Odd Problem with RAW Files in PS

[MrK6]

I'm hoping this is the right forum to address this. I'm getting some odd color issues with ACR in Photoshop, and I can't quite figure out how to correct them. The oddest (or most maddening, I suppose) thing is that Windows Photo Viewer is correcting it, but I can't figure out how to do it officially/finally. A great example:


The picture on the left is the RAW file viewed in Windows Photo Viewer with the default Windows RAW codec pack (this is displayed after it applies its automatic "corrections"). The photo on the right is "Auto" balanced in ACR in Photoshop, no amount of manual adjusting seriously changes the effect. As you can see, the blue from the LED is overly saturated and odd. Also, the color in the rest of the photo is off as well (for example, that desk is a cherry finish, and looks like the photo on the left, not the right). The best I can do is switch to CMKY color once I've opened the image, which makes the LED blue color a little more realistic, but flattens it, and this is only once I've opened the image in actual Photoshop.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'm just seeing the limits of Adobe's RGB or not, but can anyone give some insight into what exactly is going on and how to correct it? Thanks very much for any suggestions/advice.

 

[Anteaus]

I'm not sure about the RAW driver, but Windows Photo Viewer isn't color calibrated. All of the JPG files I create in lightroom from raw look darker in Windows Photo Viewer, but I know the files are ok because I can bring them into other color corrected software such as Windows Paint and they look exactly as they should.

My guess is you're just seeing an uncorrected image in the Photo Viewer. I wouldn't worry about it, but I can see why you were concerned. I felt the same way until I learned about color calibration and which software did and didn't honor it.

 

[MrK6]

Well the odd thing is that Windows Photo Viewer applies some form of correction (or removes the one that's there), because the image loads as one thing, then once it finishes loading in <1 sec you can see that it has been adjusted. I guess my biggest concern is that PhotoViewer is actually doing a better job displaying the colors than is Photoshop, which is odd to me. There isn't anyway to figure out what Photo Viewer is doing, is there? Thanks for the response.

 

[Anteaus]

I don't think there is a way to figure out what Photo Viewer is doing, but my guess is it using one of the camera color profiles instead of Adobe Standard. I use Lightroom and it is very easy to change between the default Adobe profile and any of the various camera profiles (neutral, landscape, Standard, etc) which can have an impact on the final image. I'm not sure about Adobe ACR but I would imagine there is some way to do the same. Worth giving a try in any case.

 

[MrK6]

Thanks for the quick response! I'll have a look around and fiddle with the color management to see what I can come up with.