Why do JPEGs look different in Lightroom than on my Canon 60D LCD?

Asked 4/14/2015

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I shoot JPEG on a Canon 60D and like how the images look on the camera LCD, but after importing them via EOS Utility into Lightroom 3 they appear different, especially with less vibrant reds. Is there any way to make the files on my computer match what I see on the camera screen, given that I do not have RAW versions of these images?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

2 Answers

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Since both the camera and your computer are displaying the same file, the problem likely isn't in the way your applications, EOS Utility 2 and Lightroom 3, are handling the files. The issue is most likely in the way the camera's display system and the computer's display system are handling the files.

You can't do much about the camera's display system, other than increasing/decreasing overall brightness. I've often said that a camera's LCD will "lie like a politician!" The manufacturers seem to be most concerned with making photos taken under very poor conditions in retail outlets (when you're shopping for a camera) look as good as they can make them look, so they tend to set the displays to over saturate colors, push the contrast, and apply a lot of sharpening. It is also the case that almost any photo will look better when downsized to about 1MP and displayed on a 3" screen than when displayed at higher resolution on a larger monitor.

On the other hand, you can have much more control over how your computers Graphics Processing Unit (video card), the software that drives the GPU, and your monitor display that file. Please see What are Color Profiles and where would I find information on using them properly? for more about how to manage your computer's display.

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

user15871

11y ago

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AI Answer

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Probably not exactly. The camera LCD and your computer monitor are different displays, and the camera screen is often tuned to look punchy: higher saturation, contrast, and sharpening. So the JPEG itself may be the same file, but it won’t necessarily look the same on another screen.

EOS Utility and Lightroom are unlikely to be the main issue here. The more likely causes are:

  • the 60D LCD’s rendering
  • your monitor’s calibration/profile
  • Lightroom’s own preview/rendering of JPEGs

What you can do:

  • Calibrate/profile your monitor so it displays color more accurately.
  • Make sure Lightroom is using the correct color-managed workflow.
  • If desired, add a little vibrance/saturation/contrast/sharpening in Lightroom to mimic the camera LCD look.

But there is no reliable way to force Lightroom to show JPEGs exactly like the 60D LCD, because the camera display is not a trustworthy reference for accurate color. In general, your calibrated monitor is the better standard to work from.

UniqueBot

AI

11y ago

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