ACR does not allow Nikon Z automatic lens profiles to be switched off

[BKosoff]

Being incapable of controlling whether lens profiles are applied is a problem for a professional. I recently bought a Voightlander 65mm APO Lanthar, a truly superb lens, it has virtually zero distortion. I am using it with the techart Sony E to Nikon Z adapter. The adapter works well enough and the appearance of the image on the viewing screen and viewfinder seems normal, that is there is no distortion.

However when importing either the jpg or RAW file into PS the image comes out with enormous pin cushion distortion vertically. Clearly this is a "correction" imposed by PS as there are no settings on the camera that are being enacted, and again the appearance in the viewfinders are perfect.

ACR does have a profile for this lens, but selecting it or selecting NO profiles does not change the imposed distortion. Imposing a distortion control on a file has the effect of stretching and distorting pixels. That causes a loss of resolution. If I have to use a distortion control to undistort that imposed distortion I am then altering pixels already stretched even more. It is causing a completely unnecessary loss of resolution and image quality. Can you PLEASE allow us to choose whether we want lens profiles to be applied? Maybe separate CA correction from distortion correction.

[Ann Bens]

Moved to Ps forum.

[davescm]

Hi

Do you have a sample file? I uses Canon kit , not Nikon, but in ACR I can switch the profile correction separately to CA correction (example below):

Dave

[BKosoff]

Thanks for replying Dave. Having used PS for 28 years I am well aware of all the standard and obvious controls, including ACR. But the distortion profiles for lenses used with Nikon Z can not be turned off or ignored. Enabling or disabling has no effect. And there are no settings in camera to alter that. They effect jpg, and RAW. This is an ACR issue and defeats the benefits of high resolution Nikon Z cameras. Can't imagine the logic of ACR developers.

[davescm]

Hi

I downloaded a couple of sample raw files from a nikon Z6 and sure enough was surprised to see a message about the profile being built in to the raw file.  Although not mentioning the Z series this gives some more info :

https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/multi/lens-profile-support.html

So it looks like a consciously designed "feature" rather than a bug.

There is a running feature request at the link below , to which you may wish to add your own comments. The thread also contains a temporary workaround

https://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/disable-built-in-lens-profile

[Per Berntsen]

When using the original S lenses, the camera will write corrections for distortion and vignetting to the raw file, in a form that Lightroom and Camera Raw understand, and they will be applied automatically

But when using third party lenses, this shouldn't happen.

I have a Nikon Z7 that I use with several non-S lenses, and no corrections are applied for them, but I can do it manually.

Maybe the Techart adapter is causing this behavior.

The screenshot below is for an image taken with the Z7 and a Sigma 14-24mm lens

[BKosoff]

The Techart adapter is not the issue. I opened the RAW files in Capture One and could manually turn off the distortion control. It made a significant improvement in resolution on the outer areas of the frame as compared to opening the image in ACR. Plus it did NOT crop the image the way ACR did. 

It looks like my best option since Adobe won't address what is an issue that both degrades image quality by stretching or distorting pixels and by forcibly cropping your images, is to switch to Capture One and Affinity. 

Capture One and it allows me to open NEF files without forcing image damaging profiles onto the image. It also seems to be a very comprehensive program and is easily a replacement of LR. Plus they can outright sell you a never expiring license. 

As digital cameras get higher and higher resolving, and the lenses get more and more expensive in order to keep up why would someone want to use a software that actually degrades the resolution and forcibly crops your image? You are losing actual pixel resolution. Knowing that the software is going to crop your image after the fact means that you have to leave extra room around your compositions lest some important element on an edge get cropped into. So instead of your final image being 8256 pixels wide you have to shoot as though you have fewer pixels.

Having been a PS user since 1991 leaving Adobe is not what I want to do but Adobe is leaving me little choice.

[D Fosse]

Does the "Setup" rolldown immediately below the profile checkboxes do anything? Just asking (don't have a Nikon Z) - but I don't see it specifically mentioned anywhere.

[D Fosse]

OK, disregard that, the rolldown plays no part in whether the profile can be disabled or not.

Does Capture One display the same pincushion distortion - is it using the same profile? (aside from the fact that it can be turned off there). Then it has to be the Techart adapter tricking the camera into thinking it's a different lens, and applying the wrong profile. 

Why the profile can't be disabled in ACR is in any case the real mystery. I notice Lr/ACR is also using built-in profiles for my Sony/Zeiss lenses on the a7rII, but they can be turned off without problem. There's no built-in profile for my Sigma art 24mm 1.8, so that works the traditional way by enabling it manually.

In other words - exactly the same situation that Per has for his Z7, and no issues.

[BKosoff]

At first when you open an image in Capture One the image displays the same distortion as it does in ACR. However when you go to the "lens" tab and open up the lens setting you see that it is applying a distortion correction. When you turn that slider down from 100% to 0% all the distortion correction goes with it and you have the lens in it's native state. You also end up with the full dimensions of the image, the edges are not cropped off to allow for the distortion correction. That is how it worked with the 65mm APO Lanthar, a lens that has virtually no distortion.

[BKosoff]

And regarding my 65mm APO Lanthar, ACR always imposed a grossly distorted correction no matter what combination of setting used.

[Per Berntsen]

The Techart adapter is not the issue. I opened the RAW files in Capture One and could manually turn off the distortion control. It made a significant improvement in resolution on the outer areas of the frame as compared to opening the image in ACR. Plus it did NOT crop the image the way ACR did.

What you describe above is exactly how it works with the Nikon Z mount lenses – corrections are applied automatically in Lightroom, and there is no way to turn them off. But they can be turned off in Capture One, and possibly in some other raw converters.

I agree with D Fosse that the Techart adapter is the likely culprit. Somehow the camera thinks that your 65mm lens is a wide angle Z mount lens.

[D Fosse]

"At first when you open an image in Capture One the image displays the same distortion as it does in ACR. However when you go to the "lens" tab and open up the lens setting you see that it is applying a distortion correction. When you turn that slider down from 100% to 0% all the distortion correction goes with it and you have the lens in it's native state."

Yes, that answers my question: it's the same wrong profile being used. So the distortion itself is not an Adobe problem - it's coming from the file, put there by the camera, most likely because of the Techart adapter.

What is an Adobe problem, is the fact that it can't be turned off. That's puzzling, because I can turn off all automatically applied Sony profiles. Why are the Nikons different?

Of course, this wouldn't be a big deal if only the right profile was used.

[D Fosse]

I did some research into this lens, and although not Sony branded (like many Sony/Zeiss lenses) - it is made exclusively for Sony FE-mount. There's no Nikon mount available, F or Z.

It's probably a good fit for my Sony a7rII, so thanks for bringing it to my attention. I'm looking for a good macro lens for the Sony, and I missed this because I've been mostly looking in the 90-120mm range. I always focus manually for that type of work anyway.

[Per Berntsen]

The Nikon Z cameras are unusual in several ways.

Unlike most (probably any) cameras, they write camera settings to XMP in raw files, that will be read and honored by Camera raw and Lightroom. So settings like for instance sharpening, saturation and Active D-lighting (lifting shadows) will be automatically applied. With other cameras, these settings would only be visible in jpgs.

I know some people consider this to be a good thing, but I don't, so I've disabled it by creating new default settings for my Z7, with all sliders set to default/zero.

The built-in lens profiles aren't so unusual, my Fuji GFX 50S has them as well (no option to turn them off in Lightroom), and there may be other cameras that use them too.