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Participant
April 4, 2026
Answered

Lightroom Classic (macOS) fails to correctly reproduce Nikon Zf in-camera presets via Camera Flexible Color

  • April 4, 2026
  • 10 replies
  • 188 views

Hello,

Lightroom Classic 15.2.1 (on macOS 26.4 in my case) does not correctly reproduce Nikon Zf in-camera presets (my test is on custom presets).

In the Library module, the image matches the in-camera look because Lightroom is showing the embedded RAW preview. But in the Develop module, Lightroom switches to its own rendering and applies Camera Flexible Color, which produces colors that are clearly off compared with the Nikon rendering.

So although Lightroom appears to support this feature in principle, the current implementation is not accurate enough to be useful. The user is then left trying to reverse-engineer and manually correct the many settings changed by Camera Flexible Color.

As it stands, this feature is effectively broken/useless for Nikon Zf files.

Here is a side by side view of what is expected and shown correctly in the Library module (left), and what Lightroom’s Develop renders (right).

 

Thanks in advance for considering this bug report.

    Correct answer johnrellis

    [View this post in your web browser. It contains formatting and images that don't appear in email.]

    ​@opt1mum the color of the RAW file is consistent between the Apple Preview app on macOS and Nikon NX Studio. … However, the strange, garish blue sky appears only when the image is imported into LR using the import option “Camera Settings.” Thus, I think LR does not render the Nikon Imaging Recipes correctly, while Apple Preview and Nikon NX Studio do.

     

    The Mac Preview app isn’t rendering the raw -- it’s simply displaying the JPEG preview that the camera has embedded in the raw file. The embedded preview looks very similar to LR’s rendering when the photo is imported with Raw Defaults set to Adobe Default.  LR on top, Preview on bottom:

     

     

    You can prove to yourself that the garish rendering is caused by the Develop settings the camera has included in the raw’s metadata. Set Preferences > Presets > Raw Defaults > Global to Camera Settings. Then import that .nef. Go to every slider in every Develop panel and set its value to 0 (leave Temp and Tint alone).  The garish rendering disappears, and the result is similar to the embedded JPEG preview and the Adobe default renderings, but with a little less contrast:

     

    LR is simply interpreting the settings as embedded by the camera in the .nef. I have no idea why the camera chose those settings, but they’re pretty bogus.

     

    10 replies

    johnrellis
    johnrellisCorrect answer
    Legend
    September 2, 2026

    [View this post in your web browser. It contains formatting and images that don't appear in email.]

    ​@opt1mum the color of the RAW file is consistent between the Apple Preview app on macOS and Nikon NX Studio. … However, the strange, garish blue sky appears only when the image is imported into LR using the import option “Camera Settings.” Thus, I think LR does not render the Nikon Imaging Recipes correctly, while Apple Preview and Nikon NX Studio do.

     

    The Mac Preview app isn’t rendering the raw -- it’s simply displaying the JPEG preview that the camera has embedded in the raw file. The embedded preview looks very similar to LR’s rendering when the photo is imported with Raw Defaults set to Adobe Default.  LR on top, Preview on bottom:

     

     

    You can prove to yourself that the garish rendering is caused by the Develop settings the camera has included in the raw’s metadata. Set Preferences > Presets > Raw Defaults > Global to Camera Settings. Then import that .nef. Go to every slider in every Develop panel and set its value to 0 (leave Temp and Tint alone).  The garish rendering disappears, and the result is similar to the embedded JPEG preview and the Adobe default renderings, but with a little less contrast:

     

    LR is simply interpreting the settings as embedded by the camera in the .nef. I have no idea why the camera chose those settings, but they’re pretty bogus.

     

      opt1mum
      opt1mum
      Participating Frequently
      September 2, 2026

      Thanks for the reply! I am clear now.

      johnrellis
      johnrellis
      Legend
      August 16, 2026

      [View this post in your web browser. It contains formatting and images that don't appear in email.]

       

      ​@defaultoyx5xbsjcm9j, the garish blue sky in your sample .nef is caused by the develop settings that the camera embedded in the raw. When you import a raw with Raw Defaults: Adobe Default, LR ignores any such embedded develop settings and applies the profile Adobe Color. But when you import the raw with Raw Defaults: Camera Settings, LR applies the develop settings embedded by the camera.

       

      Thus, the evidence indicates that this is a Nikon issue, not a LR issue, and you should take it up with them. (Good luck with that -- Nikon is typically much less responsive than Adobe.)

       

      Gory Details

       

      1. Import the .nef with Preferences > Presets >Raw Defaults > Global: Adobe Default:

       

      Observe that Profile is set to Adobe Color, as expected, and colors look reasonable, though perhaps not to your taste.

       

      2. Import with Preferences > Presets > Raw Defaults > Global: Camera Settings:

       

      Observe the garish blue sky and that Profile is set to Camera Flexible Color.

       

      3. Compare the images from step 1 (Raw Defaults: Adobe Default) and step 2 (Raw Defaults: Camera Settings) with the JPEG preview embedded in the .nef by the camera:

       

      The color and tonal range is much closer to Adobe Default (profile Adobe Color) than to Camera Settings.

