for some reason my windows preview with the nef codec look way better then PS

[matthewo]

well when i do a preview with windows exploror of my nef raw file it look way better, the colors are vivid, then when i open it in camera raw in photoshop it just doesnt look right. any reason for this

im shooting in adobe on the camera vs rgb.

 

[matthewo]

im looking at more images now cause and its really bad. they just look terrible. its like the preview looks pretty good, not need for much editing, then once opened in photoshop or even lightroom the look like crap, the lights get lighter and the darks get darker. some setting must be wrong in photoshop. im guessing its the workspace??? but i changed it in cs5.1 camera raw and it doesnt look any different maybe im changing it at the wrong place. i also cannot find a place to change color space in lightroom

 

[matthewo]

pretty Sh*ty huh? this is an unedited photo that is from the camera in raw. the right side(better looking one) is a printscreen of the windows exploror preview of the photo. and the left side is a camera raw import into photoshop, WTF, this is just making my photos look really bad.... someone please help here im doing something wrong i guess.

http://www.orseinv.com/TEMP_PHOTOS/example.jpg

you can really tell by the sky in this example, but this is just a small jpg, when i look at them on the computer in full raw you can really see the differences....
all this time i thought my lcd screen on the camera just was way different, so i started adjusting the brightness, but it seems as if its a problem with adobes codes or something.

 

[soxOZ]

The reason is simple, as by using windows to view your Raw files, it is using the Nikon's Codec's and that allows you to see the photo with the picture settings that you have used in the camera along with any ADL settings.
But ACR & PS does not recognize these Picture Settings or the ADL setting so you will only see the base settings of the raw file which can look very flat.

You can in ACR select a Picture setting under the little camera Icon (standard, neutral, vivid, Portrait etc including the D2X modes) and apply them to the shot.
But if you have other settings changed in the camera like contrast, hue, brightness etc, you will have to readjust these either in ACR or PS...

You can download free Nikon VIEW NX2 and do a save of the RAW file to either Tiff or Jpeg and this will embed the Picture settings that you have used from you camera and set it into the tiff/jpg from the Raw file so you can then edit it in ACR/PS...
I use Capture NX2, but you will have to pay for that, so I suggest using VIEW NX2 as it's free and you can also perform a few minor adjustments in it.
Will cost you nothing so give it a try to see if that fixes your problem...

 

[Rephargotohp]

It's because Windows uses the embeded JPEG preview instead of the actual RAW Preview that Photoshop generates.

Even if you shoot RAW, your camera will make a preview for viewing on the back of the camera and in other programs, based upon what your JPEG settings are for your camera.

When you take an image into, Lightroom, Brdige, They will render a new preview based upon the actual RAW whihc has no PP on iot yet and will update that preview should you PP the image. When you open an in image in ACR again you are seeing the RAW file. In other programs that do not render a preview they use the original embedded JPEG preview which has the in camera PP applied, so it looks different

 

[Kerbouchard]

Yep, what others have said. In the windows preview, you are actually viewing the JPEG that was generated using your camera's picture controls and settings. Adobe is taking the RAW data and displaying it's interpretation of it.

If you're not at the point where you can edit your RAW files to your liking, consider shooting RAW + JPEG so that you have your cameras interpretation of the scene along with the RAW data. Also, as said above, ViewNX will take your camera settings and apply them to your RAW data to give you a place to start with, although, personally, I find ViewNX a bit clunky compared to Photoshop.

 

[matthewo]

ok so in other words when i shoot in raw none of this really maters anways, i could just set my camera to picture control standard, because if im using lightroom or photoshop its going to all look the same once imported, and im just throughing my self off when i look at the screen of the camera on different settings after i take the picture.

 

[matthewo]

i can edit them to my liking i guess, i think the main thing is i just like starting with a better image, knowing that is just an autoprocessed version defferntly helps me. i always process the image to look better then the windows preview anyways so i guess its not a problem.

