Canon R6 bad/washed out colors?

LennyLevino · Mar 10, 2023

I can't seem to get decent jpgs out of the camera. I have set the jpeg processing to "Standard" in the menu. Every picture I take looks like it has blown out highlights, washed out colors and low saturation. Comparing them side by side to the RAWs in either MacOS's Preview or in Windows shows a huge difference (not in favour of the jpegs).

Comparing them to jpegs from the 6D is just a sad sight.

Anyone else have or had this problem? What can I do to fix it (if possible)? Considering selling the camera if there is no fix. Because even though I shoot RAW, I also want useable JPEG files.

koenkooi · Mar 10, 2023

I came across this video last week:

That talks about an issue that sounds similar to yours, but in the video the RAW files are washed out as well. No solution is being offered, so I’m very curious about the follow-up video!

CameraCarl · Mar 11, 2023

Can you post some samples, please? Even better would be the same subject and conditions photographed with both the 6D and the R6. And with full exif data, too, please.

LennyLevino · Mar 11, 2023

CameraCarl said:
Can you post some samples, please? Even better would be the same subject and conditions photographed with both the 6D and the R6. And with full exif data, too, please.

Sure, here are two random examples. First is a screenshot of the RAW file in the Preview App on Mac, second is a screenshot of the jpeg.

Tomorrow I will have access to my 6D again, will post some more proper comparisons.

RF 15-30mm, RAW. Make note of the purple tree.

RF 15-30mm, JPEG.

RF 85mm, RAW.

RF 85mm, JPEG.

Thoughts?

Franz Weber · Mar 11, 2023

Hi all,

I have purchased a R6 last year and have taken it to a trip to a lake on sunny weather alongside with my Olympus Em10 MkIV. Same story here as well. The R6 produced pale images compared to the Olympus and my iPhone. The sky was overexposed and faces were underexposed in many cases. Since I was not able to figure out what was the reason I have decided to return the R6 for this reason.

What I have noticed however: the problem only occured in very sunny conditions. In modest light the Canon was superior to the Olympus and iPhone. Maybe the Canon needs an UV filter to get the Jpgs right?

Kameratrollet · Mar 11, 2023

6D vs R6 raw files here. If you want to compare JPEG, then extract the embedded ones or just use DPP4 to generate new ones with Standard picture style https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/...have-similar/m-p/399981/highlight/true#M95110

cfieldgate · Mar 11, 2023

You haven’t provided the EXIF data for these images.

That would be useful for forum members to provide better advice / suggestions to help you.

Can you also process the RAW files in DPP with just the camera settings applied?

José B · Mar 11, 2023

LennyLevino said:
I can't seem to get decent jpgs out of the camera. I have set the jpeg processing to "Standard" in the menu. Every picture I take looks like it has blown out highlights, washed out colors and low saturation. Comparing them side by side to the RAWs in either MacOS's Preview or in Windows shows a huge difference (not in favour of the jpegs).

Comparing them to jpegs from the 6D is just a sad sight.

Anyone else have or had this problem? What can I do to fix it (if possible)? Considering selling the camera if there is no fix. Because even though I shoot RAW, I also want useable JPEG files.

I don't have an R6 but the samples you showed are similar to my R6MKII shots of buildings and landscape (RAW vs. jpegs). When I first got the camera and looked at the RAW I thought that the shadows/blacks were blocked. But it's easy to adjust them on post. As to the jpegs, it's as if the exposure was adjusted to maybe half a stop and shadows are boosted. However, I have no complaints when it comes to skin tones in jpegs. Since I shoot more portraiture/sports than architecture/landscape I will continue to use the Canon jpegs because I like them a lot.

Not sure how you will fix the jpegs except perhaps tweaking it in the creative profile jpeg settings yourself.

Alastair Norcross · Mar 11, 2023

You can adjust picture styles to your heart’s content to get pretty much any JPEG you want. Have you tried that? And if not, why on earth are you contemplating selling before figuring out whether your camera can be adjusted to your taste? The R6 is a $2500 camera (a bit less, now that the R6II is available). It has many settings that have to be learned. There is also a user’s manual you can read.

