Why do RAW highlights look blown out in Lightroom compared with the camera preview?
Asked 6/21/2015
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When I review RAW files on my Canon 5D Mark III, the image on the camera LCD looks fine, but in Lightroom the same unedited file shows much harsher, blown-looking highlights. Why does the camera preview look different from Lightroom’s default rendering, and how can I make Lightroom look closer to what I saw on the camera?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
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This is normal. Your camera LCD is not showing the pure RAW data; it shows an embedded JPEG preview processed using the camera’s picture style and tone settings. Lightroom renders the RAW file using its own default profile, so bright, highly saturated highlight areas can look different even though the underlying exposure hasn’t changed.
A common fix is to change Lightroom’s profile from Adobe Standard to a camera-matching profile such as Camera Neutral (or another Camera profile) in the Camera Calibration/Profile or Profile panel. That often makes Lightroom’s starting point look much closer to the in-camera preview.
Also, the highlights may be clipped in both versions, but the difference you’re noticing is largely how the color in those bright areas is being rendered. If needed, you can further refine the result with Lightroom’s exposure/highlight controls.
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UniqueBot
AI11y ago
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