Missing Nikon Z camera and lens profiles

[jiml16936120]

In the Develop module of Lightroom Classic (I have version 11.2 running on Windows 11), in the Lens Correction panel, if I select "Enable Profile Corrections", the entries are blank. So Lightroom isn't automatically detecting my camera (Nikon Z6 with the kit lens 24-70mm f4 S).

I can manually set the Make to "Nikon", but the Model popup only has a few choices, and the Z series of cameras and lenses are not among them.

In the Metadata panel of the Library module, all of the information is correctly recorded in the image file. (RAW, JPG, etc).

This camera was released in 2018, and has since been replaced with the Z6II. The Z5, Z7, Z7II, Z50, Zfc, and Z9 are all missing as well. (Admitedly, the Z9 is very new.) All of the Z lenses are missing. The Z cameras are Nikon's flagship DSLR, so I'm not understanding why these lens correction profiles are absent in Lightroom.

I was told by Adobe support to post this error on this forum.

[jiml16936120]

More information. When I said the "popup only has a few choices", that is for JPG images. For the NEF (raw) image, there are many more choices, but still no Z lenses.

If I manually set the Make to "Nikon", Lightroom autoselects the Model to "Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 105mm f1.4E ED", a lens I do not own.

[John R Ellis]

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With most mirrorless cameras, including the Z line, the camera embeds the lens profile in the raw file.  For older cameras, that lens profile is automatically applied by LR and you can't stop that. For many newer cameras, LR will apply the embedded profile by default, but you can disable that. In general, LR doesn't provide separate profiles for these lenses, since the manufacturer embeds them in the raws.

For example, this is what I see with a sample raw from the Z 6 / NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S:

Clicking the "i" yields that pop-up. Unchecking Enable Profile Corrections has no effect -- the profile will always be applied.

Here's what I see for a sample Z 6 II:

The "Camera Settings" indicates the profile is embedded in the raw by the camera.  In this case, unchecking Enable Profile Corrections will disable the application of the lens profile.

You can see out-of-date documentation about this here:

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

Though it's been a couple years, it hasn't been updated to document the handling of newer cameras.

If you're seeing something different, please post screenshots so we can see exactly what.

[John R Ellis]

"When I said the "popup only has a few choices", that is for JPG images."

Most lens profiles are only defined to work with raws. This is because the JPEGs don't specify whether a lens correction has already been applied by the camera or software.  See here for a simple edit that enables profiles for JPEGs:

https://feedback-readonly.photoshop.com/conversations/camera-raw-and-dng/camera-rawlightroom-lens-pr...

[jiml16936120]

Here are some screen shots of what I am seeing. Before I get into that, I have updated my camera's firmware to the latest version to make sure that isn't an issue. Then I took a raw (NEF) image.

This is what I see when I enter the Develop module and press "I".

This is what I see what I select "Enable Profile Corrections". Notice that text "Unable to locate a matching profile automatically".

When I set the Make to "Nikon", this is what I see. Notice that a weird lens is selected.

When I open the Model list, this is what I see. It's a big list, and doesn't include any Z-series equipment.

So, what am I doing wrong?

[John R Ellis]

This is a Z 6, and not a Z 6 II, correct?

I don't know why you're seeing that. (You won't see any matching lens profiles in the dropdown list, since Adobe doesn't provide them for Z lenses.)

Upload one of the problem raws to Dropbox or similar and post the sharing link here. That will let us determine whether the issue is with the image or your LR installation.

[jiml16936120]

Yes, this is a Nikon Z6, not the Z6II.

Link to the test NEF taken with this camera:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vrep8rbdfbsvrn0/DSC_0176.NEF?dl=0

[jiml16936120]

By the way, if Adobe doesn't provide lens profiles for the Z lenses, why does your image show a lens profile for a Z lens? I'm confused...

[John R Ellis]

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"By the way, if Adobe doesn't provide lens profiles for the Z lenses, why does your image show a lens profile for a Z lens? I'm confused..."

As I wrote above, "With most mirrorless cameras, including the Z line, the camera embeds the lens profile in the raw file.  ... In general, LR doesn't provide separate profiles for these lenses, since the manufacturer embeds them in the raws." (Emphasis added.)

For the Z 6, you can tell the applied profile was embedded in the raw because the Lens Correction panel shows "Built-in Lens Profile applied"

For the Z 6 II, you can tell the profile was embedded because the Lens Correction panel shows "Profile: Camera Settings":

If a profile provided by Adobe has been selected, it will show its name in the Profile field, e.g. 

[John R Ellis]

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Here's what my LR 11.2 shows for that test photo:

To troubleshoot what's going wrong with your LR, do these precise steps and provide the step numbers in your feedback:

1. Go to Preferences > Presets and make sure Raw Defaults is set to Global: Adobe Default.

2. In Develop, click Reset to reset the test photo's settings.

3. In the Lens Corrections panel, Check Enable Profile Corrections.

4. Does Setup show Default and Make show Built-in?

5. If not, change Setup to Auto.

6. Does Make show Built-in?

7. If not, click the Make Built-in drop-down menu.  Is Built-in at the top of the menu?  If so, select it:

[jiml16936120]

johnrellis, thank you for your response. Following your steps exactly, here's what I see.

