Nikon Raw (NEF) files not matching JPG images, please help!

[skyrunr]

Nikon RAW files for all of my Nikon Cameras are not matching their JPG's!  I've researched camera calibration, Adobe color profiles, Camera Raw, and just about everything else I could think of, but I still cannot resolve the mismatch.  The raw image is adding contrast, slight lens correction, and losing highlight detail (tips of trees, and skies in some photos).  However, if I reset all of the Develop settings, or manually try to match them I cannot.  I've been using Lightroom since V4 and have extensive experience in Photoshop, color management, monitor calibration, and printing.

In Nikon Capture NX they match just fine.  If I export a TIF from NX they are also fine.  I really like Nikon's "flat" but more detailed rendering.  I really shouldn't have to render my images in another RAW editor.  This seems to be an issue with Adobe Camera Raw specifically.  The sample image is from a Nikon A (NEF on the left,) and this also happens with my P7700 and D500.  I realize the rendering is more pleasing, but I am not able to correct the sky and edge detail due to the adjustments being applied by Lightroom Classic.  Also interesing: the Nikon NEF Codec in Windows 10 Photo viewer renders the NEF 2 stops darker.

PS  I'm running an i7 system with 32GB of RAM and dual SSD drives, a fairly small catalog, and Lightroom performance has been AWFUL lately.  I know they need to redo the whole engine, but it is taking WAY too long.

[Randy Hufford]

For color accuracy use the develop mode not library.

[skyrunr]

Unfortunately this goes beyond any color rendering. There is some contrast and distortion correction I don't have control over as well. I shared the files in another post if your curious to see what is happening.

[GoldingD]

First up, I am surprised that you ever liked any RAW files before any post processing, as they would typically look flat, dull, and lacking good contrast.

And I assume that you know they would not match the in camera JPEG.

Now, could it be that at one time your default Develop settings had been customized?

See:

 http://blogs.adobe.com/jkost/2017/09/setting-custom-develop-defaults-in-lightroom-cc.html

Anyhow, Adobe does keep tinkering with Adobe Standard, and other redentions in the Camera RAW coded inside of Lightroom, so, perhaps, in your case, not to your desires.

But, assuming you are using Lightroom Classic, not stuck back in Lightroom Perpetual, then consider Camera Matching profiles

see: 

https://theblog.adobe.com/april-lightroom-adobe-camera-raw-releases-new-profiles/

and

https://www.phototraces.com/b/lightroom-raw-profiles/

Basicaly click on the current profile, select browse, and navigate to them.

[skyrunr]

Yes, I'm using Lightroom Classic, and have gone through all of the profiles. That is the real kicker! I want to start off with a more standard/dull file than I can achieve with Camera RAW. My concern (frustration?) is that I'm missing critical edge detail on branches and in some cases sky detail; which is the whole reason to shoot RAW in the first place. Here are the originals if you care to see what I'm seeing.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AouWlSq8O2iLgdZhNbId5sZ1wfv6gQ?e=C51qKp 

[GoldingD]

Are you using smart previews?

[skyrunr]

Yes, auto (matches monitor resolution,) parallel processing, custom GPU, and exports to JPG sRGB match what I am seeing in Lightroom. A converted TIF from NX2 matches the JPG in Lightroom as well.

[Conrad C · Accepted solution]

The answer is sort of included in your question. Any image produced from the raw files by hardware or software by Nikon themselves— a JPEG from the camera, a TIFF from NX — will use the same Nikon raw processing engine and aesthetic judgments that were all designed by the same Nikon team. Other companies will not have access to that, and their conversions will look different.

Other development teams (whether they're from Adobe, Capture One, On1, Luminar, DCraw, etc.) have differing opinions as to what the "best" default processing is. Even if they want to match the camera maker's interpretation of the raw data, most camera makers do not hand out their raw processing "secret sauce" when asked. Other companies usually have to reverse-engineer those raw files to figure out how they should look; Adobe has to do that too.

It helps to understand that a raw image usually stops looking like the camera JPEG the moment you open it in the Develop module in Lightroom Classic. At that point you have thrown out the preview of the raw file generated inside the camera, and you are now looking at a preview generated from the default raw processing settings in Lightroom.

In Lightroom, the one category of profiles that would be the closest match to the in-camera look are in the category called Camera Matching Profiles. They're usually named to match the picture style names and looks built into a particular camera model, and Adobe does try to make the Camera Matching Profiles look like the JPEGs from the camera. So try those out first. But even those are not always perfect, for the reasons given.

