P: Nikon Z5 II - White Balance Issue

[freberg]

The Nikon Z5 II Raw Files (NEF Files) are having a known probem in LR Classic, including the very latest release 14.4. Here is a link to a YouTube video detailing the problem, and a summary of the video with chapter markings. It's a known issue, and thousands of people are discussing it on multiple social media outlets. Lightroom Classic will read the RAW files from the Nikon Z5 II, but when "auto" WB is applied, a magenta cast takes effect. I spoke to an Adobe rep today. We could not troubleshoot it. Nikon says it's an Adobe issue, and I agree, as this issue does NOT occur in Capture One, or Nikons own software. The JPEGS from the camera are great and as long as "AS SHOT" is applied in LR, it works, but any other WB settings (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy) etc... leans the file so far into magenta, it's unusable. I also tried using the eyedropper tool on a grey card, and it also leans magenta. I am on Mac OS, Sequoia 15.5. 

Anyone else having this issue? How can we escalate it to Adobe so it can get a patch?

The video discusses a white balance issue with Nikon Z5II RAW files when edited in Lightroom. [00:00] The creator, Chris Tellez, found that Lightroom's standard white balance presets add an overly magenta tint to the images. [02:44, 03:05] This is due to a green tint added to the RAW files, as interpreted by Lightroom. [01:46, 03:33] The "Auto" white balance in Lightroom also produces inaccurate colors. [05:30] The current workaround is to use the "As Shot" white balance setting. [07:09] The creator is unsure of the cause and is seeking more information. [00:40, 06:29]

https://youtu.be/YJvYW48QFpA?si=N2Nw_o2iyBmD6pPB

[GoldingD]

A few things of notice.

First up, the default Adobe Color profile. O(n several cameras, the standard profiles have presented problems like this. Sometimes a lot worse than what you are showing. Often a bit or more than a bit magenta. What happens if you use a Camera Matching Profile?

Second, the use of Auto WB, and As Shot WB. Adobe has improved Auto, but perhaps if the Standard Adobe profile is off, then perhaps Auto WB might be off.

Third, still in WB, the use of As Shot. Fairly sure that is the default. Also, fairly sure, on multiple cameras, it has issues. (P.S. I assume you do not have an in-camera WB issue going on? )

Not saying Adobe does not have a problem, And in fact, if you change the profile to a camera matching one, and that works, then Adobe has a problem.

[drtonyb]

@freberg 

Definitely a bug in LrC and its interpolation of the Z5 II's WB, particulalry the Tint, which is far too negative.

I have a Z8 and with my WB set to Sunny, LrC's 'As Shot' WB has Temp = 5100, Tint = +14. Selecting LrC's 'Daylight' WB, Temp = 5500, Tint = +10. Vastly different to the Z5 II (I downloaded a RAW image from a website to test and get the same results as you).

@GoldingD this has nothing to do with Profiles.

[freberg]

Camera matching works perfectly. Definitely an Adobe issue. Also, no such issue in capture one or Nikons proprietary software. Only in LR. Hope they patch it soon.

[drtonyb]

@freberg 

@freberg 

I tried Camera Matching profiles (Camera Standard) and it made no difference.

Here are screen shots with Camera Standard and As Shot WB, then Camera Standard and Daylight WB:

Camera Standard, As Shot WBCamera Standard, Daylight WB

[BP1510]

Hello, 

When importing Nikon Z5ii raw files into Lightroom, they display as white balance correct, however the lightroom's white balance numbers skew heavy to the green tint... -25 to -40 in most cases. This seems a bit extreme, as it does not happen on any other camera I have used.

It is not isloated to my camera, as I have imported files into Lightroom from other Nikon Z5ii users from other countries, and their files behave in the same way.

If someone in Adobe Tech can have a look at the issue ASAP to address, many thanks. 

[johnrellis]

Moderators, @Rikk Flohr: Photography, please merge with this very similar discussion:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/nikon-z5-ii-white-balance-issue/m-p/153...

[freberg]

My bad. You are correct. I meant to say that camera matching works if you choose, "AS SHOT". Same with the Adobe profles. This is a bug. How do we escalate this to Adobe? This camera (Z5 II) has amazing JPEGS and RAWS look good "as shot" but this raw bug is awful. I'm surprised they didn't fix it in the latest LR update. How do we Ping Adobe?????

[drtonyb]

@freberg 

Adobe follows these discussions and will be aware of the problem.

[freberg]

I hope so!

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

Updating status, linking to bug report. 

