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andreasstahl
andreasstahl
Participant
March 8, 2022
Answered

Lightroom Classic White Balance As Shot differs from camera setting

  • March 8, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 2039 views

Mac OS 12.2.1

LR Classic 11.2 Camera Raw 14.2

Nikon D750

 

I set the White Balance in camera to 5880K. After import into LR Classic and using the Adobe Standard or Adobe Color profile the LRC White Balance is displayed as 6100 under the As Shot setting of the Develop Module. Nowhere in the LRC accessible metadata I can find a dataset about the in camera settings. 

Using e.g. the Nikon NX Studio software the White Balance is correctly shown as "Original Value (Color Temp. (5880K, 0, 0) which is for me an indicator that this information is available in the RAW file but not processed by LRC. 

 

I can confirm this behaviour for imported files from an SD card as well as using Tethered Capture function of the software.

 

Here is a table of in camera values and LRC which shows the difference across the White Balance range of the camera. This is easy to replicate and I am therefore not attaching files.

 

 

My expectation for the software is that the true in camera setting is displayed under As Shot to avoid confusion. I am in a situation where this behaviour lead to a rejection of a certification after evaluation of my pictures: Allowed range 5000-6000, Adobe displayed value 6100, in camera setting 5880.

Correct answer TheDigitalDog

WB defines a large range of possible colors and it isn't at all unusual to see differing values provided, from the same raw, from differing applications. Nothing to worry about:

 

1 reply

TheDigitalDog
TheDigitalDogCorrect answer
Inspiring
March 8, 2022

WB defines a large range of possible colors and it isn't at all unusual to see differing values provided, from the same raw, from differing applications. Nothing to worry about:

 

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"
    andreasstahl
    andreasstahlAuthor
    Participant
    March 9, 2022

    I agree that this is typically nothing to worry about and I would anyway use a camera profile with ColorChecker Passport for color critical work. However, for my understanding "AS Shot" should show how it was shot and not something translated into something else and second, more important, I did not receive a certification because of that. I failed the CPP for PPA because Adobe shows 6100 instead of the in camera used 5880K. 

    TheDigitalDog
    TheDigitalDog
    Inspiring
    March 9, 2022

    The ColorChecker profiles (all DCP profiles) are WB agnostic by design.

    As shot is metadata alone, and not produced by a device that is really designed to measure CCT as shown in my screen capture (one device was used to do so and you can see how it differs from the raw interpretations). Raw converters can interpret that Metadata differently. And as shown, they do.

     

    If you failed CPP due to this, it is solely due to those people not having a bloody clue about WB or CCT values etc.

    Show them this fact, that any color running along line e-f can be considered 5000K:

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