Camera Calibration vs White Balancing

kcui

I've been playing around with the camera profile settings in Lightroom.

I realize that camera profile is an attempt to normalize color representation (interpretation of RAW data) for a camera per given environment and lighting situation. But it still feels more like a glorified white balance / hue modification to me. Am I wrong that I could achieve the same results with other settings in Lightroom?

Also, I noticed that Lightroom offers multiple default profiles such as Neutral, Lanscape, etc...

Do these always have to be used per given situation or can they be used to give an desired effect (ie: using Landscape profile for something shot indoors).

Scott_Quier

Custom White Balance (CWB) is about setting the default conversion of the RAW data to allow for and remove the color bias (tint) introduced by the light source.

Camera Profiles are not so much about color representation (or CWB, for that matter) but about getting the look you seen on the LCD to be the starting point when working with the RAW files - see this link for more on that.

Profiles - these affect only the camera rendered JGP (and the JPG thumbnail that is embedded in the RAW data) and have to do with the saturation, contrast, brightness, etc that is applied to the data during the rendering of the JPG data. If you are not shooting JPG, then these settings can be ignored - I have my camera set to Neutral to miminize the changes made to the JPG thumbnail embedded in the RAW data.

Dan7312

The xrite Color Checker Passport http://www.xrite.com/product_overview.aspx?ID=1257 includes a set of standard color patches and software that you can use to make DNG color profiles that you can use in LR or Photoshop. There are other ways make the DNG profiles but the passport software makes it really easy, especially in LR where all you do is an import of an image that has includes the Color Checker in it.

Scott_Quier wrote: »

Camera Profiles are not so much about color representation (or CWB, for that matter) but about getting the look you seen on the LCD to be the starting point when working with the RAW files - see this link for more on that.

bgarland

Scott_Quier wrote: »

Custom White Balance (CWB) is about setting the default conversion of the RAW data to allow for and remove the color bias (tint) introduced by the light source.

Camera Profiles are not so much about color representation (or CWB, for that matter) but about getting the look you seen on the LCD to be the starting point when working with the RAW files - see this link for more on that.

Profiles - these affect only the camera rendered JGP (and the JPG thumbnail that is embedded in the RAW data) and have to do with the saturation, contrast, brightness, etc that is applied to the data during the rendering of the JPG data. If you are not shooting JPG, then these settings can be ignored - I have my camera set to Neutral to miminize the changes made to the JPG thumbnail embedded in the RAW data.

Scott,

All I shoot is RAW with my Canon 50D then PP using Lightroom 3. Does your statement about LR profiles also apply to the in camera scene selections like portrait or landscape? In other words, do these in camera scene selections effect the RAW image file captured or do they only apply to the in camera JPG?

Thanks,
Brad

Dan7312

The profile you select in the camera does not affect what ends up in the raw image. If you could shoot the same sceane twice with exactly the same lighting and subject but with different profiles, both raws would be the same.

The reason for choosing neutral when shooting raw is that the profile affects the jpg, which is what you see in the display on the back of the camera. It also affect the blinkies you see if you check if you have blown out a shot. But what what you are seeing is what would be blown out in the jpg produced using the profile you selected, not whether or not the raw was blown out. So you might think some parts of the image were blown out when in fact in the raw image they are not.

Choosing neutral minimizes getting blinkies when in fact the raw is not blown out, but it is still not an absolute test of whether or not the raw was blown out.

bgarland wrote: »

Scott,

In other words, do these in camera scene selections effect the RAW image file captured or do they only apply to the in camera JPG?

Thanks,
Brad

paddler4

Brad,

As one poster noted, the picture style settings will have no impact on what is recorded in the RAW image, but it WILL affect how some software initially renders the RAW image to make it viewable. You can of course change that. In the case of LR, you can download profiles to match the camera's if you want. I did that, but as a matter of practice, I almost always start from Adobe Standard and work from there. If you decide that another style is a better starting point, just select it from the bottom of the right-hand editing panel.

Dan

bgarland

Excellent education. Thank you to both Dan's for the replies. I'll shift my camera back to neutral.