The Camera Matching profiles are the best ones to start with if your goal is to have a starting point that looks like the camera JPEG. But that's not the goal of all of the other profiles in the Lightroom Develop module. The other profiles, and the general Develop module defaults, are intended to be a good neutral starting point for why a lot of people choose to shoot raw: Letting you make your own processing decisions and taking the image in your own direction, independent of and regardless of whatever the camera's engineers decided.

Lightroom is a high quality raw processor, so it should still be possible to get the tree detail you want. If you can point out specifically where you don't think Lightroom measures up around the trees, you might get some suggestions here as to which controls to apply.

This is not a color management problem. (The camera profiles in the Lightroom Develop modules are for raw processing; they are not the ICC profiles used in color management.) Nikon raw processing will probably look different than non-Nikon processing no matter how accurately your system is color-calibrated and profiled. The only difference is that the better your system is calibrated, the more accurately you'll be able to see the differences between Nikon processing and everybody else's. 🙂

[skyrunr]

Thank you, that makes sense!  I haven't adjusted my workflow in over 10 years.  At that time I was REALLY hoping we'd eventually settle on a universal RAW format such as DNG.  I assumed that "all" would have been worked out by now.  I either shoot RAW OR JPG, but not both.  I've never really ran into any major problems.

I've been trying out a bunch of older (now affordable) large sensor point and shoots which brought this issue to light.  I like Nikon's JPG Active D-Lighting(low), CA, and and lens correction over Lightroom's.  I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not very optimistic that settings or profiles will work.  I've already put more time into this than I care to.  I guess Nikon should release a plugin of some sort for Lightroom becuase I'd sure buy it.  

I'm going to over expose a bunch of photos and see what I can figure out.  I'm going to feel a bit less guilty with my primarily JPG workflow and increase my bracketing range a bit more when needed. 😉

[Todd Shaner]

The 2019090928-_DSC0028.NEF file shows that you have 'Active D lighting' enabled in your camera settings. LR does not read these in-camera settings so you will need change your LR Default Develop settings to achieve the same contrast rednering. A good starting pont would be to change the settings for Highlights to -50 and Shadows to +50. You also have Auto Distortion Control turned OFF in-camea and the Nikon Coolpix A camera does not have any vignetting correction. If this is what you prefer simply uncheck 'Enable Profile Corrections' in the Lens Corrections panel. More here on how to use the LR Basic panel Tone controls: Tone Control Adjustment Procedure 

[skyrunr]

Yeah, I need to shoot raw anyway.  (see pic) I just had to prove it to myself I guess.  I hope Lightroom someday lets me stack (layers) images so I can select areas I prefer.  I really need to get TheFader plugin that lets me adjust my edits so they don't look too baked.  I don't know if it would work in this case though.

Thank you all for your help.  Probably the best experience I've had on a forum in a long while. 😉

[skyrunr]

Here's something interesting. My D300 NEF and JPG images match perfectly in Lightroom. I know I haven't run into this before or I would have noticed. I was pretty thorough when I setup my workflow many years ago. I've actually helped hundreds of photographers setup studio workflows, and never ran into this before. I couldn't confirm my D70, D200, D300S, D750 matches because I either shot RAW or JPG, but the changes I'm seeing in recent NEF files are very noticeable. I'd be less concerned over it IF the distortion correction being applied did not prevent me from blending a JPG with an NEF. I'll do some more testing and see if I can find a result where the JPG is superior to the RAW file, along with the distortion correction, and post a link to the files.

[skyrunr]

UPDATE: On a hunch I reset Lightroom (entirely) by copying my Lightroom preferences/settings folder. IT RESOLVED THE ISSUE! Now I need to get Lightroom back to normal (plugins, settings, filters) which is a huge pain. I also just finished making new catalogs, and importing images from the old ones, double checked all my catalog preferences, and Lightroom my navigation/performance has improved greatly. I think my catalogs have been version upgraded too many times. I always made copies of them before the upgrade, but I think fully rebuilding them with new versions is the way to go from now on. I wonder what the chances are of a new version coming along?! LOL

[skyrunr]

UPDATE 2: False alarm, once the embedded preview loaded it went back to the ACR interpretation. However, I am now able to create a preset with lens calibration disabled, apply it as needed or even during import, and ultimately get the desired result I want. I don't know what changed, but when this all started I toggled lens calibration on and off and it did not remove the correction. Just for the challenge, I'm still going to figure out a preset to match the RAW version to the JPG for the tree photo that started all this..