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Marko25454589xs8a
Participating Frequently
July 30, 2022
Answered

DNG export to JPG changes colors

  • July 30, 2022
  • 6 replies
  • 5875 views

Hi,

I have the following problem... when I export my edited DNG file to JPG then colors and saturation change? BUT if I export RAW file as JPG then colors and saturation remain the same! 

See screen shot examples attached - Photo viewed in LR and the same one in IrfanView.

Any idea what may be wrong, how to fix color profiles? 

 

Thank you, 

Marko

 

 

 

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Jao vdL

Thank you for the hint. This is makingh me crazy!  I do not experience the problem with the sample photo you provided... 

I have uploaded my sample DNG file onto Dropbox, see link below. It is straight out of the drone without any

modifications. Would be glad if you can test it - ie import into LR, do some basic edits, exdport from LR as JPEG and compare colors in LR Develop module vs colors in IrfanView or similar app.

Thank you! 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pi2wvu7omn47e17/DJI_0123.DNG?dl=0

 


This explains everything. The color of the sea is outside of the sRGB gamut. Here you can see the problem area in red with soft proofing enabled:

Areas in the red will not display correctly when exported to sRGB. You can also see it when toggling between soft proofing and off with the out of gamut overlay disabled. The problem is much less pronounced when you use displayP3 gamut but is present even in adobeRGB. So if you export to sRGB, you will indeed see the problem but only on a wide gamut monitor. This is why the problem disappeared when you set your monitor's profile to sRGB. So to export this image correctly, you need to use displayP3 gamut in the export settings (neither sRGB or adobeRGB will work) and make sure to only watch it in color managed apps. Luckily nowadays most browsers are color managed so it is perfectly OK to use displayP3 for your jpegs destined for web display. 

6 replies

TheDigitalDog
TheDigitalDog
Inspiring
July 31, 2022

I downloaded your DNG from Dropbox. 

Imported into Lightroom Classic and did an export to JPEG with NO other alterations. Saved as a JPEG in sRGB. 

Did the same using ACR. 

The two JPEGs match exactly. As they should and expected. 

I can't test this with the original raw until you upload that too. But the results should be the same. 

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
    markophoto1
    markophoto1
    Inspiring
    July 31, 2022

    Thank you for your assistance! As I said it is making me crazy....  This is how it looks at my end - on the left is LR Develope module screen shot of DNG and on the right is screen shot of exported DNG as JPEG in IrfanView.... color of the water definitely does not remain the same once exported. Thank you all for the sugestions and help. Over and out.

     

    J
    Community Expert
    Jao vdLCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 31, 2022

    Read my reply above (this forum is terrible at chronologically ordering the posts). This is exactly as expected. The water color is outside of sRGB and WILL shift if you export to sRGB. It is indeed the well known sRGB blue purple problem. You need a wider color space to capture the color of the water. Nothing to do with Lightroom or the dng files. It is just a round peg and square hole problem colorwise.

      J
      Community Expert
      Jao vdLCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 30, 2022

      You probably have a corrupted monitor profile. What you describe here is a pretty common result of that. You should recalibrate your display with calibration hardware. You can test if this is the problem by deleting the monitor profile in the monitor's properties panel but know that that guarantees incorrect color - it is just a way to test.

        M
        Marko25454589xs8aAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        July 30, 2022

        Monitor is Eizo CG2420 calibrated with its internal HW sensor...

        This phenomena affects only DNG files... and I replicxated it on two computers. Will do it on thrid as well, just to be sure.  

        JohanElzenga
        Community Expert
        JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        July 31, 2022

        What "profile built-in"?

        When I import the DNG, there is no camera profile provided (as I'd kind of expect). Seems indeed this DNG may not be following DNG spec as it should but that's above my pay grade to analyze.

        Here's what I see upon import, Profile Missing:


        @TheDigitalDog wrote:

        What "profile built-in"?

        When I import the DNG, there is no camera profile provided (as I'd kind of expect). Seems indeed this DNG may not be following DNG spec as it should but that's above my pay grade to analyze.

        Here's what I see upon import, Profile Missing:

         

        The name of the profile suggests that this is a custom profile. Because that custom profile is not installed on your system, the 'missing profile' warning is as expected in that case.

         

        -- Johan W. Elzenga
          TheDigitalDog
          TheDigitalDog
          Inspiring
          July 30, 2022

          Has nothing to do with DNG per se, which produces data that is as raw as the original. It has to do with some color management issue most likely the 'other' product otherwise it would match LR, Photoshop, any color-managed application. It could be a setting or an issue with the display profile (the old one might be corrupted.) If you are using software/hardware for this task, be sure the software is set to build a matrix not LUT profile, Version 2 not Version 4 profile.
          Maybe even your GPU could be an issue, disable in the various products to see if that alters anything. If turning OFF GPU works, it's a GPU bug and you need to contact the manufacturer or find out if there's an updated driver for it.
          Also see: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/acr-gpu-faq.html

          You have Photoshop right? Does the JPEG match there match LR in Develop module at the same (1:1) zoom ratio? If so, the issue is IrfanView.

          Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
            M
            Marko25454589xs8aAuthor
            Participating Frequently
            July 30, 2022

            Thank you for a0ll the insights!! 

            Yes, I have PS as well... Unfortunately JPEG in PS (exported from DNG) does not match LR in develop module... see different  sea color (left LR, right PS)....  however JPEG exported from NEF does MATCH  LR!  I have attached both examples ie. areial view photo is DNG and Taxi photo is NEF. 

            It is definitely color management issue, I agree but why does it only affects DNG files? huh...

             

             

            TheDigitalDog
            TheDigitalDog
            Inspiring
            July 30, 2022

            We need to see both the original raw and a converted DNG. Can you upload both to something like Dropbox?

            A original raw and DNG should show identical results from the same rendering.

            Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
            Earth Oliver
            Earth Oliver
            Legend
            July 30, 2022

            if you view both in the same app do they match?

            M
            Marko25454589xs8aAuthor
            Participating Frequently
            July 30, 2022

            Photo above with saturated colors is screen shot of DNG file within LR, and the other photo with washed-out colors is a screen shot of JPG file within IrfanView. 

            dj_paige
            dj_paige
            Legend
            July 30, 2022

            What software are you using? Please state clearly the name of the software and the version NUMBER.

             

            My web browser will not show the attachments here at Adobe forums. Please include your screen captures by clicking on the "Insert Photos" icon; do not include attachments.

             

            M
            Marko25454589xs8aAuthor
            Participating Frequently
            July 30, 2022

            I use the latest version of LR Classic and the latest version of IrfanView. 

            btw thank you for the tip regarding attachments.

            M
            Marko25454589xs8aAuthor
            Participating Frequently
            July 30, 2022

            By RAW file I meant Nikon NEF file...

            Per Berntsen
            Community Expert
            Per BerntsenCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            July 30, 2022

            What color space are you using when exporting?

            And is color management in IrfanView turned on?

            The desaturation you're seeing is typical for viewing images in the ProPhoto color space in an application without color management.

             

             

            In the future, please insert screenshots by using the Insert Photos button in the toolbar.

             

             

             

            M
            Marko25454589xs8aAuthor
            Participating Frequently
            July 30, 2022

            Thank you for quick answer Per!

            I export JPGs always in sRGB and Yes, color management in IrfanView is enabled.

            It looks like the problem is Irfan and/or FastStone viewer... colors in LR, Windows folder icons as well as in the Web-browser are ok! I only see desturated colors in Irfan ond only for DNG files, NEFs once exported as JPG are ok?!
            This is really a big MISTERY??

             

            Yes

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