1. Yes, it is already set to Global: Adobe Default.

2. OK, did this.

3. OK, did this.

4. No, Setup says "Default" and Make says "None".

5. OK, I changed Setup to Auto.

6. No, Make still says "None".

7. No, Built-In is not a choice. The topmost choice says "None".

I am new to LR. Other than importing a mega-huge picture library, I haven't modified the base installation. Also, this is a new Windows 11 computer, and other than installing Office, LR, and PS, it's freshy fresh.

Regarding your response above, am I to understand that the Z6 *should* be embedding a profile? The Lens Correction panel suggests the camera is not embedding the profile. In the Develop module, enabling profile corrections gives the message (at the bottom of the panel) "Unable to locate a matching profile automatically", which suggests that there is no built-in profile and that Adobe is attempting to match one, but there's isn't one (which you confirmed above).

I updated the firmware of the camera before taking the test shot which I placed on dropbox (at your request). Did you observe anything quirky about this raw image? The Metadata panel in the Library module seems to be exactly correct...does this indicate the lens profile is present in the RAW image?

Here's the metadata panel:

I'm at a loss to explain what is happening...

[jiml16936120]

I see discussion of this here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/strange-issue-with-nikon-z6-raw-files-a...

Perhaps I am seeing the same thing. Since this was a year ago, what did you determine from the file in question? The discussion ends right when it gets interesting! 🙂

[John R Ellis]

"Did you observe anything quirky about this raw image?"

No, it behaved as expected in my LR, with the Lens Correction panel showing "Built-in Lens Profile applied":

Your LR installation is misbehaving.  I recall a couple of other posts about this over the years in addition to the one you found.  I'll do some more research.

[John R Ellis]

I found two additional older threads about Z cameras with similar symptoms. Try these steps, which resolved the issue for a number of others (several years ago):

1. Reset LR's preferences: 

https://www.lightroomqueen.com/articles-page/how-do-i-reset-lightrooms-preferences/

LR sometimes soils its preferences file, and resetting it can fix all sorts of wonky behavior. That article explains how to restore the old preferences if resetting doesn't help.

2. In the Lens Corrections panel, make sure Enable Profile Corrections is unchecked.

Do you now see "Built-in Lens Profile applied" at the bottom of the panel?

https://feedback-readonly.photoshop.com/conversations/lightroom-classic/lightoom-builtin-lens-profil... 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/z7-lens-correction-profile-failure/m-p/... 

[jiml16936120]

Resetting the preferences has corrected the problem. I now see "Built-in Lens Profile applied" at the bottom of the Lens Corrections panel.

That is really weird. As I said above, this is a new LR install, and I haven't purposefully changed any preferences. I'm sure LR it remembering my window org and other things, but I really haven't visited the Preferences dialog.

So, I guess we can shelve this, unless it happens again. Thanks so much for your help!

[John R Ellis]

Glad you got this resolved, and thanks for the update. That will help others who stumble over this.

LR stores lots of internal state about the user interface in its preferences, not just things the user has explicitly set or done.  LR has a serious design flaw in its implementation of preferences, and at this point it seems unlikely Adobe will ever fix it.

[Zelenenkyy]

In general, the problem is that the built-in profiles from Nikon are BAD, especially in terms of eliminating vignetting at open apertures - it is not enough. Also, the problem is that the level of vignetting can be selected in the camera from only three values. If you forget about the existence of this parameter, and in the camera it is set to a low value or disabled, then when processing in Lightroom, we will get photos with a very large vignetting, which is not automatically eliminated, and then you need to manually select the level of vignetting reduction for each photo. It is very wrong, that  Adobe don't give the opportunity to use the tool for autocorrection of lens parameters at the post-processing stage for this Nikkor Z lens.
PLEEASE, make your profiles for Nikkor Z line of lenses,  because their built-in profile is bad and slows down photo processing significantly.

[John R Ellis]

"PLEEASE, make your profiles for Nikkor Z line of lenses,  because their built-in profile is bad and slows down photo processing significantly."

To have your request noticed, please add it to the official thread where Adobe wants all such requests:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/camera-raw-discussions/p-lens-profile-requests-and-information/m-p/12... 

Adobe won't see your request buried in a thread about a different issue.

[Zelenenkyy]

Thank you for advise!

[Ellada_Canada]

I have had the same issue forever and I am coming back looking for answers because I just tested a few lenses at a local shop and when I brought  the images into lightroom, the lens profiles for the Z lenses are all available and automatically selected when viewing the images.

The only difference is that i tested the lenses using one of their Z6ii whereas I shoot with a first edition Z6. 

So either lightroom is not recognizing lenses shot  on my Z6 but it does on a Z6ii, or I am missing some magical settings in body??  Can anyone advise? Seems like all of the responses in this thread are not helpful.

[Jao vdL]

With the Z6, as explained in this thread, you WILL NOT see the lens profile in the popup. It is however applied. Just click the (i) symbol and it will tell you. Thos is because Adobe extremely annoyingly did not expose thios functionaility for the Z6 and so you cannot even turn off the lens correction without hacking the original NEF files. However with the Z6II you will see the options and you will be able to disable the lens profile correction.

P.S> this is an old thread. Better always to create a new one!