Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Question about wide gamut color  (Read 4419 times)

Brookie

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 157
Question about wide gamut color
« on: July 11, 2016, 01:01:14 pm »

I'm a relative newbie to digital photog and am considering getting a monitor to go with my new MBP15.  A basic question I have is this:  if you do your post-processing in AdobeRGB can you just switch to sRGB and then save a copy to pdf to use for posting or do you have to do your editing all over again in sRGB space? 

Thanks for any insight you can provide. 
Logged

Slobodan Blagojevic

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 18090
  • When everyone thinks the same, nobody thinks
    • My website
Re: Question about wide gamut color
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2016, 03:28:53 pm »

You do not have to do your editing all over again in most cases. Also, the usual suggestion is to do your editing in an even wider space (than Adobe RGB), like ProPhoto RGB.

Brookie

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 157
Re: Question about wide gamut color
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2016, 06:11:43 pm »

Thank you for the reply. So it seems you are basically suggesting i do my editing in the widest gamut available to me, correct? 

This would mean that, short of expense, there really is no reason NOT to get a wide gamut monitor even if I am not likely to do too much printing any time soon.

Is there any reason AGAINST getting a wide gamut monitor other than the higher cost? 
Logged

Slobodan Blagojevic

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 18090
  • When everyone thinks the same, nobody thinks
    • My website
Re: Question about wide gamut color
« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2016, 06:28:36 pm »

It is correct, the general suggestion is to do editing in the widest gamut available (and 16 bit space). However, you do not need a wide gamut monitor to do editing in the wide gamut space. Most of us do not.

One reason not to go for the wide gamut monitor is that users often forget to check how the file they are working on looks on the Internet and on regular monitors (which is a vast majority) and end up with garish looking images.

BobShaw

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2218
    • Aspiration Images
Re: Question about wide gamut color
« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2016, 06:43:04 pm »

Note that you can convert to sRGB or you can assign sRGB. There is no "switch" to sRGB.
You don't say how you are editing.
If in Photoshop I generally use ProPhoto as layered PSD and then save. Then I flatten the image and export whatever format I want then either step backward to the layered PSD or just don't save again.
If in Aperture (same Lightroom / Capture One ) I use a preset of the file type and space I want and just export.
Logged
Website - http://AspirationImages.com
Studio and Commercial Photography

Brookie

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 157
Re: Question about wide gamut color
« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2016, 07:10:48 pm »

Thanks for the replies guy.  I am editing in LR/PS using a Mac Book Pro 15".

The underlying reason for my question is that I am shopping for a monitor.  My inclination is to get a wide gamut monitor like the BenQ SW2700PT.  Although that is probably a better monitor than I really need. So I'm asking this and my other post about B&W to see if there is any reason I should avoid wide gamut.

Note - these questions are not a nutty attempt to talk myself out of something - I'm just trying to better understand so I can make a better decision.  And if there was a strong reason to avoid wide gamut then I would take that into consideration before I make a purchase.
Logged

digitaldog

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20630
  • Andrew Rodney
    • http://www.digitaldog.net/
Re: Question about wide gamut color
« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2016, 10:19:54 pm »

Is there any reason AGAINST getting a wide gamut monitor other than the higher cost?
No. And the better wide gamut displays can be calibrated to emulate sRGB; best of both worlds.
Logged
http://www.digitaldog.net/
Author "Color Management for Photographers".

digitaldog

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20630
  • Andrew Rodney
    • http://www.digitaldog.net/
Re: Question about wide gamut color
« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2016, 10:23:28 pm »

One reason not to go for the wide gamut monitor is that users often forget to check how the file they are working on looks on the Internet and on regular monitors (which is a vast majority) and end up with garish looking images.
Only if the people viewing the images are dumb enough to use a non color managed browser. Otherwise any working space is game as it is in Photoshop and lots of other app's. And if that dumb person has a wide gamut display and isn't using a color managed browser, sRGB looks awful. People who care about how images appear work with color managed app's so the previews are correct. It's impossible to post anything to the web and expect everyone will see it correctly.

sRGB urban legend & myths Part 2

In this 17 minute video, I'll discuss some more sRGB misinformation and cover:
When to use sRGB and what to expect on the web and mobile devices
How sRGB doesn't insure a visual match without color management, how to check
The downsides of an all sRGB workflow
sRGB's color gamut vs. "professional" output devices
The future of sRGB and wide gamut display technology
Photo print labs that demand sRGB for output

High resolution: http://digitaldog.net/files/sRGBMythsPart2.mp4
Low resolution on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyvVUL1gWVs
Logged
http://www.digitaldog.net/
Author "Color Management for Photographers".

Brookie

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 157
Re: Question about wide gamut color
« Reply #8 on: July 11, 2016, 10:37:32 pm »

Great information Andrew, thank you!
Brookie
Logged

bjanes

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3387
Re: Question about wide gamut color
« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2016, 08:52:06 am »

Only if the people viewing the images are dumb enough to use a non color managed browser. Otherwise any working space is game as it is in Photoshop and lots of other app's. And if that dumb person has a wide gamut display and isn't using a color managed browser, sRGB looks awful. People who care about how images appear work with color managed app's so the previews are correct. It's impossible to post anything to the web and expect everyone will see it correctly.

sRGB urban legend & myths Part 2

Andrew,

Good information, as usual. If one is working in the preferred ProPhotoRGB color space, it is sometimes desirable to convert to sRGB using the perceptual rendering intent. This is not possible with the usual Ver 2 profiles, even though Photoshop seem to allow this option but does not implement it.

From my interpretation of the ICC White Paper 26, one would start with the ProPhotoRBG ver 2 profile and then assign the ISO22028-2_ROMM-RGB.icc  profile and then convert to sRGB using the perceptual rendering intent with the sRGB_v4_ICC_preference.icc as the destination profile. Is this correct?

Regards,

Bill
Logged

Arlen

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1707
Re: Question about wide gamut color
« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2016, 01:44:55 pm »

Only if the people viewing the images are dumb enough to use a non color managed browser. Otherwise any working space is game as it is in Photoshop and lots of other app's. And if that dumb person has a wide gamut display and isn't using a color managed browser, sRGB looks awful. People who care about how images appear work with color managed app's so the previews are correct. It's impossible to post anything to the web and expect everyone will see it correctly.

Much of what I've learned about color management over the years, I learned from Andrew. You would do well to read the materials on his website about the subject.

I will just add, in reference to the bolded sentences above, that it's also a good idea to include an embedded profile tag in all images posted on the web, especially on photography sites like this one, where a substantial number of viewers can be expected to have wide gamut monitors. That's because even some ostensibly color managed browsers mishandle images lacking an embedded profile--for instance, Chrome on a PC. In those cases an image converted to sRGB, but without an embedded sRGB tag, can look greatly over saturated on wide gamut monitors. Whereas they will still look reasonably OK on a standard monitor. That has happened several times on this forum over the last few months, generating arguments among members who see different colors depending on the browser and type of monitor they are using.
Logged

Brookie

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 157
Re: Question about wide gamut color
« Reply #11 on: July 12, 2016, 02:43:59 pm »

Arlen, thanks for the advice.
There is a lot to keep track of - I have a lot to learn!
Brookie
Logged

BobShaw

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2218
    • Aspiration Images
Re: Question about wide gamut color
« Reply #12 on: July 12, 2016, 07:25:55 pm »

Those dumb people may be your potential customers. It is up to the presenter of information to ensure that all viewers get an acceptable experience. Some people struggle beyond turning the computer on but can use a credit card.
Logged
Website - http://AspirationImages.com
Studio and Commercial Photography
Pages: [1]   Go Up