The problem with reds

[Phinius]

This may be an old topic, but I've missed it. Why is red so difficult for sensors to capture? I have a Sony pocket camera and a Canon 5d MK ii and neither of them accurately records reds, always under-saturating by  a great deal. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[Chris_Brown]

Are you evaluating JPEGs off the camera, or are you evaluating raw files through software conversion?

[fdisilvestro]

Hi,

I don't think it is a problem related to sensors during capture but to the color spaces commonly used, sRGB and Adobe RGB when processing the output. If you check the parameters, the red coordinate is the same for both color spaces.

For me the option is to capture in RAW, edit in Prophoto RGB and adjust the red hue and saturation in Post.

An alternative I would not recommend (used by many) is to under expose when capturing.

[Rhossydd]

Are you sure it's the cameras and not your monitoring ?
Are you seeing good reds in reference images from other sources ?

No problem here with reds on a Sony RX100 & 5Dii

[Phinius]

Thanks for everyone's responses. I always shoot RAW with the 5d (the Sony is older so let's forget it). The problem appears mainly in sunset/sunrise photos where reds in the sky come out as light pink in LR.

[Chris_Brown]

Step 1: Calibrate your camera. Preferably using the dual-illuminant method.

http://youtu.be/1ZRUNUbOB7U

[BAB]

There are more green pixels than blue and red, most camera Manf are dialing down the Reds so they wount affect the skin tones, that's my reasoning. However there are many ways to get more red in a particular scene and your saying that the red color is pink is indicating to me that the exposure might be a little bright. Anyway why don't you isolate your problem.

Using the same light and same White Balance setting photograph a color checker compare the red
In PS lasso the area in question and play with exposure, saturation and or white balance.

Good luck

[Redcrown]

Your Canon 5D2 captures RAW reds just fine. In fact, most people have problems with reds being too dominant, over saturated. If you are seeing weak, off-color, under saturated reds then there is a problem in your workflow - camera profiles, monitor profiles, image adjustments.

You would be best served by posting a raw file of one of your sunsets. Others would process that and show you different versions. That would help you track down the issue. Otherwise, all you have is speculation.

Specifically, bring a sunset image into LR, apply your adjustments and profile, export that as a DNG and upload to somewhere like Dropbox. That raw DNG would have all your adjustments AND your profile embedded, allowing others to see exactly what you are doing. If you upload just the original CR2 raw, we can't see your adjustments or profiles.

[fdisilvestro]

A few things to consider:

• White Balance: what WB did you use for the sunset? If you let auto WB you will not get the colors you remember. Try with daylight
  
  
• Monitor gamut: In LR you can use soft proofing to check if the image has colors outside of your monitor gamut
  

Having said that, you may still have issues with some reds, that's why I mention local edits and/or playing with the sliders for the red color in the HSL panel.

Another option is to try a different converter, such as C1, which ussually results in a different rendering out of the box. (most applications have a free-trial period)

I agree with Redcrown about posting a raw file, where some of us can work on it and see what comes out.

[Phinius]

I've discovered the problem. I brought up the exposure to get into the shadows, thus blowing out the reds. Reducing the exposure by a couple of stops brought out the reds as I remembered them. Bad me; I should have used the shadow slider. Thanks again for all the comments.

[Doug Peterson]

Try running these raw files through Capture One instead. I think you'll find the results pretty startling. Adobe has never done well with Canon Reds, especially when under moderate to heavy adjustment.

[D Fosse]

I brought up the exposure to get into the shadows, thus blowing out the reds.

Don't people look at the histogram anymore? This is exactly the kind of thing it's for.

[Justinr]

If you are getting pinks rather than reds one quick fix is to go into selective colours in PS and dial some more black into the reds. Might be worth a try anyway.