 

[Kerbouchard]

ok so in other words when i shoot in raw none of this really maters anways, i could just set my camera to picture control standard, because if im using lightroom or photoshop its going to all look the same once imported, and im just throughing my self off when i look at the screen of the camera on different settings after i take the picture.

Pretty much.

i can edit them to my liking i guess, i think the main thing is i just like starting with a better image, knowing that is just an autoprocessed version defferntly helps me. i always process the image to look better then the windows preview anyways so i guess its not a problem.

Sounds like you got it figured out.

FWIW, the only setting besides aperture, shutter speed, and ISO that carry over into Photoshop is white balance. Adobe throws the rest of it away.

 

[matthewo]

Yeah i guess i was thinking changing the stuff on the camera would change the picture, but it only does if it converts it to jpg as raw is pretty much no settings at all applied.

So even changing sharping in the camera doesnt effect raw either?

Even white balance isnt applied to the raw when shooting? Just post processing

 

[Kerbouchard]

Yeah i guess i was thinking changing the stuff on the camera would change the picture, but it only does if it converts it to jpg as raw is pretty much no settings at all applied.

So even changing sharping in the camera doesnt effect raw either?

Even white balance isnt applied to the raw when shooting? Just post processing

Well, Adobe does bring in the white balance to Adobe Camera RAW. It is the default 'as shot' selection. It doesn't effect the data, but the information is there.

And no, sharpening has no effect on the RAW file when processed through Photoshop.

FWIW, your histogram in camera, the blinkies, the preview on the screen, etc are all effected by your in camera settings. Also, if you are using an automated mode, selecting the active dynamic lighting can influence the exposure the camera chooses.

So, your settings in camera do matter and they can impact the data, but Adobe doesn't care about most of them.

 

[matthewo]

well i shoot in full manual mode all the time. i was just kinda making sure that these things we talk about are all basically what the camera does to process the image. so basically with me processing the raw file im doing the same thing just to my liking right. i would rather the camera do as little processing of the image as possible so i can do all the processing. i dont want to be processing on top of what the camera all ready did, that only makes the image quality drop.

i guess the main thing is correct me if im wrong... when you shoot in raw and it saves the "raw" image file. the camera is just running off of aperture, iso, and shutter speed basically. maybe active d-lighting. but all the other settings are just what the camera does to process the image and make a jpg file. right

 

[Kerbouchard]

well i shoot in full manual mode all the time. i was just kinda making sure that these things we talk about are all basically what the camera does to process the image. so basically with me processing the raw file im doing the same thing just to my liking right. i would rather the camera do as little processing of the image as possible so i can do all the processing. i dont want to be processing on top of what the camera all ready did, that only makes the image quality drop.

i guess the main thing is correct me if im wrong... when you shoot in raw and it saves the "raw" image file. the camera is just running off of aperture, iso, and shutter speed basically. maybe active d-lighting. but all the other settings are just what the camera does to process the image and make a jpg file. right

You kind of lost me on the second paragraph.

Regardless, sharpness, active d lighting, contrast, brightness, picture controls, etc are not imported into any Adobe programs. The only things that are imported are the actual data(which is controlled by aperture, shutter speed, and ISO), and the white balance setting. Everything else is discarded so that you start from a clean slate.

If you open the image in View NX(a Nikon program), all of your settings are incorporated.

 

[matthewo]

i see, well i guess the thing is "sharpness, active d lighting, contrast, brightness, picture controls" are not actually part of the real image. they are just data thats added to the shot for programs that use the nef codecs. so really the way adobe opens the file is the true raw file.

 

[soxOZ]

i see, well i guess the thing is "sharpness, active d lighting, contrast, brightness, picture controls" are not actually part of the real image. they are just data thats added to the shot for programs that use the nef codecs. so really the way adobe opens the file is the true raw file.

True to a point, but why don't you just shoot in either RAW+JPG fine or just in JPG fine for a short time as all those settings you have mentioned (sharpness, active d lighting, contrast, brightness, picture controls) will be embedded into the JPG image and Adobe (ACR, PS & LR) will see it as you as seeing it in Windows...