MasterWayne · Mar 11, 2023

Franz Weber said:
Hi all,

I have purchased a R6 last year and have taken it to a trip to a lake on sunny weather alongside with my Olympus Em10 MkIV. Same story here as well. The R6 produced pale images compared to the Olympus and my iPhone. The sky was overexposed and faces were underexposed in many cases. Since I was not able to figure out what was the reason I have decided to return the R6 for this reason.

What I have noticed however: the problem only occured in very sunny conditions. In modest light the Canon was superior to the Olympus and iPhone. Maybe the Canon needs an UV filter to get the Jpgs right?

Did you enable Auto Lighting Optimizer? I suggest you try out default or even strong. The latest RF cams give very good results in my experience.

You can boost the colors to your liking as well with choosing/altering the picture style. The default colors are not as bold as they used to be on the 6D. Notching up saturation by one or two brings them right back.

UV filters have no (positive) effect on image Quality of digital cameras, essentially they're a relict from the film era. The UV light is filtered out by the filters that are part of the digital imager.

Max5150 · Mar 11, 2023

Franz Weber said:
Hi all,

I have purchased a R6 last year and have taken it to a trip to a lake on sunny weather alongside with my Olympus Em10 MkIV. Same story here as well. The R6 produced pale images compared to the Olympus and my iPhone. The sky was overexposed and faces were underexposed in many cases. Since I was not able to figure out what was the reason I have decided to return the R6 for this reason.

Good thinking.

Franz Weber said:
What I have noticed however: the problem only occured in very sunny conditions. In modest light the Canon was superior to the Olympus and iPhone. Maybe the Canon needs an UV filter to get the Jpgs right?

--
This column is intended for something inspiring, something meaningful or at least something that makes any sense at all. I‘ll work on it.

Franz Weber · Mar 11, 2023

MasterWayne said:
Franz Weber said:

Hi all,

I have purchased a R6 last year and have taken it to a trip to a lake on sunny weather alongside with my Olympus Em10 MkIV. Same story here as well. The R6 produced pale images compared to the Olympus and my iPhone. The sky was overexposed and faces were underexposed in many cases. Since I was not able to figure out what was the reason I have decided to return the R6 for this reason.

What I have noticed however: the problem only occured in very sunny conditions. In modest light the Canon was superior to the Olympus and iPhone. Maybe the Canon needs an UV filter to get the Jpgs right?

Click to expand...

Did you enable Auto Lighting Optimizer? I suggest you try out default or even strong. The latest RF cams give very good results in my experience.

You can boost the colors to your liking as well with choosing/altering the picture style. The default colors are not as bold as they used to be on the 6D. Notching up saturation by one or two brings them right back.

UV filters have no (positive) effect on image Quality of digital cameras, essentially they're a relict from the film era. The UV light is filtered out by the filters that are part of the digital imager.

Thanks MasterWayne this is helpful advice

J A C S · Mar 11, 2023

Turn the vignetting correction off.

MAC · Mar 11, 2023

LennyLevino said:
CameraCarl said:

Can you post some samples, please? Even better would be the same subject and conditions photographed with both the 6D and the R6. And with full exif data, too, please.

Click to expand...

Sure, here are two random examples. First is a screenshot of the RAW file in the Preview App on Mac, second is a screenshot of the jpeg.

Tomorrow I will have access to my 6D again, will post some more proper comparisons.

Thoughts?

https://kenrockwell.com/canon/eos-r/r6.htm

Picture Style user's guide top

This is where we set how the pictures look for saturation, sharpening and etc.

Set these either at the [ Q ] screen or

MENU > CAMERA 3 > Picture Style.

I always use STANDARD.

I increase Sharpening to Strength 7, Fineness 1 (default) and Threshold 5.

For photos of everything except people, I increase Saturation to +4.

For people photos I leave Saturation at its default of 0.

Mark B. · Mar 11, 2023

LennyLevino said:
CameraCarl said:

Can you post some samples, please? Even better would be the same subject and conditions photographed with both the 6D and the R6. And with full exif data, too, please.

Click to expand...

Sure, here are two random examples. First is a screenshot of the RAW file in the Preview App on Mac, second is a screenshot of the jpeg.

Tomorrow I will have access to my 6D again, will post some more proper comparisons.

RF 15-30mm, RAW. Make note of the purple tree.

RF 15-30mm, JPEG.

