Luminous Landscape Forum

Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Colour Management => Topic started by: fdisilvestro on September 16, 2017, 09:08:20 am

Title: Hasselblad Phocus and Wide Gamut monitor issue
Post by: fdisilvestro on September 16, 2017, 09:08:20 am
Hi,

Has anyone used Hasselblad Phocus software with a wide gamut monitor and the display looked right? I'm just starting to test Phocus 3.2.2 on Windows 10-64 bit with a BEN-Q SW 2700 PT monitor with some Hassy RAW files, and it looks as if Phocus was not using the correct profile for display.

If I export an image from Phocus and open it in photoshop, or any other color managed application, it looks much different, with washed colors. I have used other RAW converters including ACR, C1, DXO with the same computer/monitor combo without this issue.

I have tested the combination (Phocus - PS) in my laptop (which does not have a wide gamut monitor) and the the images match between applications. They also match the Photoshop version in the computer with wide gamut monitor, so it seems that it is Phocus (with the wide gamut monitor) the one that is showing a more saturated image as if it were not color managed.

I have been looking in the manual to see if there is any configuration parameter,  but I could not find one. It may be something I'm missing due to lack of experience with this software.

The attached image shows the different look of an image in Phocus and the exported version in PS.

Regards
Title: Re: Hasselblad Phocus and Wide Gamut monitor issue
Post by: BAB on September 16, 2017, 09:28:37 am
Not sure I get your question if you convert the raw image in Phocus and export a tiff in a designated color space i.e. Adobe 98 and your color space in PS is set to view in Adobe 98 then the file should not be contaminated. However if your opening a single image in two different raw converters they won't e the same...(I assume you now that)?
Additional the Hasselblad original raw files viewed in Rawdigger or Fast Rawviewer one can know for sure the exact recorded exposure tweet and then import the file into Phocus to future process. Most images but not all need heavy lifting in mid tone contrast, saturation and sharpening.
Title: Re: Hasselblad Phocus and Wide Gamut monitor issue
Post by: fdisilvestro on September 16, 2017, 09:38:17 am
Sorry if I was not clear

I export a tiff in AdobeRGB from phocus and open the Tiff in photoshop which is set to view in Adobe RGB and experience the mismatch. I'm aware of the other points you mention.
Title: Re: Hasselblad Phocus and Wide Gamut monitor issue
Post by: fdisilvestro on September 17, 2017, 10:25:37 am
Well, after several tests I was able to solve the issue. It seems that the Phocus Software does not work well with LUT-based icc display profiles. I recallibrated the display generating a matrix based ICC profile (which should be ok considering the callibration tool creates a LUT table inside the monitor hardware) and now there is a match between the applications.

Regards
Title: Re: Hasselblad Phocus and Wide Gamut monitor issue
Post by: BAB on September 18, 2017, 12:39:14 am
Yep thought the calabration might have been the cause doesn't like that profile ?? Don't understand why it cares?
Title: Re: Hasselblad Phocus and Wide Gamut monitor issue
Post by: fdisilvestro on September 18, 2017, 05:28:10 am
As far as I understand, the image editor uses the monitor profile to display the image. If it has issues with the profile, then the image is displayed with the wrong colors / tones.

In the BenQ monitor, the calibration software updates the monitor LUT and creates an ICC profile. It offers choice of v2 or v4 profiles and Matrix or LUT profiles. I had a v2, LUT that was giving me issues. I then created a v2 Matrix ICC profile and everything is working fine, so my empirical conclusion is that Phocus does not like the LUT ICC profiles, at least those created with the BenQ software. I might be wrong of course.

Regards
Title: Re: Hasselblad Phocus and Wide Gamut monitor issue
Post by: Ethan Hansen on September 19, 2017, 08:05:39 pm
Just a thought - what profile(s) are reported by Windows as being associated with the monitor? I recall a similar issue years ago with Capture One when more than one profile was listed. C1 preferred the simple profile rather than the specified one. Also, make sure that your user color management defaults are the same as the system (all users).

Or it could just be that Hassy software is clueless and won't use LUT profiles. Seems a shame to dump the improved accuracy of a LUT profile unnecessarily. LUTs are particularly important on wide gamut displays.
Title: Re: Hasselblad Phocus and Wide Gamut monitor issue
Post by: fdisilvestro on September 20, 2017, 03:46:44 am
Just a thought - what profile(s) are reported by Windows as being associated with the monitor? I recall a similar issue years ago with Capture One when more than one profile was listed. C1 preferred the simple profile rather than the specified one. Also, make sure that your user color management defaults are the same as the system (all users).

Or it could just be that Hassy software is clueless and won't use LUT profiles. Seems a shame to dump the improved accuracy of a LUT profile unnecessarily. LUTs are particularly important on wide gamut displays.

I have more than one profile (most of them old versions) but only one is marked as "Default", system wide. I don't know if this is causing any issue but I should do a cleanup some day.

In any case, as I understand there are two parts in the calibration of the BenQ wide gamut monitor (as well as other brands/model). There is a hardware LUT that is stored in the monitor and then the icm profile.

The BenQ software is called "Palete Master Element", which will update the monitor LUT and it will also create the icm profile. It is in the latter that gives you the choice of LUT vs Matrix and v2 vs v4. The issues I had seem to be related with the icm profile when is of the LUT type.

When you refer to the importance of LUTs for wide gamut monitors, do you refer to the internal (hardware LUT), the icm profile or both?

Regars
Title: Re: Hasselblad Phocus and Wide Gamut monitor issue
Post by: JJon on September 20, 2017, 10:24:39 pm
Thanks for posting - I was considering the BenQ so I may have run into the same problem. Nice photo btw

Well, after several tests I was able to solve the issue. It seems that the Phocus Software does not work well with LUT-based icc display profiles. I recallibrated the display generating a matrix based ICC profile (which should be ok considering the callibration tool creates a LUT table inside the monitor hardware) and now there is a match between the applications.

Regards