sRGB vs. AdobeRGB for D200 shooting RAW Newbie question....

From a print standpoint I couldn't tell sRBG from Adobe 98 without holding the images side by side. When you read articles about comparisons in the web the proponents like to show images with objects which have colors that emphasize the differences. In real life it's much more difficult to notice.

I do know that Adobe 98 images come up drab when uploaded to the web. In this case sRGB is better. I use Adobe 98 because I've always done it and it is habit now. If you're used to sRGB just leave it.

Rich

 

Your monitor only displays sRGB.
Most labs/printers work with sRGB only.

Only use Adobe RGB if your stock-agency asks for Adobe RGB.
Else use sRGB.

 

I know this isn't really your question, but my understanding is if you shoot RAW, it just dumps image data directly from the sensor with no processing at all. No color model is applied, so you can decide after the fact whether you want to process using sRGB or Adobe RGB. I think the D200 might record some EXIF data about what model you have chosen in the camera setup, to drive the default settings for Capture NX.

I would like to be corrected if I'm wrong.

 

Very logical. Almost all monitors can not see anything more than sRGB.

Adobe RGB is a wider gamut space than sRGB. If you want the best, you want Adobe RGB (for prints that is). For sharing your pictures in the web, stick to sRGB.

 

If you would like to read a little more about comparing sRGB with Adobe RGB here is a website with an article about it.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/adobe-rgb.htm

 

Yeah, but you have to take Ken Rockwell with a grain of salt. There are many that do not agree with his views.

 

if shooting raw then the colour space can be changed between adobe and srgb with no impact to the file / image.

Sil

 

If you are a Windows XP user I recommend you download this Color Control Panel Applet; a tool for Microsoft Windows XP that makes it easier for you to manage Windows color settings.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...A0-7721-43CA-9174-7F8D429FBB9E&displaylang=en

- Jay

 

Lil I know exactly where your at. I was there Very recently, scrambled brain and all. I read and read - Ken Rockwell (grain of salt for sure) and many others, talked to some local pros, local photo shop and slowly started to put it together. What the others before me, with much more experience than me, in this thread have said is what I have learned too. The only thing I'm not sure of is if you can change sRGB to adobe 98 with Capture NX. Is that possible with NX or CS3 anyone?

 

You can change the default in Capture NX - Edit > Preferences > Color Management:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

- Jay :smile:

 

Thanks so much Lil and Jay. It seems I am still at the playing with the new toys stage. Time to read the manuals. <sigh>

Thanks again!

 

Lil, ha ha! I think you will be taking some awesome pics in the near future if you aren't already. It's just starting to get green here. Yea!

I think it's great that we Have all these options. With digital and software we have our own darkroom without the endless expense of film and darkroom supplies, not to mention the boxes of slides and a slide projector, a lightbox, a darkroom........on and on. That said, I loved it then as well as now.
See ya

 

Lil,

I also wrestled with this for a while. I also use NX. When I started I read that colour mode II looks more natural, and aRGB gives a wider gamut so I thought "beauty. I'll shoot everything in mode II / aRGB then". Of cause I soon found that if you post an aRGB file or view it a non colour-aware program or send it to a printer that doesn't understand aRGB you get washed out colours. That was a bit of a trap that I didn't appreciate, and I could see myself making time-wasting mistakes and printing a whole bunch of yucky looking prints by accidentally producing aRGB files.

Now if you bring a RAW file into NX you can force the colour mode and profile to ANYTHING you like. If you set your cam to colour mode Ia or IIIa NX will default the profile to sRGB, but if you set the cam to mode II it will default to aRGB.

So what I've done is to set the cam to Ia (sRGB) and leave it there. Then if I use NX to do a quick jpg conversion in a hurry it will be in sRGB and I won't accidentally get faded colours. However because I do like the look of colour mode II I've created a base settings in NX which I apply to most of my photos. The base settings forces colour mode II (which also selects aRGB) + a few other things that I've standardised on, and then also does a colour profile change back to sRGB. This gives me mode II colour in an sRGB file. Again, no accidental posting of faded photos if I'm in a hurry.

Then finally if I really do want an aRGB file (because my favorite print house does accept them) I just disable the edit step that switches to sRGB and spit out my aRGB file.

Make sense ? Let me know if I speak gibberrish. Works for me ...

Cheers,

Steve.