RF 85mm, RAW.

RF 85mm, JPEG.

Thoughts?

What happened to the EXIF, and why are they all 3.5mp?

RLight · Mar 11, 2023

LennyLevino said:
I can't seem to get decent jpgs out of the camera. I have set the jpeg processing to "Standard" in the menu. Every picture I take looks like it has blown out highlights, washed out colors and low saturation. Comparing them side by side to the RAWs in either MacOS's Preview or in Windows shows a huge difference (not in favour of the jpegs).

Comparing them to jpegs from the 6D is just a sad sight.

Anyone else have or had this problem? What can I do to fix it (if possible)? Considering selling the camera if there is no fix. Because even though I shoot RAW, I also want useable JPEG files.

Try fine detail. It retains more highlights.

The R6 is more color agnostic, try bumping the saturation by +1 to give more traditional rendering. It’s not the same as the 6D though.

I share your concerns about color. However, give it time. And pay attention to video output. I’ll let you figure out the rest. Some things you have to learn yourself. Color is one.

cocoanud · Mar 12, 2023

Using Standard or Automatic picture profiles will be disappointing... it was for me at least.

Use Fine Detail profile, adjust Sharpening to your preference but turn down Contrast and increase Saturation.

Other than Fine Detail, the Faithful profile works quite well if you are able to control the lighting or can manage to match the white balance in camera. Also with Faithful, turn down Contrast and increase Saturation and adjust Sharpening settings to your liking. It will take a few shots to decide what you prefer for sharpening.

Also, make sure the Clarity setting (which is NOT in Picture Profiles) is not below 0. For head shots or upper body portraits definitely go ahead and reduce the Clarity to below 0 but for landscapes, wildlife turn up Clarity.

HTH,

--C

Martin Vorhofer · Mar 12, 2023

I am so grateful, that I am not alone with that problem!

Just for your information: I am using raw, Lightroom Classic, Canon DPP, colour calibrated monitor and have excellent color vision myself- regularly tested. Most men haven't btw.

The skintones, especially with very light caucasian skin, are not good anymore. I do not know if it is a problem of the camera or Lightroom, but my tests with DPP are also not producing the results I was used to with the 6d and the 5d MK IV. It was like a poor man's Hasselblad file quality. Simply georgeous. That is gone!

I am really unhappy. There seems to be something new going on with the new cameras. I do not know what it is, but most people seem to be obsessed with high iso noise, sharpness and dynamic range. Colour seems to be neglected. I can understand Canon, because people seem to get used to these oversharpened and oversaturated phone pictures.

I honestly do not know what to do, because in the forums, people who discuss the issue are generally criticized for having the wrong workflow.

I sold the R6 and ordered an RP with the "old" sensor. I am thinking of no longer investing in Canon, as long as this issue persists.

MAC · Mar 12, 2023

Martin Vorhofer said:
I am so grateful, that I am not alone with that problem!

Just for your information: I am using raw, Lightroom Classic, Canon DPP, colour calibrated monitor and have excellent color vision myself- regularly tested. Most men haven't btw.

The skintones, especially with very light caucasian skin, are not good anymore. I do not know if it is a problem of the camera or Lightroom, but my tests with DPP are also not producing the results I was used to with the 6d and the 5d MK IV. It was like a poor man's Hasselblad file quality. Simply georgeous. That is gone!

I am really unhappy. There seems to be something new going on with the new cameras. I do not know what it is, but most people seem to be obsessed with high iso noise, sharpness and dynamic range. Colour seems to be neglected. I can understand Canon, because people seem to get used to these oversharpened and oversaturated phone pictures.

I honestly do not know what to do, because in the forums, people who discuss the issue are generally criticized for having the wrong workflow.

I sold the R6 and ordered an RP with the "old" sensor. I am thinking of no longer investing in Canon, as long as this issue persists.

Canon EOS R6 II: Colour Madness - YouTube

the madness continues...

Steven Aunan · Mar 12, 2023

MAC said:
Canon EOS R6 II: Colour Madness - YouTube

the madness continues...

Thanks for posting that. I bought a refurb R6 from Canon for $1890 and hadn't seen Peter Gregg until now. Fun stuff!

Canon R6 bad/washed out colors?

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