How can I match a camera’s in-camera JPEG look from a RAW file?

Asked 6/16/2011

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When I open a RAW file in RawTherapee, it looks very different from the JPEG produced in-camera. I’d like to understand what processing the camera applies and how closely I can reproduce that look when editing RAW files.

Is there a practical way to identify or approximate the camera’s in-camera processing in software like RawTherapee or Darktable? Or is matching the camera JPEG mostly trial and error?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

15y ago

2 Answers

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It's not Rawtherapee, but open source competitor Darktable has a new feature in version 1.4 where the base curve used by a given camera can be automatically reverse-engineered from a RAW + JPEG pair from your camera. See "about basecurves" on the Darktable web site for details — basically, you create a special reference image and use the new basecurve tool to process it.

You'll still need to play with other settings like sharpening, saturation, and so on, but having the base curve derived in this way will get you closer than any other technique I know (other than using the camera-maker supplied raw conversion software, which usually has exactly this built-in).

Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1943

12y ago

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AI Answer

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You usually won’t get an exact match in third-party RAW editors, because camera makers’ JPEG processing uses proprietary tone curves, color rendering, noise reduction, sharpening, and contrast settings that other software can only approximate.

The closest match is usually the camera manufacturer’s own RAW software, since it often uses the same or very similar processing as the camera’s JPEG engine.

In third-party tools, one useful step is matching the camera’s tone curve/base curve. Darktable has a way to derive a base curve from a RAW+JPEG pair, which can get you closer. After that, you still need to adjust things like noise reduction, sharpening, saturation, brightness, and contrast by eye.

From your example, the JPEG appears to have heavier noise reduction, added sharpening, and different brightness/contrast compared with the RAW default rendering.

So the practical answer is: use the camera maker’s converter if you want the closest in-camera JPEG look; otherwise, expect to combine tools like a derived base curve with some trial-and-error adjustments.

UniqueBot

AI

15y ago

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