P: Eyedropper/Color Picker Not Working in Lumetri Secondary Color Correction in Premiere Pro

[dmink]

When trying to set or add a key color in HSL secondary in Lumetri color in Premiere Pro, nothing happens. I click the eyedropper, then click the color on my image, and no key is set. I can click any color, anywhere, and no mask is created and the HSL sliders don't budge. It is only on rare and random occasions that I can manage to select a color. I have tried selecting a key color in both the Lumetri panel and the effects control panel. Some related posts have suggested this may have to do with having two monitors, however, I've experienced this on systems with both one and two monitors. The eyedropper works better in the RGB curves effect, but there are times when I have the same issue. Any idea why this isn't working? I've been setting my sliders manually, but would really love to use the color picker, which should not be so consistently dysfunctional!

[R Neil Haugen]

I'm able to click on both the program monitor in the UI screen on my primary monitor, and the Mercury Transmit Out full-screen on my second monitor, and do anything with the color-pickers.

I don't have it set up with a monitor panel dragged to a different monitor however, so I don't know about that type of setup.

I can't replicate your troubles. That would be as annoying as heck though. Now, I don't often use the mouse to select colors, as I have both a full Elements panel and a Ripple, and in HSL with either I can quickly set a key just using the control surface tools. But still, I've no trouble with the mouse when I do.

How do you have your UI setup across the two monitors?

Neil

[Jeff Bugbee]

Give this a try please:

• Select the eye dropper tool.
• Hold COMMAND (Mac) or CONTROL (PC) on your keyboard.
• Wiggle the mouse. (you should notice the color picker slightly widen to indicate a wider selection)
• Release COMMAND or CONTROL. (you should notice the color picker go back to normal size)
• Now click the color you want

[Rameez_Khan]

Hi DM7700,

Did the suggestions given above help at all?

Let us know if you still need assistance.

Thanks,

Rameez

[craigs80803349]

I tried but couldn't get it fixed. Is there anything that can be done?

[filmingt5662679]

Eyedropper/Color Picker Not Working in Lumetri Secondary Color Correction in Premiere Pro

Im having the same issues with the eyedropper tool. It doesn't activate when you click on it so you cant then go onto use it to white balance etc. Im on the most recent version of Premier Pro. can you help please

[R Neil Haugen]

I'm presuming you do have a clip selected on the sequence?

Neil

[Butch2oc]

I have recently found the picker to be very inconsistent with functionality.

Some strange things happen like picking a totally different colour or not even being able to pick a colour.

(and yes I have the correct clip selected) (and no the image is not full of noise) (and happens with all footage formats I work with)

The only consistent thing is that while working with dual screens when I select the dropper and then move to my other screen for selection, the cursor takes approx 2 secs to change from a cursor to a dropper... very very frustrating.

Does not happen with single screen use.

Prem 13.1.3

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mojave 10.14.5

Proc: 2.7 GHz 12-Core Intel Xeon E5

Memory:  64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3

Graphics: dual AMD FirePro D700 6 GB

External 8T Promise Raid Array

[R Neil Haugen]

I've found it far more accurate when using the program monitor on the main UI screen. Rather than the Transmit Out screen.

I do use the ability to enlarge the image to get a better selection.

Neil

[Butch2oc]

Hi Neil,

I only pick colours from an enlarged program monitor

from within the interface... I just have the prem interface set up as a dual screen workspace with my separate tech monitor as my main output via transit/black magic card

[leakuslokus]

i am having the same problem and none of these answers have helpled i have to say

[Benjamin91]

I have the same issue. Color picker works a couple of times every time I restart Premiere, then it dissappears when trying to add more than 2-3 colors. Then all the selection work I've done will suddenly, randomly dissappear if I click someting else in the timeline. This has happened three times in a row now, and I restarted Premiere every time.

I am using a multi camera setting, and adding the Lumetri to an adjustment layer.

[R Neil Haugen]

I'd Trash Preferences ... as the next thing to do.

Neil

[brandons41183041]

Hey, I had the exact same problem, until I disconnected my second monitor and the eyedropper tool suddenly started working again. So if you're using a second monitor, disconnect it and see if the eyedropper selector works. 

[bo5E80]

[SOVED] Same issue. The color picker works again after I plug off my external monitor. 

I'm on Windows 10 with latest patches and latest primiere pro.

It seems to be a bug either for Windows or for premiere that it can not pick color when the secondary monitor is plugged in. 

