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NEF image vs image from photoshop
May 21, 2018 10:13:41 #
Linary
Loc: UK
lazyphotog wrote:
Lightroom gives you the option to apply (some) camera settings. If you scroll down on the right to Camera Calibration, and click on Profile, you will see that it is set on "Adobe Standard'. Click on the tiny arrow and several options pop up, including Camera Standard and Camera Vivid. Set whichever you want to use, and you will probably see an immediate change in your image. Unfortunately, I've not found a way to retain this setting - it has to be reset for every image. Annoying.
Lazyphotog - you are out of date, I guess you are not on the Adobe subscription. Profiles are now in the Basic panel, and there are a lot more of them, also you can make your own and save them or even use 3rd party profiles.
May 21, 2018 11:46:21 #
If I understand this correctly, you are comparing a jpeg file to an unprocessed RAW file and think the jpeg version is sharper. If this is the case, there is no mystery. The jpeg file has already had processing done to it in the camera (including sharpening), the RAW file hasn't. If you simply load a RAW file into Photoshop and save it as a jpeg you haven't done anything to change the sharpening, you've simply degraded the image. RAW files are intended to be processed post-capture, jpegs really aren't.
Looking at the two pictures you posted, I really can't tell any difference in sharpness, but that may be because I'm not viewing them side by side. What I CAN see is a loss of detail (as expected) in the jpeg. Look closely at the sign, for instance. So, unless I'm misunderstanding something, everything seems to be behaving as expected.
Looking at the two pictures you posted, I really can't tell any difference in sharpness, but that may be because I'm not viewing them side by side. What I CAN see is a loss of detail (as expected) in the jpeg. Look closely at the sign, for instance. So, unless I'm misunderstanding something, everything seems to be behaving as expected.
May 21, 2018 12:47:12 #
May 21, 2018 12:53:00 #
bobburk3 wrote:
Thank you so much for your detailed explanation and advice. I will try the Lightroom approach.
Lightroom uber alles.
May 21, 2018 12:55:57 #
ACR is the first step when opening a raw file into PS CC (or any other version).
ACR has defaults that you may or may not have set. There lies the trouble. Watch out for ACR sharpening settings in particular and other defaults that maybe 'sticky'.
Most viewing software use the raw JPG thumbnail whose quality depends on your camera JPG settings. These can appear 'better' since they are processed.
For info... You cannot show a NEF issue by posting it on UHH as to do that you need to converting it, as you did, to a JPG. Compression will play hell with it (among other things). Your best bet to offer a comparison - if you use windows - is to use a small tool few seem to use called 'snipping tool'. This will capture a screen shot, part of it or free hand and save the result onto a PNG file which has no compression.
ACR has defaults that you may or may not have set. There lies the trouble. Watch out for ACR sharpening settings in particular and other defaults that maybe 'sticky'.
Most viewing software use the raw JPG thumbnail whose quality depends on your camera JPG settings. These can appear 'better' since they are processed.
For info... You cannot show a NEF issue by posting it on UHH as to do that you need to converting it, as you did, to a JPG. Compression will play hell with it (among other things). Your best bet to offer a comparison - if you use windows - is to use a small tool few seem to use called 'snipping tool'. This will capture a screen shot, part of it or free hand and save the result onto a PNG file which has no compression.
May 21, 2018 12:58:48 #
I don't think so, and the reason is when you save with the same name (in Photoshop) it asks if you want to replace with the new copy and if you try to save with the same name it adds a copy mark to the name so you are actually creating a new copy. There is no compression in PSD (to the best of my knowledge).
bobburk3 wrote:
Bruce, does the same loss of information occur when saving a psd on a previously saved copy?
May 21, 2018 13:40:28 #
Kind of impossible for the PS image to be less sharp than the NEF unless you are either reducing the dimensions or using some sort of filter.
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May 21, 2018 19:08:23 #
bobburk3 wrote:
I'm not using any app to load images into Photoshop. I simply right click on the file in my computer and and tell the computer to open the file with Photoshop. And Photoshop opens the file in a new tab. For example the tab shows: DSC_5783.NEF@20% (RGB/8*). Not sure what the RGB/8* means.
RGB/8 is the color profile Photoshop preference is setup to use, which is part of your issue. You should set the color default to either ProPhoto or Adobe RGB 1988 which are both 16 bit color profiles. RGB/8 is an 8-bit color profile, which throws away millions of colors and can cause banding within your finished image. Second of all, when opening a raw file such as NEF, within photoshop, it should open the image initially in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) which is a lossless editor for RAW files. Once you have made initial adjustments within ACR you tell it to open the image in photoshop. It is best to open that image as a Smart Object in 16-bit image format.
I highly recommend watching some Adobe tutorials on the processes or view some YouTube tutorials.
May 21, 2018 20:50:44 #
NCMtnMan
Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC
Check your export to JPEG setting in PS to see if there is anything there that may have to do with the quality of the JPEG it is producing. There are options and defaults.
May 21, 2018 21:33:47 #
bobburk3 wrote:
The NEF image right out of the camera looks sharper than the image when I load it into Photoshop cc. And when I save the image as a jpg after doing nothing to it in photoshop cc, it does not look as sharp as the NEF image right out of the camera. Is it my basic Photoshop settings? I can't post the image here because the NEF image is too big to load here.
The image that looks sharper has a lot of over-sharpening and compression artifacts, and is actually a much poorer quality image than the one produced by Photoshop. It also has over-cooked contrast.
You need to apply some processing to the Photoshop image, just not as much as has been applied to the other.
May 21, 2018 22:24:08 #
Love Wildlife: You must have a preference setting set wrong!! Go thru and check to see what is causing you to switch to JPEGs!
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May 21, 2018 22:29:31 #
Love Wildlife wrote:
Do you have your resolution maxed out in your camera settings. Compare your resolution in the camera to what is downloaded on your computer. Maybe it is pre-processing it somehow. I have the problem of my computer turning my raw into jpeg when I download them and still haven't got that figured out yet. Does anybody have any suggestions on this problem that I have.
Thanks much.
Thanks much.
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