How can I properly convert a LogC 32-bit EXR to 16-bit?

[max G]

I received a 32-bit EXR in LOG space and converted it to 16-bit, using Exposure at 0.00 and Gamma at 1.00 during conversion.

However, when I use a color profile (or LUT) in Proof Setup when the file is still in 32-bit, it looks like it is supposed to, but when I do the same after conversion to 16-bit, the profile doesn't work anymore and exposure and gamma are completely off (in my case logCI800 to Rec709). 

I can do it in After Effects though, by simply saving the 32-bit image out in 16-bit. I work in VFX and it would save me a lot of time if I was able to do this in PSD.

What is PSD doing or not doing, and does anybody know a workaround?

Thanks!

[Warren Heaton]

If you don't want to go through After Effects, you could try EXR-IO (Exr-IO free Photoshop OpenEXR plug-in | OpenEXR Free plugin for Adobe Photoshop).

Also, I have read that Affinity Photo allows users to open EXR files and resave for use in Photoshop, but I haven't tried that myself.

[max G]

Thanks Warren. The EXR-IO download is blocked by Windows. Did you try it? It's listed on Adobe Exchange though.

[max G]

Ok. I tried EXR-IO. The problem remains. For a moment I thought that PS assumes 32-bit float by default if a file is assigned the .exr extension, but saving and opening as .psd, or .tif doesn't change it. Also, EXR-IO has an option the save a file as FLOAT, HALF, or UINT. I saved it as HALF (16-bit), and it still came back as a 32-bit when reopening. And saving it thru Photoshop as a 16-bit TIF still reopens the file in 32-bit. Looks like it has something to do with Photoshop's internal handling of floating point color profiles.

I have used Fnord's EXR plugin before, but same there.

[Stephen Marsh]

I have never used it, however, if I rember correctly, Adobe Camera Raw has an option to convert 32bpc files rather than using Photoshop.

[max G]

I got options for sure, but they are all detours, and with the amount of files I was hoping to be able to process directly in Photoshop. As for layered EXRs, that is definitely a longer story.

Thanks Stephen!