Adobe is not reading ARW files

[davidm78463985]

Hello.

My camera is Sony Alpha 7 IV and when I open my pictures in Lightroom Classic, Lightroom, Camera Raw and Bridge these programs change the histogram and the pictures are very dark but on the exposition, light etc settings it looks like it has not been modified but the histogram picture are far different from what I have in my camera. 

Anyone can help me? 

[Per Berntsen · Accepted solution]

This is most likely caused by a setting you have activated in the camera that brightens the shadows and mid tones of the image. Might be D-Range Optimizer ?

Using this setting leads you to believe that the image has been correctly exposed when it in fact is underexposed.

Camera settings only affect jpgs (and the jpg preview embedded in the raw file), and the histogram you see on the camera is also for the jpg.

The camera settings are probably written to the raw files, so that Sony's raw converter can apply them, but LrC doesn't understand them and ignores them.

I suggest that you turn this setting (and other similar settings) off.

This will also give you a more accurate histogram on the camera, although it's not a raw histogram.

See also https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/lightroom-underexposes-imported-photos-...

[davidm78463985]

Thanks a lot for you reponse. Yo were right! It was a profile setting on the camera. So the pictures I already took, do you know a way to make LR read it properly? Thank you in advance

[JohanElzenga · Accepted solution]

Don't use Sony picture styles for photos. These are settings for video, and require special exposure. S-Log3 for example requires you to overexpose almost two stops, otherwise the image becomes two stops underexposed in the end. As these styles do not have any effect on the raw data, you will end up with a severely underexposed raw image.

[Per Berntsen · Accepted solution]

So the pictures I already took, do you know a way to make LR read it properly? Thank you in advance

By @davidm78463985

LR is reading them properly. They are underexposed, and you have to edit them to make them look better.

But brightening underexposed images will lead to increased noise and poor color rendition in the shadows.

You may find this article helpful.

Exposing a digital image

[Jao vdL]

Try applying the "camera settings" preset. It might actually read the in camera settings and try to mimic those. I don't think that works for Sony but it works great on my Nikons. Also, you can change the default for raw development in Preferences -> Presets to Camera Settings (you can find a similar preference in the cloudy version of Lightroom). This will apply to newly imported images or when you hit reset on an image.

Worth a try. It should at least pick up the in camera set picture style. 

[JohanElzenga]

Applying camera settings won't help. The image is simply underexposed, because that is what most Sony Picture Profiles (video profiles) do. And that's all they do for raw photos. So yes, you'll have to try and rescue them by applying a strong Exposure correction.

[Jao vdL]

It does with my Nikons with the same type of in camera auto dynamic range stuff. It will automatically dial in exposure compensation and shadows, highlights, etc settings when you chose camera settings ultimately getting the develop view close to the embedded jpeg no matter what style or automatic dynamic setting you choose. I don't know why this doesn't work on Sony. It might have to do with Nikon actually embedding camera raw settings in the nef files.

[JohanElzenga]

Nikons are Nikons, Sony is Sony. This is not "in camera auto dynamic range stuff" for photos, the Sony Picture Profiles are video only profiles. I use a Sony A7 IV myself, so I know what I am talking about. If you apply a Picture Profile such as S-Log3 (which is almost certainly what the OP has done), and you expose the image 'normally' (meaning as the camera suggests, or by using some automatic exposure), then you'll end up with a photo that is about two stops underexposed.

[Jao vdL]

Ah yeah the S-Log3 profile has no equivalent in Lightroom but all the other profiles do. I downloaded a bunch of raw images from this camera and Lightroom clearly picks up the correct profile every time when using camera settings resulting in close rendering of the raw to the embedded jpeg when shooting with the normal still image specific profiles. However, Lightroom has no built-in S-log3 camera profile for this camera so can't do that if you have set that as profile in camera. I remember running into this in another thread before. Adobe must have thought that nobody would ever choose a video profile when shooting images so never bothered to create the camera matching profile. People seem to use S-Log or equivalent video specific profiles on their cameras for still mages anyway, often to integrate their images in video or becuase they misunderstand the utlity of S-Log when shooting video to also apply to stills when shooting raw (it doesn't). 

[Per Berntsen]

I don't know why this doesn't work on Sony. It might have to do with Nikon actually embedding camera raw settings in the nef files.

By @Jao vdL

Nikon Z cameras write camera settings to XMP, which Adobe applications understand.

Apparently, Sony cameras don't do this.

Nikon's default sharpening for my Z 7 uses a radius of 2, which totally ruins the images.

I've zeroed out all camera settings, and use my own raw defaults on import.

[Jao vdL]

Yeah I strongly dislike the default radius 2 sharpening settings Nikon applies which is why I do the same (zeroed camera settings and my own sharpening preset applied). Really annoying. They also do this in their jpegs and in their raw editor resulting in major detail loss. I have no clue why they do this. Perhaps it makes people think it is sharper and 'punchier' when zoomed out?