to others now, but still not as good as in PS for example. I wonder why I'm facing this problem now after taking tons of pictures already. Something weird happening in Adobe products can often be cured by resetting preferences. You might want to consider using this option to see if it helps Something Acting Weird? Try Resetting Lightroom CC's Preferences - Lightroom Killer Tips