Lightroom color not consistant with PSCS4/Bridge. Help please.

[Sol765]

Hi All,
I started with a search, but didn't find an answer that covered what I'm seeing.
OK, first of all, let me set this.
I'm running a MacBook Pro 2.2, OSX 1'.6, with a 23" Apple Cinema Display attached as my main work monitor for my LR, PSCS and all my other photography and graphics work. Any reference here is referring to the 23' ACD as that is my calibrated color reference point. And for the record, both the ACD and the MBP are fully hardware calibrated on a regular bases.
What I'm seeing is gorgeous color and pop in LR, but more muted colors in PSCS4 and Bridge. I have noticed that if I open a single image in both PSCS4 and Apple's 'Preview' app, the PSCS4 rendering matches the Bridge preview dead-on. While the 'Preview' app's rendering looks more like the LR previews. So it would seem to me that LR is 'talking' to the systems color rendering, while PSCS4 and Bridge are more, 'on their own', yet talking to each other.
I work almost completely in Adobe 98 color space. I export out of LR into PCSC4 as Adobe 98 PSD files. I continue to work in Adobe 98, and even re-enter the PSD files back into my Lightroom catalogs with their attached color space. In LR, I get the same 'look'. Nicely saturated color with a little pop, but if I open up the files again in PSCS4 they again, look somewhat 'muted'.
Now I can understand maybe a slight color difference between PSCS/Bridge and say maybe Corel 'Painter'. But I am not getting this obvious color difference between relative Adobe apps such as LR and PSCS4, again, while working on the same calibrated monitor.
FYI, my Epson 24'', using Epson's custom profiles, looks fantastic printing out of LR's Print module. (I love the LR Print module!).
My problem here is, I need to send files out to certain print houses for album printing and such (usually in sRGB color space). I have confidence with what I'm seeing in the Lightroom previews of my files. But the PSCS4 files are just too 'dull' looking. Kind of nervous to let them go out the door.
Final note, my entire Adobe Creative Suite is set to 'North American Prepress 2'.
Thanks for any help you can send my way.

-Sol

 

[EvyC]

I am having similar problems. MacBook Pro 15", Dual core, 2.33GHz, OS/X 1'.5.8, ATY/Radeon X16'' graphics card,--My display is the 23" Apple Cinema Display - the older matte screen with the larger DVI link - 9 pins x 3 plus another larger pin, core image is: hardware accelerated.

What I have found:

1. IF GL is on under Preferences for PS4, the rendering is harsh, as though Vibrance has been bumped about +5' and it does NOT match the rendering for the ACR preview under Bridge, nor the rendering by Lightroom 2. TURN OFF GL.

2. IF I output my image (Nikon D7'', 12.5MP, Raw NEF) using Capture NX2 as a 16-bit TIF, the image colors are rendered much better by PS4. Also, the image does not have jagged edges at 1''% or color bleed.

HOWEVER, if I use ACR to convert my image from NEF to DNG OR to TIF, I have jagged edges and color bleed. Which defeats the purpose of having a good camera, right?

That also means that DNG cannot be my standard file format because of the problems I am having.

3. Rick Walker, a Nikonian, is using DNG and has calibrated it to match his camera. I can't find the link at present, but he used the Gretag-McBeth chart and seems to be happy with what he is getting. I don't know what hardware he is using.

I am guessing the central problem is that Adobe doesn't have the right driver or specs for my hardware, or we would be hearing about this with every Mac user.

What Apple 23" display are you using? The older matte one or the newer glossy one with the mini-DVI link?

This has cost me a couple weeks of time and effort and I am not thrilled, to say the least. Please let me know what other info you might have to help figure out the source of the problem. I was going to go to an Apple store and see if other hardware set-ups produced better results.

Evy C

 

[Sol765]

Hi Evy, Thanks for the reply, and all the input.
I too am using an older 23" ACD with the matte screen.
And due to my 2.2 MBP having the GeForce 86''M GT graphics card, it limits the GL features available with PSCS4. So I leave GL in PSCS4 turned off.
It's pretty frustrating. I'm seeing this color rendering issues with any file type. I've tried it with PSD, JPEGs and RAW files, and see the problem regardless of the color space. I generally work in Adobe 98, but I've tried this with SRGB files as well, and see the same results. As I move a particular file between all these four apps, LR and Apple's 'Preview' app have similar color rendering, while PSCS4 and Bridge both appear to mimic each other as well. But the latter have the lesser, more muted color tones. Just looks overall flatter.

Sol

 

[EvyC]

Sol,

Yes, I find the rendering flatter with less detail, as well. My best renderings have been with TIFs generated by Nik software's Capture NX2 for Nikon. I haven't put time into RGB yet, and using RAW as input is quite bad for me, I am shocked at the jagged edges - which would account for loss of detail - in DNG or letting PS/CS4 save my RAW NEF as a TIF. Anything that goes through ACR is not working to a high quality level. I will ask Rick Walker if he is having any issues.

Sorry I'm not more help. I was hoping to use PS more and now... things are rather stalled. All I can think of is there is a driver issue but I have heard that other people are having problems and I am looking for a common thread. So far, I have seen one with the same graphics card as mine and now you with the same ACD.

Evy

 

[Denis Pagé]

Maybe you can start by looking here...

 

[Sol765]

Thanks for the link, Denis.
Unfortunately, it doesn't help. I am a longtime PS user (since version 5) and I do pretty much all that is mentioned in the PDF, as regular operation.
I export my RAW files out of LR as Adobe 98 PSD files into PSCS4. And as previously mentioned, I set my Creative Suite to North American PrePress 2 (Adobe 98).
Also, the situation is a constant. I can be working on a PSD file that has the 'muted color tones' while working in PSCS4, switch the apps view over to LR, and there is the same file with the more 'saturated color pop' that I always see in LR. I switch back over to PSCS4 and the same file still looks more muted in its color tones. All on the same hardware-calibrated monitor.
Really not getting what's going on here.
Thanks again for the link. I wasn't aware of the ' LightroomQueen'.

-Sol

 

[Victoria Bampton]

Hi Sol, welcome to the forum!

It's late, so real quick reply... just try messing with a couple of the other checkboxes in the CS color settings to get them to match LR/Preview. For some reason, I have in my mind that Black Point Compensation or one of the Advanced checkboxes were needed, but it's all a little foggy and I can't stop and look it up right now.

 

[Stig Jensen]

You can also check your color settings in PS and see if the "desaturate monitor colors by" box is ticked. I´ve been trying to understand why my exports looked so dull in PS compared to LR. Nothing wrong my color space or monitor/display settings. Everything seemed to be in order. Exept the little box in color settings.