D40 sRGB vs Adobe RGB Colour Space

damkuff · 26th September 2007

Being a novice with a dSLR, I have been shooting in Portrait Mode as I felt that the Normal Mode produces pictures which are too red. However, when I got some pictures printed out in 4R today, I realised that orange turned out red in print (in Portrait Mode). Now I am considering to customise my D40 but was wondering what settings fellow CSers are using particularly the colour space. I have read the manual about selecting Adobe RGB (Mode II) if you need to pp (which I don't). I just like to print pictures out of camera with accurate colours. Please share your settings, thank you.

blackandwhite · 26th September 2007

if you prefer to print pictures out of camera, go for sRGB.

zac08 · 26th September 2007

go for a sRGB.

Andy Ho · 27th September 2007

I don't know if there is an sRGB I mode on the D40 but I presume there is one. sRGB I is for portrait and people photography where skin tones are more neutral whereas sRGB III is for landscape and general sceneries where colors are a little more saturated and contrast higher.

The reason the colors turn out differently in print could also be due to your monitor profile calibration being different to the printer's. If you frequent the same printer, ask them for a color profile that they use so that you can follow the same profile when doing your edits. I usually don't care about profiling. I just go to a printer that is good and leave them to correct the colors for me.

In theory, all calibrated monitors should produce the same color. But in practical, it is more of a dream to hope on that. All printers have slightly different profiling so I can't possibly work on different profiles just to cater to them. It just don't make sense to my work flow. So I leave it to them to correct the colors. No good, reject and reprint. If they argue, change printer. Simple as that. So far, a few printers have done very good jobs for me.

Miles · 27th September 2007

Firstly you'll have to realise that printing on your own 'out of camera' with extremely accurate colours is a nearly impossible task, unless you have done colour calibration between your system of camera-monitor-printer-ink-paper.

True that all of them are pre-colour calibrated using the general sRGB standard and should generate reasonable results, which is why your print out is always only 'some what right' but not 100% accurate (contrast, colours), as each company tends to have a slight different adoption of sRGB standards.

Anyway, in your case, i think the answer is to shoot consistently (meaning ensure the right colour cast when shooting, and yes,unfortunately, auto modes can sometimes be highly inaccurate in certain situations) and experiment with your camera settings and printer. Stick to sRGB, and you may want to consider using preset curves in your camera, which you should be able to find more information on online.

If you really have to print out something though, and want accurate colours, then i would follow the advice of our fellow forumners - bring it to a printer / print shop!

26th September 2007	#1
damkuff New Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 43	D40 sRGB vs Adobe RGB Colour Space Being a novice with a dSLR, I have been shooting in Portrait Mode as I felt that the Normal Mode produces pictures which are too red. However, when I got some pictures printed out in 4R today, I realised that orange turned out red in print (in Portrait Mode). Now I am considering to customise my D40 but was wondering what settings fellow CSers are using particularly the colour space. I have read the manual about selecting Adobe RGB (Mode II) if you need to pp (which I don't). I just like to print pictures out of camera with accurate colours. Please share your settings, thank you.

26th September 2007	#2
blackandwhite Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 460	Re: D40 sRGB vs Adobe RGB Colour Space if you prefer to print pictures out of camera, go for sRGB.

26th September 2007	#3
zac08 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: East Posts: 10,962	Re: D40 sRGB vs Adobe RGB Colour Space go for a sRGB. __________________ Michael Lim My Flickr Site APAD 2009

27th September 2007	#4
Andy Ho Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Punggol Posts: 388	Re: D40 sRGB vs Adobe RGB Colour Space I don't know if there is an sRGB I mode on the D40 but I presume there is one. sRGB I is for portrait and people photography where skin tones are more neutral whereas sRGB III is for landscape and general sceneries where colors are a little more saturated and contrast higher. The reason the colors turn out differently in print could also be due to your monitor profile calibration being different to the printer's. If you frequent the same printer, ask them for a color profile that they use so that you can follow the same profile when doing your edits. I usually don't care about profiling. I just go to a printer that is good and leave them to correct the colors for me. In theory, all calibrated monitors should produce the same color. But in practical, it is more of a dream to hope on that. All printers have slightly different profiling so I can't possibly work on different profiles just to cater to them. It just don't make sense to my work flow. So I leave it to them to correct the colors. No good, reject and reprint. If they argue, change printer. Simple as that. So far, a few printers have done very good jobs for me.

27th September 2007	#5
Miles Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: EAST Posts: 236	Re: D40 sRGB vs Adobe RGB Colour Space Firstly you'll have to realise that printing on your own 'out of camera' with extremely accurate colours is a nearly impossible task, unless you have done colour calibration between your system of camera-monitor-printer-ink-paper. True that all of them are pre-colour calibrated using the general sRGB standard and should generate reasonable results, which is why your print out is always only 'some what right' but not 100% accurate (contrast, colours), as each company tends to have a slight different adoption of sRGB standards. Anyway, in your case, i think the answer is to shoot consistently (meaning ensure the right colour cast when shooting, and yes,unfortunately, auto modes can sometimes be highly inaccurate in certain situations) and experiment with your camera settings and printer. Stick to sRGB, and you may want to consider using preset curves in your camera, which you should be able to find more information on online. If you really have to print out something though, and want accurate colours, then i would follow the advice of our fellow forumners - bring it to a printer / print shop!