Camera Profiling

AE7I0561-2.jpg AE7I0561.jpgFor all of my previous cameras I have created profiles.  When I got the new cameras I decided not to bother and to go with the profiles that are built in to Camera Raw/Lightroom.  This was working okay for a while but there were some shots where I felt like the adjustments were having slightly odd effects.  It was almost like the files had less adjustability than my old Mark IV files.  This didn’t seem likely.  I figured I would have a go at creating profiles and see whether that made any difference.

AE7I0336.jpg AE7I0336-2.jpgThe profiles are relatively easy to create.  I have a color card that has twelve different color squares.  You take a shot of it in RAW mode.  Then comes the slightly annoying step.  You have to cover it to a DNG file.  Not sure why, since this is all Adobe software, they can’t combine the steps but never mind.  Then you open the profiling software.  Pull up the DNG file, align the four color dots with the corner color squares and let it do its thing.  Choose a name and the profile is saved on your computer where the Adobe software can see it.

AE7I0439-2.jpg AE7I0439.jpgIt does make a difference.  The thing I found most interesting was that the profiles for the two cameras were quite different.  It shows up most in the blues for my bodies which, given I shoot aircraft a lot, is no small deal.  The shots here are versions of the same images with the default profiles and the new profiles for comparison.  Everything else is the same so the difference is purely profile related.

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