Inspiring

Answered

Imported photos look normal, then turn dark one by one

Forum|Forum|13 years ago
July 19, 2012
4 replies
44463 views

Hello, When I import my photos into Lr 4.1, they look normal & balanced, then turn very dark, one by one. I can visually see this on the filmstrip. I am not sure if this is a JPG preview I am seeing...They do not show up like this in my Pictures folder nor in CS Bridge.

I shoot a Nikon D7000 in RAW always, shoot on Auto, Manual, Apeture, etc. I am running on a Windows Vista 32 bit, but import as TIFF files in 16 bit and work with 16 bit files. I usually set my camera to no saturation, or very little, no sharpening, etc., preferring to work with the RAW file only.

Thank you in advance.

Correct answer dj_paige

I would also like to know. Did you ever find an answer to this? Thanks!

I would also like to know. Did you ever find an answer to this? Thanks!

By @Roland23599671vzkb

the answer is already in this thread, scroll up

areohbee

Legend

I'm sure you understand why they turn different now, but just to clarify, the main reason they turn so much darker is due to Active D-Lighting. Nikon software compensates automatically for ADL exposure reduction, Lightroom doesn't. ADL is still just as useful when using Lightroom, but:

* you need to compensate manually

* it's more obvious when you shouldn't have had it on.

Ideally, ADL should be:

---------------------------------

On to preserve highlights at the expense of shadows. call it: "expose to the left".

Off to allow brighter highlights to be blown out if need be in the interest of "exposing more to the right".

Rob

Jim Wilde

Community Expert

Though of course on a Canon, the equivalent function is actually called ALO which affects the exposure settings......in camera processing, and even DPP, will understand that setting and adjust accordingly. Lightroom, however, does not and this can lead to apparent under-exposure when processing Raw files. So it is often suggested that disabling ALO is a good idea if using Lightroom as the primary raw converter. Same applies to Highlight Tone Priority.

areohbee

Legend

jim01403 wrote:
So it is often suggested that disabling ALO is a good idea if using Lightroom as the primary raw converter. Same applies to Highlight Tone Priority.

I'm not so familiar with these, but I can imagine these possibilities:

* They should be turned off, because they do things that trip up Lightroom, like maybe some thing that makes the camera profile not work so well (I doubt this is the case).

* Like ADL, they are equally valuable whether using Lightroom or not, as long as one knows how to compensate properly.

People often recommend ADL be off if using Lightroom, so that there are no exposure surprises. Fair enough, but you are no longer taking advantage of a potentially valuable camera feature if you do that.

Again, I dunno 'bout Canon's intelligent contrast handling, but it may be worth learning more and making an informed decision if you shoot Canon.

"Experts" are often wrong...

Rob

G

GKN 100

Participating Frequently

Yes, I have the same with my Canon 60D. I've understood the difference (camera preview is what you initially see, until LR renders it) but have been a bit confused why the default rendering of LR is so different now...... I'm sure it never used to be this extreme. I seem to add +1 stop exposure to the majority of photos. It could be that the camera manufacturers are brightening their previews/thumbnails ...... which makes it hard when evaluating images on the cameras LCD screen

By the way, why are you dealing with TIFF files? They take up more space than RAW and offer no advantage, except as an output format (as opposed to import format). I find white balance adjustments much easier with RAW images....

TheDigitalDog

Inspiring

This is normal. You’re seeing the camera generated JPEG saved within the raw, then LR has to update it using it’s engine and build a higher quality preview. You can update your LR defaults to produce a rendering that is closer to the camera generated JPEG or at the very least, one that doesn’t look ‘dark’ to you, then the updated preview will appear more to your liking.

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

A

Aggie23080470wvku

Participant

WHERE in Lightroom would I go to accomplish this?

Rob_Cullen

Community Expert

Hello @Aggie23080470wvku

You have 'bumped' a forum thread that is 10 years old! Much has changed since then.

Please include the following in your question: Preferably in a NEW post.
Adobe App in use and its Version number?
A Screenshot of the info panel from MENU: Help/System Info...
Computer Operating system and Version number?
Your Camera Brand and Model Number?

Any special settings you have made in camera menues?

Why do I see my images change after they are imported into Lightroom? | Laura Shoe's Lightroom Training, Tutorials and Tips

Regards. My System: Windows-11, Lightroom-Classic 15.1.1, Photoshop 27.3.1, ACR 18.1.1, Lightroom 9.0, Lr-iOS 10.4.0, Bridge 16.0.2 .