Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Adobe Camera Raw Q&A => Topic started by: Simon J.A. Simpson on April 14, 2014, 02:08:18 pm
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As only a fairly recent convert to Photoshop CC and Lightroom 5 (from Bridge and Photoshop 5.1) I have only just observed tis bizarre behaviour.
I first noticed this in Lightroom (5.3) but have confirmed the same behaviour in ACR 8.3 for Bridge CC and Photoshop CC, which I understand share the same ACR technology (?). Whatever – the results are the same.
Sometimes I find it is useful to take a look at what the “Auto [Tone]” button in ACR and Lightroom will produce in terms of the tonal balance of an image. Using this with Lightroom 5.3 and ACR 8.3 produces a substantial lightening of the image and an increase in contrast which to, my eyes, is unpleasant. This would be, perhaps, a matter of taste, but on a recent image it actually moved the highlights into clipping; and not just by a little but by a lot. Surely this can’t be right ?
Observing what the algorithm does to the sliders, it lightens the highlights and darkens the blacks considerably (by 35–45%), and increases the exposure and slightly decreases the contrast.
Going back to ACR 6.7 (my last version which sometimes produced helpful results) I note that the algorithm darkens the same image slightly retrieving any blown highlights producing, overall, a relatively good tonal balance (if a little dark).
I have now replicated the above on other images, so it is not just the product of one image.
So, my question is this:
Is this some setting that I’ve inadvertently changed and need to restore ? Or this this the ‘normal’ behaviour of ACR 8.3 /Lightroom 5 ? I guess my concern arises because the algorithm is moving the highlights into substantial clipping.
[also posted in the Lightroom forum]
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Just discovered that this seems to be a difference between the Adobe Camera Calibration Profiles “2010” [ACR 6.7] and “2012 (current)” [Lightroom 5.x and ACR 8.x].
Oops, did something go wrong in the “calibration” ? ;)
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2010 / 2012 are not calibration profiles but totally different process versions (PV).
The PV 2012 is vastly superior when it comes to tonal adjustments and the resulting quality, being able to recover highlights and shadows in a latitude that resulted in a blotchy or noisy mess in PV2010.
The Auto adjust is arguably a bit problematic with certain types of exposures, going that far that I have completely refrained from using it at all.
The improvements in PV2012 are way worth the tradeoff.