Why does a RAW photo show posterization on my computer but not on the camera LCD?
Asked 9/29/2014
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2 answers
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I’m shooting RAW on a Nikon D610. When I review an image on the camera’s LCD, tonal transitions look smooth, but after importing into Aperture and opening the file in Photoshop CS6, I see obvious posterization/banding, especially in shadow-to-light transitions. Why would the image look fine on the camera screen but bad on my computer? Is this caused by the RAW conversion, the software, or my display setup?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
2
With "LCD screen", i assume you mean your camera's screen. The better question would then be "Why can't i see the the posterization on my crappy camera LCD?" and the answer is: because it doesn't have the quality of a real monitor. Also, on the camera, you see the jpeg preview, while in Aperture you see Aperture'S rendering of the RAW file.
That said, i don't see any serious banding on this image either.
Originally by user32110. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user32110
11y ago
0
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The most likely cause is your monitor/display calibration, not the RAW file itself.
A camera LCD is a limited preview device, and it usually shows the embedded JPEG preview rather than the full RAW rendering. That means it may not reveal issues the same way a computer monitor does. Aperture and Photoshop also render RAW files differently from the camera preview.
In your case, the key clue is that the image looked normal on another laptop and matched the camera LCD more closely. That points to your monitor settings or calibration being off, which can exaggerate banding/posterization.
So the answer is:
- the camera LCD is not a reliable reference for critical tonal evaluation
- RAW software rendering can differ from the camera preview
- if the problem appears mainly on one display, your monitor calibration/settings are the likely culprit
Recalibrating the monitor, or resetting any problematic manual advanced display settings, should help.
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AI11y ago
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