CS4 is grainy???

Stang8URMPRT · Mar 16, 2009

Hello everyone. I'm new to these forums and came on to ask a question. I have recently bought CS4 Extended. I upgraded from an old version of Elements.

Now my problem. Grainy! If I open any picture I have in CS4, it appears very grainy. Almost like it is showing all the defects in the picture. At first, I thought this would be helpful in editing the photo, but that is not so. If I view the picture in any other program... Paint, Elements, Vista Slide Show... They look great. But when I open in CS4, it looks like poo... I will show ya.

From Paint:

From CS4:

Notice on the left side of my son's face, it is almost over saturated or over exposed in CS4... also my wife's chin.

Does anyone know how to fix this???? It's really freaking annoying!!

Thanks,
Nick

Big Mike · Mar 16, 2009

Welcome to the forum.

I'm not exactly sure what you're seeing...maybe it's just hard to tell over the web.

My first though was to check what zoom level you are viewing the image at in Photoshop. In previous versions of Photoshop, things can look funny at some zoom levels. CS4 is supposed to fix that (although it didn't work for me because of my video card drivers, or something like that).
Anyway, try viewing the image at 100%, or 50% or 25%...see if that changes anything.

It looks like the image is in RGB, so it shouldn't be a color space issue...but I don't know if we can rule that out completely.

NucleaRR · Mar 16, 2009

I think it may be a color space issue. As far as I know PS comes set to Adobe RGB which can change the way the image displays. I know that my default setting are that the workspace is set to Adobe RGB but when I save it is set to sRGB (sRGB IEC61966-2.1). This could explain the difference when it is viewed outside of PS. Also the color setting on your camera can affect this. You may or may not be able to set this. The industry standard for web based images is sRGB so it's safe to stay at these settings. This however restricts your color gamut but most people viewing it via the web can't tell the difference.

Here is some info if you interested.

Color space - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

sRGB - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Adobe RGB color space - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stang8URMPRT · Mar 17, 2009

k.... So how do I fix this? lol. I'm not at all good with this program. Nor do I understand what ya just said.

Stang8URMPRT · Mar 17, 2009

Here is another example....

Photoshop CS4:

Just uploaded to Photobucket:

NucleaRR · Mar 17, 2009

From the above post it appears to be a color space issue.

OK to fix it.

In PS go to the Edit tab click it and in the drop down look for Color Space or Color Preference at the bottom. Select this. A window should pop up with a couple drop down windows in it. One will be to select the working color space (the way the files view in the document window) I would set this to sRGB. There should also be a setting for how files are saved default is usually sRGB so you shouldn't have to changes this. These settings will make your files view similar to the other programs you listed. When saving file make sure that the correct ICC color Profile is selected in the SAVE window.

I suggest going with the sRGB because the standard for web viewing is sRGB. This is also the standard for computer monitors since '98, I think. Basically anyone who sees your images via computer will view it in sRGB so it is best to adjust your pictures for this standard. It gets more technical when using other color profiles, you have to have the monitors to display the color gamut.

One other thing that I have noticed and may be what you are seeing...Recently I scanned an image that my sister gave me, to digitize it and remove red eye. The image had a screen like effect in photoshop while working with it. Almost like someone had turned the sharpness to max. Once I removed the red eye and saved it, I viewed it outside of PS and it looked tons better. Ever since then I feel like I notice this more and more. It's as if the images have a flat look to them when viewed in PS.

Good luck making the changes. And let us know how it comes out.

Stang8URMPRT · Mar 17, 2009

Thanks for the help and advise! I tried doing what you explained. It was already on that setting. I played around with all the different settings, and clicked "more options" were it gave me a saturation adjustment for the monitor. I pulled 15% out, and it looks better, but it's still really blotchy. I'm stumped!

Nick

dkf10425 · Mar 17, 2009

Make sure your monitor color space is the same as your color settings in Photoshop. Also in Photoshop go to View-Proof Set Up and check "monitor RGB".

Stang8URMPRT · Mar 17, 2009

dkf10425 said:
Make sure your monitor color space is the same as your color settings in Photoshop. Also in Photoshop go to View-Proof Set Up and check "monitor RGB".

Well, you really helped me here... Pointed me in the right direction. If I click View>Proof Colors it makes the image look PERFECT.

But... How the heck do I make this permenent??? It would be nice to not have to do that step every time I open a photo.

Thanks guys! We're getting there!

Nick

Flash Harry · Mar 18, 2009

The last 2 just look under exposed to me. H

CW Jones · Mar 18, 2009

your zoomed way in.... that could be a large portion of your problem. I believe you are zoomed almost %50

Stang8URMPRT · Mar 18, 2009

Thanks for the responces, fellas. Like I said... I found the "fix", now I just need to figure out the way to make it permenant. Thanks!

dkf10425 · Mar 18, 2009

Stang8URMPRT said:
Well, you really helped me here... Pointed me in the right direction. If I click View>Proof Colors it makes the image look PERFECT.

But... How the heck do I make this permenent??? It would be nice to not have to do that step every time I open a photo.

Thanks guys! We're getting there!

Nick

You still have a color management issue. Go into your monitor settings and make sure the color profile is the same as photoshop. On a windows system you right click your desktop then go to properties>settings>advanced>color management. Check and see what profile is currently associated with your monitor. There are options to add a color profile. I have mine like this:

Monitor color profile: sRGB v4 ICC preference
Photoshop : sRGB v4 ICC preference
Photoshop>view>proof set up>custom: sRGB v4 ICC preference

Under color settings in photoshop where it says "profile mismatches" I also checked "ask when opening".

You can download the latest sRGB profile here.

This should make the fix permanent.

Stang8URMPRT · Mar 19, 2009

Edit:

I added the profile in display prefer. It worked! Thanks guys for all the help!!

Nick

Stang8URMPRT · Aug 1, 2010

Bringing this back from the dead because I no longer have CS4 and I purchased Elements 8. I am having the EXACT same problem with this program, but I cannot figure out how to fix it with this program, as this menus are not even close to the same. Seeing how I fixed my problem earlier, does anyone know how to fix it with PE8???

Thanks again,
Nick