difference photo between library module and development module

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
January 4, 2023
4 replies
228 views

hello, today a strange problem. Photo edited in LR classic shows in library differently than in development module. In library module, photo suddenly has much more noise and is duller. For your information: today my Benq SW321C monitor is calibrated with the colorchecker display pro. Also converted the preference settings for remote file handling to ProphotoRGB. The preset setting is set to Adobe - default. For calligraphy and changing preference settings, everything was normal.

Windows

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TheDigitalDog

Inspiring

The preview architecture in Develop is unique to all other modules and the most accurate preview of the data. Previews in Develop are working in its internal color space, which is Linear encoded "ProPhoto" (RGB primaries). In terms of color gamut, Linear ProPhoto, ProPhoto RGB, and Melissa RGB all have the same color gamut because they use the same set of RGB primaries from ProPhoto RGB. The difference between them is the encoding of the image values (e.g., linear encoding, 1.8 encoding, and 2.2 encoding, respectively). The differences in this encoding does not affect image appearance in previews. So, within the Develop module, how our images appear in Linear ProPhoto, regular ProPhoto, and Melissa RGB are all correct and all the same and for all files: raw, jpeg, tiff, dng, etc. The facts are however, in Develop, the previews are the unnamed internal color space.
The Library previews are Adobe RGB (1998), because the previews are stored as JPEGs. JPEGs are 8-bit, inappropriate for a wide gamut color space like Linear ProPhoto, ProPhoto RGB, and Melissa RGB. Using an intermediate-sized color gamut as found in Adobe RGB (1998), avoids artifacts, while providing a larger gamut than sRGB. Another reason why the LR user might consider a wide gamut display that closely approaches or exceeds Adobe RGB (1998).
The Develop module doesn't have quantization problems because the image rendering isn't using JPEGs. It is instead performed on the fly using the original image data (e.g., a raw file), using higher internal precision (at least 16 bits).
Within the Develop module, if a user has turns on soft proofing, the gamut is limited to whatever ICC profile the user has chosen for soft proofing.

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"

J

Jao vdL

Community Expert

This is all very important and correct. There is however a real subtlety that people run into sometimes if the image is sufficiently noisy and you are working on a low resolution screen (1080p screens for example). If you are in develop and NOT zoomed into 1:1 on such an image, the noise reduction and sharpening are approximated as the module works from a subsampled version of the raw file. This is done to speed the operation of the sliders so that you don't have to render the full resolution image every millisecond. This can actually lead to a misjudgment of not just sharpness and noisiness of the image when you are in Develop in a zoomed-out view but also to a difference in perception of how saturated the colors in the image are. In Library to the contrary, the jpeg previews are created from a full-scale rendering of the raw image which is then scaled down to display size. This means that you don't have the subsampling artefacts and in those cases, the Library preview can be more accurate than Develop. Again, this is only true for zoomed-out views and if the image is very noisy and strong settings of noise reduction and sharpening are used. This is very rare but we sometimes see people run into this here with things like night sky photography, photography in dark settings, etc. Apart from this rare circumstance, Develop is always the reference view exactly as @TheDigitalDog says.

D

D. KipAuthor

Participating Frequently

... correction to my question: it seems that this problem, for the time being, occurs with a single photo...

D

D. KipAuthor

Participating Frequently

thanks for your comments. @dj_paige: I have set the preview in the library to 1:1 for the photo in question. Now the photo in the library shows as the photo in the development module. Strange though

Per Berntsen

Community Expert

100% view (1:1) is the only view that gives you an accurate representation of the image, because one image pixel is represented by one screen pixel. Any other view will be inaccurate and misleading. because the image has been scaled.

Different applications use different algorithms for smoothing and sharpening, and in this context, Library and Develop can be considered different applications, because they use different previews. At 100% they should display identically.

Viewing at 100% is particularly important when assessing image detail; sharpness, noise, chromatic aberration and moiré.

Sean McCormack

Community Expert

Library uses Previews, Develop accesses the file directly. You also don't see accurate sharpening or noise reduction under 1:1 view/100%. Adobe Default is the, much duller, default profile. Adobe Color is much better.

Sean McCormack. Author of 'Essential Development 3'. Magazine Writer. Former Official Fuji X-Photographer.

dj_paige

Legend

The preview engines for Library and Develop Module are different. To view noise, this is best done in the Develop Module. You can also use the menu command Library->Previews->Build 1:1 previews to force the Library previews to refresh.

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