Bring Back Gray Gamma Profile Option for Black & White in ACR

I’ve noticed that recent updates to Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) have removed the automatic grayscale color profile (such as Gray Gamma 2.2) that used to be applied when converting images to Black & White. This behavior was present in earlier versions and provided a cleaner, more neutral tonal rendering for monochrome workflows.

Now, even when applying B&W edits in ACR, the image remains in an RGB working space (like sRGB or AdobeRGB), which can lead to subtle tonal shifts, unnecessary RGB channel interference, and less predictable results—especially for those of us preparing black and white prints or working in controlled grayscale environments.

Previously, my workflow involved:

1. Editing in ACR with the grayscale profile automatically assigned

2. Making final adjustments in Photoshop

3. Converting to sRGB only when needed for export

This provided superior tonal control and visual purity compared to working in RGB from the start. Now, I can no longer replicate the same look without manual grayscale conversion steps in Photoshop.

Request:
Please consider reintroducing the option for Camera Raw to assign a grayscale color profile when B&W edits are applied. A toggle in the preferences would allow users like me to preserve a clean monochrome workflow without affecting others.

Thank you for your time and for continuing to improve Camera Raw.