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Karl Guttag
Participant
January 12, 2020
Question

Olympus RAW Colors Wrong - Colors Muted and Crushed

  • January 12, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 757 views

I'm using Photoshop CC and opening Olympus OM-D Mark 3 RAW (.orf) files. The RAW editor opens up in Photoshop but the colors are wrong/compress. The image it darker/muted and colors muted compared to the same version in JPEG and if opened via Olympus's application. 

I have tried reloading the Adobe Raw converter and the help shows it as being version 12.1.0.351.

 

I'm working around it for now by using the Olympus ap, saving TIF and opening in Photoshop but it is a hassle of a workflow but at least it is not garbaging up the images. 

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 12, 2020

You misunderstand what a raw file is.

 

There is no such thing as a "correct" way to interpret a raw file. If you could see a raw file directly, it would be a grayscale image, very dark, very dull and very tonally compressed. It's like a negative. To produce a useful image, it has to be processed in a raw converter, and every raw converter will do it differently. Olympus' version is no more holy than any other. It's your image. You decide how it should look.

 

ACR default settings are by design conservative, not intended to impress anyone, but to bring out as much as possible from the raw data captured by the sensor.

 

The rest is up to you. The sliders are meant to be used, use them!

 

Save out new defaults if you wish, as Stephen described.

    Stephen Marsh
    Community Expert
    Stephen MarshCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 12, 2020

    This is expected, there are two different converters at play (Olympus vs. Adobe). You have to change the Adobe Camera Raw processing settings to create the rendering that you require. These settings can be saved as a default for the camera to remove/reduce the need for further adjustment in the future.

    K
    Karl GuttagAuthor
    Participant
    January 12, 2020

    How do I "change the Camera RAW processing setting?" Do I do it when I have an image open in the Adobe converter or someplace else? Do I do it with some form of curves or something else? How the heck can I get it to match the original expectation by Olympus? It sounds very problematic to keep from messing up the image. 

    One would think as a baseline the Adobe settings would produce the same default Olympus settings and not crush the image. If this is what is "expected," then the expectations are very low. 

    TheDigitalDog
    TheDigitalDog
    Inspiring
    January 12, 2020

    You alter the settings available to produce a desired color rendering, you can either now make a preset to honor all of them or, you can make that a NEW Camera Raw Defalut to use in the future. 

    https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/using/camera-raw-settings.html

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