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nathany

nathany

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I have purchased a new desktop PC (Windows 11). Every RAW image I open in Photoshop (with ACR) appears extremely dark—much darker than the original image as seen on the camera or in other tools. Is anyone familiar with this phenomenon? Any ideas? The camera is a Nikon Z9.
 
nathany said:
I have purchased a new desktop PC (Windows 11). Every RAW image I open in Photoshop (with ACR) appears extremely dark—much darker than the original image as seen on the camera or in other tools. Is anyone familiar with this phenomenon? Any ideas? The camera is a Nikon Z9.
Click to expand...
A lot of things can influence this. Is your monitor calibrated? What is the monitor brightness level? What is the brightness level of the LCD in the camera?

Please post samples with the histogram showing in ACR.
 
First thing to do is calibrate your monitor.

One that will help is the Datacolor Spyder Essential Colorimeter.
 
Ken Seals said:
nathany said:
I have purchased a new desktop PC (Windows 11). Every RAW image I open in Photoshop (with ACR) appears extremely dark—much darker than the original image as seen on the camera or in other tools. Is anyone familiar with this phenomenon? Any ideas? The camera is a Nikon Z9.
Click to expand...
A lot of things can influence this. Is your monitor calibrated? What is the monitor brightness level? What is the brightness level of the LCD in the camera?

Please post samples with the histogram showing in ACR.
Click to expand...
Additionally, a note when you're looking at the back of the camera is you're seeing the jpg preview. When you import the raw, you're seeing the actual raw file.

Examples are the only way to provide assistance though.
 
nathany said:
I have purchased a new desktop PC (Windows 11). Every RAW image I open in Photoshop (with ACR) appears extremely dark—much darker than the original image as seen on the camera or in other tools. Is anyone familiar with this phenomenon? Any ideas? The camera is a Nikon Z9.
Click to expand...
Does a JPG from the Z9 display dark as well?

Do images on the internet look about the correct brightness?

--
Photos at http://inasphere.com
 
Last edited:
nathany said:
I have purchased a new desktop PC (Windows 11). Every RAW image I open in Photoshop (with ACR) appears extremely dark—much darker than the original image as seen on the camera or in other tools. Is anyone familiar with this phenomenon? Any ideas? The camera is a Nikon Z9.
Click to expand...
Do your NEFs look normal if you open them in Nikon's NX Studio?
 
Last edited:
nathany said:
I have purchased a new desktop PC (Windows 11). Every RAW image I open in Photoshop (with ACR) appears extremely dark—much darker than the original image as seen on the camera or in other tools. Is anyone familiar with this phenomenon? Any ideas? The camera is a Nikon Z9.
Click to expand...
Another thing that can ccause this is if you turned on Active D-Lighting in the camera, then the RAWs will be darker if you are using non-Nikon software.

--
Paige Miller
 
Last edited:
Why don't you use another RAW converter.

RAWTherapee is free.

FWIW I have shot RAW since 2003 and have never seen an unconverted RAW image match the inbuilt jpg.
 
SecondTimeAround said:
nathany said:
I have purchased a new desktop PC (Windows 11). Every RAW image I open in Photoshop (with ACR) appears extremely dark—much darker than the original image as seen on the camera or in other tools. Is anyone familiar with this phenomenon? Any ideas? The camera is a Nikon Z9.
Click to expand...
Do your NEFs look normal if you open them in Nikon's NX Studio?
Click to expand...
NX STUDIO is your best first option . . . allows you to see what NIKON software does with the image and also to an extent adjust some of the camera settings the image was captured with . . . and it is free!!!

Good luck with your quest!

Best,

V G
 
Dear Community Members,

I have reviewed your valuable remarks, observations, and conclusions:
  1. I am using a new computer – this issue did not occur on the previous one.
  2. The photos appear perfect on the camera.
  3. The photos appear perfect in FastStone.
  4. Adobe Camera Raw displays the images as very dark.
  5. NX Studio also displays the images correctly.
Therefore, I wonder which Photoshop setting might be causing this issue, as I assume the PC hardware has no impact.

Thank you,

Nathan
 
Have you tried resetting PS preferences?

--
Regards,
Nikon Z 9, Z 8, 14mm-800mm + Z 1.4TC.
Computer Win 11 Pro, I7-14700K, 64GB, RTX3070TI. Travel machine: 2021 MacBook Pro M1 MAX 64GB. All Adobe apps.
FAA Remote Pilot Certificate, ATP ASMEL
Mizzou PJ '66 - Amateur Radio K6KT
www.kenseals.com
 
Last edited:
nathany said:
I have purchased a new desktop PC (Windows 11). Every RAW image I open in Photoshop (with ACR) appears extremely dark—much darker than the original image as seen on the camera or in other tools. Is anyone familiar with this phenomenon? Any ideas? The camera is a Nikon Z9.
Click to expand...
Are your old images, ones that you already edited with Adobe Camera Raw also showing up dark or is it just new images that you've taken since purchasing the new PC?

If it's only new images, then it could be that your defaults aren't set properly in the new installation. The xmp files for the camera defaults (which you or someone on your behalf had to create) are stored in C:\Users\<<YOUR_USER_NAME>>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings\

I just upgraded to a new PC myself and had to move these files from the old PC to the new one and then reset the the defaults. I can walk you through the process if you had them set up in the past.

