Dave Hartley

Previously, when processing my raw files, I would look at the image and depending upon whether there was a predominance of red or blue I would pick either Nikon Capture NX (for reds) or Adobe Lightroom (for blues). The color of the reds I was obtaining using Adobe Raw converters was always below par, whereas the Nikon Capture NX software would give me the vibrant reds I was expecting.

With the release of Lightoom 2.0, Adobe has also introduced beta versions of it’s new camera profiles. These can be downloaded from the Adobe Labs website. Now, when I use the develop module, I can go to the camera calibration panel and select the camera profile . This mimics the various color modes that Nikon Capture NX supports. The images below show a Ring-necked Pheasant that was taken at sunrise; hence, I had some beautiful golden light. On the left hand side is the standard conversion in Lightroom using ACR 3.1; the reds and browns are really poor. The middle uses the new camera calibration with the camera profile set to D2X Mode 3 beta 1; the reds and browns are much more vibrant. Finally, the right hand image shows the output from Nikon Capture NX; this has great reds and browns. You can click on the image to get a larger view

With the new camera profiles, I’m not sure whether I need to go to Nikon Capture NX anymore, as now I can get great reds directly from Lightroom. This will greatly ease my work flow.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 8th, 2008 at 10:15 pm and is filed under Photography, Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.