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RGB Value Readouts: 0~255 please

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Frank Pryor

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I've never been a fan of the fact that LR threw out so many of the conventions established by Photoshop and ingrained in the synapses of so many of us. Most of this can be justified by the assertion that LR does it better, found a clearer way to implement a control scheme, etc. Some of my grumpiness can be attributed to an old dog's discomfort with new tricks.

I can't see why LR displays RGB values as percentages rather than levels. I have a handle on the way flesh tones, reproducible white and black points display as levels in Photoshop. It would be terrific if the display were user-definable.

fp
 
Frank, fancy seeing you here! Welcome aboard!

They're not trying to be awkward with the '-255, but Lightroom's working on 16-bit data, so there is no such thing at '-255 - you'd be working with '-16 million, which could get a little unwieldy.

They could do a calculation, but then what colour space would they use for that calculation. You could be outputting in ProPhoto, Adobe RGB or sRGB, all of which would give different RGB numbers.

So what you're actually asking for is a proof setup for Develop module, with the histogram, clipping warnings and RGB values mapped to a colour space of your choosing, which is an excellent feature request, and one I'd suggest you make official using Official Feature Request/Bug Report Form
 
V,

Thanks for the welcome!

Photoshop gives me RGB values in '~255 even in 16 bit and in any color space. LR should be able to do the same.

The only solution open to me is to create a swatch, record the percentage values in LR, open the image in Photoshop and record the levels data and write down the translation on a postit note and stick it to my monitor.

If this is the way Adobe wanted the application to work then maybe they should have shipped it with a pack of postits?

Just a thought....


fp
 
I will also point out that nowhere in photoshop or ACR do I see RGB values displayed as percentages. LR uses a unique, and therefore almost useless, metric that has no established translation into the metrics any of us are used to.

fp
 
Photoshop already knows which colour space it's currently working with though, so it can do a 16-bit to 8-bit calculation, whereas LR could export to various colour spaces and raw data doesn't have a colour space. Even ACR's numeric readings, histogram and clipping warnings are based on the output space that you specify in the dialog at the bottom. LR's an entirely new situation.

But as I said, I do agree with you, so put in a feature request - the more people who request it, the higher a priority it'll become.
 
I will also point out that nowhere in photoshop or ACR do I see RGB values displayed as percentages. LR uses a unique, and therefore almost useless, metric that has no established translation into the metrics any of us are used to.

fp

It's taken most of us a bit of getting used to Frank but I like it now and it never even enters my mind now (not that much does - LOL)!!
Welcome to the forum, to help us help you could you please take a moment to fill in your signature in the "userCP' that is found in the nav-bar at the top left of the page - thanks.
 
Victoria,

In Lightroom preferences we specify a target color space and bit depth for conversions, so LR should know how to translate the values as well.

The reason I don't use LR for any of my commercial work is because it takes so very much getting used to. I've been using it exclusively to manage and sort events and personal work and specifically NOT for mission-critical work for paying clients because I can't afford either the time wading through the chaos of the GUI.

fp
 
Frank Pryor;4515' said:
Testing to see if sig shows up.

Good stuff Frank, thanks - you may want to add in you camera system too!!;)
Thanks for your sense of humour, I guess you are a Pom too?? !!:cheesy::cheesy:
 
Frank, I agree it would be useful to get the '-255 readout in LR. I had to use a calculator to convert the RGB values to %'s to match some text colours on an image.
 
In LR's preferences you specify colour space ONLY for using Edit in External Editor, but the majority of exports take place via the export dialog, which you change on the fly. As a general rule, the External Editor colour space should be set to a large colour space that can contain all of the colours (i.e. ProPhoto) whereas when you actually come to export, most wedding photographers use sRGB. The numbers between the 2 vary, so would you want numbers based on sRGB or ProPhoto - and on that basis, which do you want the histogram to show, as reds are clipped in sRGB that show in gamut for ProPhoto.
 
In Lightroom preferences we specify a target color space and bit depth for conversions, so LR should know how to translate the values as well.

That space only enters into the equation when you render the image, up until that point you are still working in MelissaRGB for which '-255 is utterly meaningless.
I don't believe Adobe intend to change it; their line has always been: it makes no sense, so get used to the new way.

Lightroom is also more of a visual editor than a by the numbers editor. It takes time to appreciate it, but once you do there is rarely any going back!
 
Lightroom is also more of a visual editor than a by the numbers editor. It takes time to appreciate it, but once you do there is rarely any going back!

Well.

A visual editor is fine, but I'm not doing this for my own gratification. This is not a closed loop. I have to send the files off to other people who have to be able to print them on big, expensive 4-color presses. The process, and my livelihood, absolutely depends upon having a pretty good idea whether or not a highlight will hold a dot on a 4-color press. I must have an idea whether or not the highlight values are going to clip, on press, when I'm processing that RAW file and LR won't give me that information.

This issue, rational RGB values, is one of the bigger reasons why I don't use LR for any commercial work: I must know if I'm clipping highlight values before I send files either into Photoshop for further work or out for printing. The absence of that information is a grave oversight in a professional application.

Highlights blow out on any press long before clipping will show in the LR's Out of Gamut display. The only way I know if a highlight has a prayer of holding detail is if I'm getting meaningful RGB (or CMYK) readouts and using those I can make intelligent decisions about where to place the tones for coated, uncoated, newspaper stock etc.

I don't really care if it's tricky. I don't really care if they'd have to put a drop-down next to the RGB readout so that you can select targets for the calculations to be run on (what a great feature!). What I care about is that LR is making me guess about the values in my files and that has zero utility.

fp
 
SO PUT IN A FEATURE REQUEST! The more people who request it, with full explanation as to why you need it, the more likely it is to happen. On that same basis, I want the histogram to show the clipping warnings based on a chosen space, as images that appear to not be clipped can end up clipped when exported to sRGB. It's all part of the same thing. Only Adobe aren't listening to you writing here.....
 
I did put in a feature request.

The rest of what I'm doing here is responding to suggestions that it's either a trivial concern or too difficult to implement (sorry if I'm mis-stating anyone's position).

fp
 
Ah, that's fine then Frank. Some don't understand that this isn't an Adobe-sponsored forum, so whilst many things do get back to them, it's not 'official'.
 
All I want is a guide, an option to select '-255 or '-1'' in the colour picker. It can make it easier to match up colours with other applications. My example is selecting a colour for the text in the Web module, the colour picker is '-1''% and to get the same type of green I was using in the text for the rest of my website I had to calculate the % from a '-255 value. The colour match I got is pretty much perfect.

I don't believe the values are of great use in the image itself whether they are '-1'' or '-255.

(I probably didn't make that very clear in my last post)
 
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