Missing Lens Support in LR Classic

[ST-EOS]

Lightroom Version Number

Classic 9.3

Operating System

1. Windows 10

This may be a silly question but here goes!
When I use a Canon 300mm L f4 lens combined with a Canon 1.4 Extender on importing the RAW files to LR Classic Lightroom is aware that the lens and extender have been used. However when I try to add the lens correction LR doesn't seem to locate a profile. I can add the lens manually using the drop down fields. However there isn't this lens with the extender.
Is there a way in which I can correct this?

 

[Johan Elzenga]

That's the way it is. Adobe created a profile for this lens, but not for this lens plus the 1.4 Extender. If you really think that having a profile is important, then you'll have to make one yourself with the Adobe Lens Profile Creator app.

 

[PhilBurton]

Has anyone use the Adobe Lens Profile Creator app to do their own lens profile? How much effort is it to create the targets? Do the target setup? Take the photos? Process the data for import into Lightroom?

I'm curious because I have a bunch of old manual focus Nikkors going back to 1970. If nothing else, I would like to remove any chromatic aberration in my slides when I start to scan them. ("Real soon now." )

Phil

 

[Victoria Bampton]

I've tested the process, although it was a long time ago. It wasn't that bad. Looks like I dropped the info out of the Geeky Bits appendix for the Classic book, but from the LR6 book, it said:

How do I create a Lens Profile using the Lens Profile Creator?

If your lens isn’t currently supported by Adobe, and a user profile isn’t available for download using the Lens Profile Downloader, you can build your own profile using the free Lens Profile Creator tool. (Figure 24.13) It’s a free download from Adobe Labs: Digital Negative (DNG), Adobe DNG Converter | Adobe Photoshop

At first glance, the Lens Profile Creator looks quite complicated with its checkerboard targets and shooting multiple times with different focal lengths, but don’t worry, it’s easier than it sounds.

There are extensive instructions with the Lens Profile Creator download, so we won’t go into detail, but the basic idea is that you print the target and then photograph it multiple times, and feed the resulting files into the software.

It’s a good idea to mount the checkerboard target onto board or glass to keep it flat, but you don’t have to have a complex studio lighting setup. Shooting outside in daylight works well if you don’t own studio lights. A tripod is useful to keep the target close to the edge of the frame without clipping, but the software will compensate for variations in camera position and angle.

You have to have an absolute minimum of 3 images to create a profile, but ideally you would divide the sensor into 9 imaginary portions, photographing the target in the center of the lens and then around the outer edges of the lens, with each checkerboard filling 1/4 to 1/2 of the overall sensor size. If you were to layer all the resulting images on top of each other, you would find that the targets would overlap and cover the entire frame, providing the Lens Profile Creator with enough information to accurately profile the lens at that focal length. If you’re using a zoom lens, you need to repeat this process using at least the minimum and maximum focal lengths, and the software can then interpolate the settings in between.

Even a basic lens profile is an improvement in most cases, but if you’re a more advanced user, you can really go to town and shoot numerous sets of images at different combinations of focal length, aperture and focus distance, which results in a more accurate profile.

Once you have your sets of images, it’s time to create the profile. Again, there are instructions with the software, but it involves a few basic steps—load the sets of images into the Lens Profile Creator software, enter the camera and lens information, enter a few measurements from the chart, and finally, leave the software to generate the profiles. Adobe include a set of sample images in the download, so you can test the software and see how easily it works. Once it’s finished, you can save your LCP (Lens Correction Profile) and restart Lightroom to make your new profile available for use on your photos. You can also save the project file that you’ve created, so that you can go back and add additional sets of images later.

Does it matter which camera body is used when creating a lens profile?

When creating a lens profile, use the largest sensor size available, for example, if you have a Canon 5D Mk2 with a full frame sensor and a Canon 7D with a cropped sensor, use the full frame. The lens profiles can compensate for smaller sensor sizes but can’t create extra data for larger sensors. Other differences between camera bodies have a minimal effect on the lens profiles.

 

[PhilBurton]

@ Victoria,

Thank you. I have a few questions, and for sake of brevity, I've included only those paragraphs about which I have questions.

@ Everyone else,

Has anyone else created their own profiles?

There are extensive instructions with the Lens Profile Creator download, so we won’t go into detail, but the basic idea is that you print the target and then photograph it multiple times, and feed the resulting files into the software.

So I print the target only once, not 3 or 9 times?

You have to have an absolute minimum of 3 images to create a profile, but ideally you would divide the sensor into 9 imaginary portions, photographing the target in the center of the lens and then around the outer edges of the lens, with each checkerboard filling 1/4 to 1/2 of the overall sensor size. If you were to layer all the resulting images on top of each other, you would find that the targets would overlap and cover the entire frame, providing the Lens Profile Creator with enough information to accurately profile the lens at that focal length. If you’re using a zoom lens, you need to repeat this process using at least the minimum and maximum focal lengths, and the software can then interpolate the settings in between.

So I should mount the camera on a tripod, and adjust the tripod settings to take the 3 to 9 photos. To me it seems that once the target is in position, and the camera is mounted on the tripod, it would be relatively quick to reposition the tripod for all 9 photos. Not counting f/stops and different focal lengths for zoom lens, of course.

You can also save the project file that you’ve created, so that you can go back and add additional sets of images later.

This is a great feature.

 

[Johan Elzenga]

So I print the target only once, not 3 or 9 times?

Yes, you photograph the same target 9 times.

 

[PhilBurton]

Yes, you photograph the same target 9 times.

Johan,

Thanks. I was a bit daunted by the idea of setting up an "array" of nine targets on a flat surface large enough to hold all of them with some spacing between the targets.