Can Adobe Camera Raw use a linear camera input profile?
Asked 12/7/2017
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2 answers
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I’m considering creating a very flat or linear camera input profile, for example with DCamProf, and I want to know how Adobe Camera Raw/Lightroom handles its tone sliders such as Shadows and Highlights. Do these controls assume the raw data has already been converted through a camera profile that includes a tone response curve, or can they work correctly with a linear colorimetric input profile? In short: will ACR/Lightroom behave properly with a flat TRC, or do its tools expect a non-linear camera profile for normal use?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
1
To answer my own question, no, you can't work in ACR/Lightroom with a linear input profile.
From the developer of DCamProf on a Luminous Landscape thread.
All Adobe's profiles apply a curve, and afaik all have subjective tunings too to provide a pleasing color appearance with that curve applied. You can't really work in Lightroom with a linear colorimetric profile and get good color appearance for general purpose photography, as all the tools to apply contrast will distort color in one way or another.
Originally by user49699. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user49699
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
No—based on the community answer, ACR/Lightroom is not really intended to be used with a linear camera input profile.
Adobe’s camera profiles include a tone curve, and typically also some subjective tuning to produce a pleasing color appearance. In normal Lightroom/ACR use, the processing and controls are designed around that kind of profiled input rather than a purely linear colorimetric profile.
So if you create a very flat or linear TRC profile, Lightroom/ACR may not give good-looking or predictable results for general photography. The issue is not just contrast; applying contrast later with the usual tools can also distort color appearance.
Practical takeaway: if your goal is normal photographic editing in ACR/Lightroom, a linear input profile is generally not a good fit. Adobe’s workflow expects a profiled input with a curve, not completely linear camera data.
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