[freberg]

Thank you! It looks like they just updated camera raw to the 17.4.1 today and also Photoshop to 26.8.1. Both of them show that the files are now correct white balance, and able to use the auto white balance setting perfectly. Lightroom classic is still at 14.4, updated eight days ago. I'm hoping they the LR classic next! It looks like there's a new camera profile available called camera standard V2, But Adobe color and Adobe standard V2 work perfectly. I'm hoping Lightroom gets patched accordingly.

[BP1510]

Amazing freberg !! great to know... hopefully LR update comes soon!!

[BP1510]

Update: After updating Photoshop to vers. 26.8.1 and Camera Raw to vers. 17.4.1  it appears now that Z5ii raw files now have a heavy MAGENTA bias on the white balance numbers (+20 to +35)

[freberg]

Yep but only in LR. Can someone alert Adobe to this so LR gets a patch. It's not fixed. 

[NicolasRemy]

hi there,

I have just upgraded to Lightroom Classic 14.4, and noticed that when exporting my developped RAW files to JPEGs, the white balance corrections I made in the develop module are ignored, or the export process changes the white balance somehow.

See a screenshot illustrating the issue, with a Canon R5 Mark II photo:

-left: the lightroom view with WB corrected.

-right: the exported JPEG, showing the original green colour cast, that was before correction.

I tried with older photos I took with a Nikon Z9 and Sony A1, and didn't experience the same issue, so it seems to be camera-specific (or perhaps it has to do with the develop process/presets at the time of importing the image, not sure).

Note: a similar bug was reported with a Nikon Z5II: https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/p-nikon-z5-ii-white-balance-issue/idc-p/153827...

I hope Adobe can fix this issue asap, I can't publish my work with an incorrect white balance 😞

Nicolas

[NicolasRemy]

hi @Rikk Flohr: Photography 

I experienced a similar issue after upgrading to Lightroom Classic v14.4, but with a different camera (Canon R5II) so I've logged another bug report here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/lr-classic-14-4-white-balance-changes-when-exp...

[BP1510]

Any news to when this issue will be solved with version update??

[freberg]

I spoke to them, and they said it's a "known issue and they are working on it". We spoke for over an hour and a tech support person at Adobe screen shared my computer and tried to troubleshoot for over an hour. Issue not resolved. Patch promised. No such issues in Capture One or Nikons's proprietary software. Hoping for a patch SOON its been nearly a month since Adobe updated LR. It's fixed in PhotoShop. and ACR. So, its SPECIFICALLY a LR issue. 

[BP1510]

Fingers crossed!! I know there are many issues for Adobe to address across their entire product line... but I suspect the delay in update is to the fact they are packing this fix with other program updates... which is frustrating to wait, as it is heavily disrupting workflows.

I still dont understand why Nikon cant work with Adobe during the testing of camera before launch to get issue such as this resolved, BEFORE the camera is launched for sale.

Just in regards to Photoshop and ACR... when I import my Z5ii files, the Tint is now skewed in the other direction towards magenta... not as heavy as the green tint bias in LR, but still around +15... which doesnt quite seem right. I would expect tint in most clean natural daylight light/flash to be around -5 to +5 zone. 

[drtonyb]

@BP1510 

A Tint around +15 is typical for Nikon NEF files. As I already said, my Z8 set to Sunny WB in camera gets As Shot Tint +14 in LrC.

[BP1510]

I have not had a tint bias of 15 units and above on my D3, D750, D850 or Z6. The most I have had is 3 to 4 units under clean lighting conditions. The only time tint moves to higher values is under tinted or colored lighting. 

If the newer bodies raw files are being interpreted by the Adobe raw processor to be valued at a +15 tint... that is not really satisfactory.

[BP1510]

Any update as to when fix will come via Lightroom update??

[johnrellis]

@BP1510: "Any update as to when fix will come via Lightroom update??"

Unfortunately, Adobe rarely indicates ahead of time when a bug will be fixed. LR releases about every 8 weeks, so we might expect to see LR 14.5 next week or the next.

[freberg]

I have been wondering this for weeks. I spoke to them about three or four times and they kept closing the case but the last time I spoke to them, I sent them a video, and this thread, and they actually walked through the problem remotely on my computer, saw it and acknowledged it, and finally reopened the case and it's kept open now. They know about it. I'm hoping to see an update in the next week or two as it's been almost eight weeks since the last one. They sent me a follow up email stating a patch for Nikon Z5 II white balance would be included. 

[johnrellis]

This bug report is officially acknowledged here by its presence in the Bugs section of the forum and Status: Acknowledged. If/when it gets fixed in a future release of LR, this thread will be updated immediately by Adobe.