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florenceb86532011
Participating Frequently
January 19, 2026
Answered

Photoshop & Camera RAW bug

  • January 19, 2026
  • 5 replies
  • 115 views

Hello,

Since I formatted my Mac Studio's hard drive to clear system data and free up disk space, I've been experiencing a bug in Photoshop and Camera Raw. Whenever I go back into Camera Raw to change a setting, the color balance changes completely; the colors become strange and inconsistent. This bug doesn't occur in new PSD files, but all my working files created in recent months are now unusable, which is very problematic!

 

Note that after formatting, I didn't restore my Time Machine backup, which was restoring an overly full hard drive. Instead, I started from scratch, reinstalling my software and manually recovering my documents.

 

Thanks

Correct answer D Fosse

Is this raw files or RGB files? Camera Raw processor (plugin) or Camera Raw filter (inside PS)?

 

If RGB files, this sounds like a broken monitor profile. The numbers in the file don't spontaneously change, but if the monitor profile is not applied correctly, the display of the files will be wrong.

 

If raw files, check that you don't have any presets automatically applied, and that you're not mixing up HDR/SDR settings. If that's not it, the above again applies.

 

All this assuming you haven't turned off color management in Photoshop, which is, unfortunately, still possible. The correct policy should always be to "preserve embedded profiles".

5 replies

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
January 19, 2026

Is this raw files or RGB files? Camera Raw processor (plugin) or Camera Raw filter (inside PS)?

 

If RGB files, this sounds like a broken monitor profile. The numbers in the file don't spontaneously change, but if the monitor profile is not applied correctly, the display of the files will be wrong.

 

If raw files, check that you don't have any presets automatically applied, and that you're not mixing up HDR/SDR settings. If that's not it, the above again applies.

 

All this assuming you haven't turned off color management in Photoshop, which is, unfortunately, still possible. The correct policy should always be to "preserve embedded profiles".

F
florenceb86532011Author
Participating Frequently
January 19, 2026

The problem was solved when I changed the color space in Camera Raw; it was set to Rec2100, and I switched it back to Rec709.

Thanks everyone!

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 19, 2026

That still doesn't sound right. Any color space will be correctly represented in Photoshop, as long as the color profile is correctly embedded. Rec 2020 or Rec 2100 should display exactly the same as sRGB or Adobe RG or anything else (excluding minor gamut clipping where the monitor gamut exceeds the document colorspace gamut).

 

I just opened a file in both Rec 2020 and Rec 2100 from ACR and the colors were all correct.

 

So unless your monitor profile is broken (which would explain it) - it's most likely HDR <> SDR settings. I don't have an HDR display so I can't test that.

Sameer K
Community Manager
Sameer KCommunity Manager
Community Manager
January 19, 2026

Hey, @florenceb86532011. Welcome to the Photoshop Community. I'll help you figure this out. 

Does this happen with all PSD from the previous state? You can go to Photoshop > Settings > Camera Raw Settings > Workflow and check the default set here. 

 

 

Check the before-and-after of the document in Photoshop > Edit > Color Settings to verify the color management policies. 

 

Let me know how it goes. Thanks!
Sameer K
(Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

F
florenceb86532011Author
Participating Frequently
January 19, 2026

Hi @Sameer K , thanks for your reply.

This happens with all my previous PSD files. I haven't noticed anything unusual in the color settings, especially since I usually work in REC709 because I use the Adobe suite to produce videos. So I use REC709 everywhere.

 

I'd like to send you a simplified PSD file to test, but it's 500MB. Perhaps via WeTransfer? I'd need your email address. I tested this file on another Mac and it does the same thing: as soon as you open the smart layer that leads to Camera Raw and change a setting, the color looks washed out when you return to Photoshop.

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