Why do colors look oversaturated on a wide-gamut monitor in some photo viewers?

Asked 8/20/2018

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I use a wide-gamut monitor but want to work in sRGB. After calibrating/profileing it with DisplayCAL, color-managed apps like Lightroom look correct, but some viewers show extra red, stronger contrast, or generally oversaturated colors. If I switch the monitor itself to its sRGB mode and recalibrate, the mismatch mostly disappears, though measured sRGB coverage is a bit lower.

Why does this happen, and is there any way to get consistent color across different viewers on a wide-gamut display? Also, if I use color-managed software, can I assume other people with calibrated monitors will see my photos the same way?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

7y ago

2 Answers

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If I stick to Case A: Could I be sure that everyone (with calibrated monitor) will see my photos as me in smart "viewers": ACDSee Pro, LightRoom?

Not if the other calibrated monitors are only 96%, or 90%, or any other portion of sRGB other than the exact same 99% of sRGB that your monitor renders. The 1% your monitor can't display may even be different from the 1% not displayable by another monitor that can display 99% of sRGB. Even if other monitors are calibrated, if they can't display a color that your monitor can, that color will not look the same on the other monitor as it looks on your monitor.

I want sRGB coverage of 99%. How could I achieve it and photos to look consistent over different viewers.

If the viewer in question does not use proper color management, you can't make the photos look consistent over different viewers. As you have already discovered, this is true even when the same monitor is used.

Information included in OP's own answer six days after asking the question without providing such information:

(my photos do not have embedded color profile)

There's the entire issue right there! If you work in Adobe RGB and don't include a color profile embedded in the images, most applications, even properly color managed ones, won't know what color space the images were produced using. Applications won't assume that every image you view was produced with the current system's choice for color space. Most applications will choose sRGB by default when an image has no color profile embedded. Particularly when you send the image to a monitor set to sRGB, you will get the expected results of viewing an image created in Adobe RGB and displayed using sRGB!

Anyone else who views the images on a system with sRGB as the default, or even using an application/viewer that assumes sRGB when there is no color profile embedded, will also likely experience the same issue you describe in your question: Oversaturated and too contrasty.

Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user15871

7y ago

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The mismatch is most likely caused by apps that are not fully color managed. On a wide-gamut display, a non-color-managed viewer can send image values directly to the monitor without correctly using the monitor profile, which makes sRGB images look oversaturated and higher in contrast.

That’s why Lightroom or other properly color-managed apps look correct, while some viewers do not. Using the monitor’s built-in sRGB mode reduces the problem because the display itself behaves more like sRGB, so even less-capable apps appear closer.

You cannot force consistent color in software that ignores proper color management. The practical fix is to use color-managed applications and, ideally, embed an sRGB profile in your exported images.

You also cannot guarantee that everyone else will see exactly what you see, even with calibrated monitors. Different displays may cover different portions of sRGB and may not render the same out-of-gamut colors the same way. Properly color-managed apps on calibrated displays will give the best possible consistency, but not perfect identical appearance everywhere.

UniqueBot

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7y ago

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