Some Help Please With Corel Photoshop

[CyclonePWR]

First of both of the photos are the same photos straight out of the camera in Raw.

I recently got Corel Paint Shop Pro X2. When I open photos that are in Raw format they all look darker. Like someone took all the highlights out. Its really evident if you over expose something like the example below #1. There is no problem if you open a Jpeg file in Corel that got converted over to Jpeg in another software.

The second photo was opened up with the Canon software that came with the camera and it is also what the photo looks like on the camera screen. So that is what it should look like.

I tried to find some setting some place to change but no luck so far.

Does anyone know why this might be happening or how to fix it?

Other than manually turn the brightness and highlights back up.

Thanks

 

[sburatorul]

a raw file will always look darker and with a lot less contrast. i get that all the time in picasa. its a great way to learn tho! i shoot raw+basic jpeg and than try to recreate the jpg look and tweak it as i want. is nice for practice, for example i learned how to get the skin tones i want

 

[CyclonePWR]

a raw file will always look darker and with a lot less contrast. i get that all the time in picasa. its a great way to learn tho! i shoot raw+basic jpeg and than try to recreate the jpg look and tweak it as i want. is nice for practice, for example i learned how to get the skin tones i want

On no you miss understood both of the photos are IN RAW FORMAT. #1 opened in Corel and #2 in Canon software. Both untouched and they look different.

 

[sburatorul]

ohh right. i reread it now. sorry. it might be because each program uses another color space. but i will leave that to the pros to explain as i dont fully understand it either

 

[CyclonePWR]

Well that sucks. I can probably get a copy of Adobe Photoshop see if its better in that. But maybe there is an easy fix with this.

 

[Dwig]

...
Does anyone know why this might be happening or how to fix it?
...

Every RAW converter is different. They use different algorythms to process the image. This means that settings like contrast, brightness, saturation, ..., can't be exchanged.

Your camera has RAW conversion software built-in; that's how it can create JPEGs to save when you select that format. Your camera also has controls for setting your preferences for that conversion. These settings are saved in Canon's proprietary RAW flavor. Nikon and others do the same thing.

When your "shoot RAW" (i.e. have the camera save the original RAW image rather than convert it to JPEG) and use Canon's external software to process the RAW file the software can use the embedded settings for the conversion since it is Canon's software and uses Canon's own algorythms. Every manufacturer has their own special tricks that they like to tout as making their camera the best choice. They don't share their proprietary code.

When you use a 3rd party converter (i.e. not Canon's) that software can't use most of the embedded settings; the numbers are meaningless for their software. Only a few basics (ISO and sometimes WB) are universal. In order to get the 3rd party software to match Canon's, either in-camera or on your computer, you have to manually replicate the preferences set in the camera. The software can't automatically slave to your camera's preferences.

Personally, I use a Nikon and use Adobe Photoshop's Camera RAW plugin for RAW conversion. When I set the camera to JPEG and use the middle (generally "0") settings for all the image processing options (saturation, contrast, ...) I get images very similar to what PS +ACR delivers by default from a RAW image.

Your problem may be either that Corel PaintShop Pro's default aren't as well chosen or that your camera is set far from center on the various preferences. If the latter, Canon's conversion software, both computer based and in camera, will yield rather different images that any 3rd party converter.

 

[CyclonePWR]

Thanks that's what I was going to say it seemed like the software was not reading certain settings. Do you know where the Corel defaults would be located?