       

      4. Using Exiftool to examine the .nef reveals that the garish colors in step 2 (Camera Settings) are caused by the LR develop settings that the camera embedded in the .nef:

      [XMP] Creator Tool                : NIKON Z6_3 Ver.02.00
      [XMP] Create Date                 : 2026:02:12 13:08:13.98
      [XMP] Rating                      : 0
      [XMP] Exposure 2012               : 0.00
      [XMP] Luminance Smoothing         : 0
      [XMP] Luminance Noise Reduction Detail: 75
      [XMP] Luminance Noise Reduction Contrast: 0
      [XMP] Color Noise Reduction       : 7
      [XMP] Color Noise Reduction Detail: 50
      [XMP] Color Noise Reduction Smoothness: 50
      [XMP] Sharpness                   : 48
      [XMP] Sharpen Radius              : 2.00
      [XMP] Sharpen Detail              : 25
      [XMP] Sharpen Edge Masking        : 0
      [XMP] Clarity 2012                : -8
      [XMP] Texture                     : 6
      [XMP] Camera Profile              : Camera Flexible Color
      [XMP] Highlights 2012             : 54
      [XMP] Shadows 2012                : -17
      [XMP] Contrast 2012               : -4
      [XMP] Whites 2012                 : 0
      [XMP] Blacks 2012                 : -3
      [XMP] Saturation                  : 0
      [XMP] Hue Adjustment Red          : -8
      [XMP] Hue Adjustment Orange       : 5
      [XMP] Hue Adjustment Yellow       : -13
      [XMP] Hue Adjustment Green        : 85
      [XMP] Hue Adjustment Aqua         : 49
      [XMP] Hue Adjustment Blue         : -30
      [XMP] Hue Adjustment Purple       : -4
      [XMP] Hue Adjustment Magenta      : 7
      [XMP] Saturation Adjustment Red   : 8
      [XMP] Saturation Adjustment Orange: 9
      [XMP] Saturation Adjustment Yellow: -22
      [XMP] Saturation Adjustment Green : -44
      [XMP] Saturation Adjustment Aqua  : 37
      [XMP] Saturation Adjustment Blue  : 43
      [XMP] Saturation Adjustment Purple: 14
      [XMP] Saturation Adjustment Magenta   : 15
      [XMP] Luminance Adjustment Red    : -6
      [XMP] Luminance Adjustment Orange : 2
      [XMP] Luminance Adjustment Yellow : -9
      [XMP] Luminance Adjustment Green  : -53
      [XMP] Luminance Adjustment Aqua   : -21
      [XMP] Luminance Adjustment Blue   : -39
      [XMP] Luminance Adjustment Purple : 0
      [XMP] Luminance Adjustment Magenta: -11
      [XMP] Split Toning Shadow Hue     : 184
      [XMP] Split Toning Shadow Saturation  : 7
      [XMP] Split Toning Highlight Hue  : 348
      [XMP] Split Toning Highlight Saturation: 2
      [XMP] Split Toning Balance        : 0
      [XMP] Color Grade Midtone Hue     : 81
      [XMP] Color Grade Midtone Sat     : 6
      [XMP] Color Grade Shadow Lum      : -50
      [XMP] Color Grade Midtone Lum     : 50
      [XMP] Color Grade Highlight Lum   : -13
      [XMP] Color Grade Blending        : 42

      When a camera embeds develop settings like this in a raw file and the raw is imported with Raw Defaults: Camera Settings, LR applies those settings on import. It is these settings that are causing the garish blue sky.

       

      5. Observe in the Develop panel that the develop settings in step 4 match those in the Develop panel, e.g.

       

        opt1mum
        opt1mum
        Participating Frequently
        August 31, 2026

        Thanks for the detailed analysis!

        I still think there is something incompatible between LR’s import process and Nikon RAW files with embedded develop settings (.NEF files with the so-called Nikon Imaging Recipes). The reason is that the color of the RAW file is consistent between the Apple Preview app on macOS and Nikon NX Studio. Nikon NX Studio is Nikon’s official tool for rendering Nikon Imaging Recipes embedded in Nikon RAW images.

        However, the strange, garish blue sky appears only when the image is imported into LR using the import option “Camera Settings.” Thus, I think LR does not render the Nikon Imaging Recipes correctly, while Apple Preview and Nikon NX Studio do.

        opt1mum
        opt1mum
        Participating Frequently
        August 4, 2026

        I am having the same issue with nef files taken by Z6III

        Sameer K
        Community Manager
        Sameer KCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        August 4, 2026

        Hey, @opt1mum. Thanks for the comment. As Johnrellis suggested, the investigation into this behavior will benefit if you also provide sample raw images that demonstrate it, along with any specific details.


        Thanks!
        Sameer K
        (Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

        opt1mum
        opt1mum
        Participating Frequently
        August 4, 2026

        The photo (nef file) was shot with Nikon recipe VitalityFilm_Pmango. The two screenshots for preview in Mac OS and Lightroom Classic are also provided. It can be seen that the LRC preview (second preview) has strange blue tune which make the photo unnatural, my case is quite similar to what happen to the post owner. ​@Sameer K 

        johnrellis
        johnrellis
        Legend
        April 5, 2026

        Adobe is much more likely to pay attention to such bug reports if you supply a couple of sample images showing the problem, allowing the developers to quickly reproduce the problem. You can attach the .nefs here using hte paper-clip button.

        defaultoyx5xbsjcm9j
        defaultoyx5xbsjcm9jAuthor
        Participant
        August 5, 2026

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