I used the extend mode with the secondary monitor.

[Jeff Bugbee]

Do you have Windows Display scaling turned on?

[R Neil Haugen]

One thing that has been an issue at times ... if even one pixel-line of a Premiere window from one screen overlaps another, Premiere gets wonky. And that is darn hard to see.

Neil

[georgia house]

THIS WORKED!!! Couldn't find this answer anywhere else.. my eyedropper wasn't working on a particular monitor and this fixes it. Thank you. 

[georgia house]

nevermind, works a little but still a problem. sigh. also can't seem to delete my comment, so I must write this one instead. double sigh. 

[jpope@madstonefilms.biz]

Its now June 2021 and I have this issue and have had it for a long time. Please, Please fix this stupid issue. I have tried all these suggestions and it still won't work. I am going to start editing in Resolve from now on, as the issues with Premiere just keep stacking up. 

Windows 10

3900x

64gigs of ram

1070 nvidia card

everything is up to date.

[default55bvh1u88sco]

My dropper wasn't working. I'm on a dual monitor setup with premiere windows in both monitors. I dragged my main window to my second monitor and the eye dropper worked. Main premiere window back on my main monitor and it doesn't work. Hope that helps at little. 

Windows 10

3800x 

32gb 

1060

everything up to date. 

[ch40268309]

I figured out what was the problem, thanks to this discussion. You have to click and hold the eye dropper for some number of seconds before it begins picking up the color. There is a big CPU/GPU usage apparently and it takes a while before the color gets selected. If you release your press on the mouse button while using the mouse dropper tool before any color has been detecetd, then it will not work.

[ch40268309]

I figured out what was the problem, thanks to this discussion. You have to click and hold the eye dropper for some number of seconds before it begins picking up the color. There is a big CPU/GPU usage apparently and it takes a while before the color gets selected. If you release your press on the mouse button while using the mouse dropper tool before any color has been detected, then it will not work. So just be patient and the dropper tool will start working after a short wait (while holding down the mouse button).

[Chris_Tee_YYC]

Hi Folks,

This may be helpful to some of you running into related problems. I've been beating my head against the wall a bit with similar issues (completely unresponsive key colour selection for HSL secondary) as colour's pretty important for my work and found a workaround that seems to be doing the trick.

It appears to me that the HSL key eyedroppers struggle with track/layer interference when making selections. Regardless of whether the target clip is selected (as you would expect, same as with other tools in Premiere Pro and After Effects), any layer or even empty track above the target clip track seems to prevent a selection from being made. I've shown a typical situation here where there's an adjustment layer, a mostly transparent AE comp layer and an empty track above the target footage; eyedropper was unresponsive in the case of Fig.1, works fine so far in Fig.2:

[Fig.1: Original clip position.]

[Fig.2: Clip moved to top layer. Shift+Drag to maintain timeline placement.]

  

Temporarily dragging the clip to the topmost track, above all else, before making the key colour selection seems to do the trick for me. I can now use the HSL Secondary eyedropper to select my key colour(s).

My current setup: Version 22.5.0 (Build 62) // Windows 10 // i7-9700  // 16GB RAM // Workspace setup with preview panel (sample source) on primary and colour management + timeline on secondary.

I'll be submitting something to the Devs on the feedback forum shortly, just thought I should help folks out here first. I think we'd all expect that if you have the target clip selected (you know, the one you need to select to access the tool and make the change) that it should be looking to sample from that clip, regardless of where it is in the track stack.

Cheers! Hope it helps!

—Chris

[R Neil Haugen]

If you deselected the Track targeting tool in the first image, would that work as well, without moving the clip itself?

As I'll bet this is simply taking the highest targeted track. And yea, shouldn't.

Neil

[PinSpree]

I'm currently finding the same thing, the picker will eventually find the color but it takes several seconds minimum. The reason I'm replying though is I just upgraded from a 4 year old machine to a new i9-13900 and RTX4080, pretty monster machine for video editing, and just now this problem is showing up for me, used to not happen on my outdated machine, so I don't think the CPU/GPU usage is an issue. As far as I can tell its just a classic premiere bug. 

I also have a hunch that before the dropper starts "working" it actually is sampling the background of Premiere, which is colorless gray and should register as "correct wb" but occassionally I'll see the dropper more a tiny bit when the wb setting of the video clip is WAY off. Doesn't make sense that it would move a little vs a ton if it were reading the color in the scene, or just not working at all. 

bottom line, it sucks