If it's the old photos, make sure you copied over the .xmp and .acr files when you moved the photos to the new PC. I can't imagine you didn't just copy the whole folders, but I thought I'd mention it.
 
nathany said:
Dear Community Members,

I have reviewed your valuable remarks, observations, and conclusions:
  1. I am using a new computer – this issue did not occur on the previous one.
  2. The photos appear perfect on the camera.
  3. The photos appear perfect in FastStone.
  4. Adobe Camera Raw displays the images as very dark.
  5. NX Studio also displays the images correctly.
Therefore, I wonder which Photoshop setting might be causing this issue, as I assume the PC hardware has no impact.

Thank you,

Nathan
Click to expand...
n

Some AI suggestions . . .

Images may appear darker in Photoshop due to several reasons, including incorrect monitor profiles, issues with color management settings, or incorrect adjustments made within the software. Addressing these issues can often resolve the problem.
Troubleshooting Steps:
  1. 1. Verify Monitor Profile:
    • A defective or incorrect monitor profile can lead to color discrepancies.
    • Use a colorimeter or profile creator to create a new profile for your monitor, or use a standard profile like sRGB IEC 61966-2.1 temporarily.
    • Ensure your operating system (OS) is using the correct monitor profile, as it can be overwritten by OS updates.
  2. 2. Check Color Settings in Photoshop:
    • Reset Photoshop's color settings to their default values.
    • Ensure the "Color Settings" are set to "Preserve Embedded Profiles" in the "Policies" tab.
    • Avoid changing "Monitor Color" settings.
  3. 3. Color Management Issues:
    • If the image appears dark when exported, ensure the color space is set to sRGB and the sRGB profile is embedded.
    • If you are sending the image to someone else, make sure they are using a color-managed application that can interpret the embedded color profile.
  4. 4. Adjustments within Photoshop:
    • Use the "Brightness/Contrast" adjustment layer or Camera Raw filter to brighten the image.
    • If the image looks too dark after resizing, try using the "Bicubic Sharper" resampling method in the "Image Size" tool.
Additional Tips:
  • Test with Proof Colors:If Photoshop's display looks too dark, try using "Proof Colors" to see how the image will appear when printed.
  • Update Photoshop:Ensure you have the latest version of Photoshop to take advantage of bug fixes and performance improvements.
  • Consider a Color Managed Viewer:If the image looks correct in Photoshop but dark in other applications, try using a color-managed image viewer.
Good luck with your quest!

Best,

V G
 
nathany said:
Dear Community Members,

I have reviewed your valuable remarks, observations, and conclusions:
  1. I am using a new computer – this issue did not occur on the previous one.
  2. The photos appear perfect on the camera.
  3. The photos appear perfect in FastStone.
  4. Adobe Camera Raw displays the images as very dark.
  5. NX Studio also displays the images correctly.
Therefore, I wonder which Photoshop setting might be causing this issue, as I assume the PC hardware has no impact.

Thank you,

Nathan
Click to expand...
This has all the symptoms of D-Lighting being turned on in the camera. Please check to see if you have turned on D-Lighting in the camera. This can cause problems for ACR but which are not problems for other software or the camera.

Please check to make sure this feature is off. Do not say "I never use it", this is not what I am asking you to do. I am asking you to visually check the camera setting.

--
Paige Miller
 
Last edited:
It feels like you are right. Would be happy with a walkthrough :-)...
 
nathany said:
It feels like you are right. Would be happy with a walkthrough :-)...
Click to expand...
I'm guessing that you're saying I was right about new images being dark...I've made a couple off assumptions - first that you're viewing images in Bridge, and that's where they appear dark straight out of the camera, and second that you're using Adobe Camera Raw not just as a filter in Photoshop, but as your raw processor... If both of those are correct, then here goes:
  1. Ensure that you're not using a default that's casing the issues: Open the Adobe Camera Raw Preferences, from the Edit Menu in Bridge or the gear icon in ACR. Go to the Defaults section and check that there are no settings connected to your camera. If there are, those settings may be causing the darkness, I would check this first...if no defaults are enabled here, proceed.
  2. To set the defaults for this particular camera, open an average image that has NO ADJUSTMENTS. (Average image meaning a typical photo that is representative of the camera, not one that was taken in an overly dark or bright place, not one that was over or under exposed, not a problem image, but a basic image that is representative of this camera.)
  3. Do the baseline adjustments that you want, if *all* images require an Exposure bump, then bump Exposure to where feel it will make all images look satisfactory. Don't go overboard as this will be applied to everything.
  4. Make any other baseline settings you want. For example, I set my Vignette to -10, I set my sharpening, and I set my Optics to Remove Chromatic Aberration, and Use Profile Corrections (setup:Auto). I don't feel my camera requires an exposure bump, so none was added at this step.
  5. When you have what you want, click to the "..." tool on the right-hand side of ACR's window (below the Presets Icon). Select "Save Settings".
  6. A new window appears with which settings to save, select "All" from the Subset drop-down menu at the top, then click "Save..."
  7. Make sure that you are saving in
    C:\Users\<<UserName>>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings
  8. Give the file a name you will understand at a later date, like "Canon 5D MkIII.xmp" or "Sony a7RV.xmp". More important if you shoot different cameras, or have images from multiple cameras.
  9. Open the Adobe Camera Raw preferences again, from inside ACR, with the image open. You must have a raw image from the particular camera you are setting defaults open in this step.
  10. Click on Defaults on the left, then under Raw Defaults select the "Override global settings for specific cameras" check-box. The camera that took the open image will appear in the "Available Cameras" box.
  11. You can now select the default you want to use. Click on the drop-down menu to the right of the available camera and navigate the (very confusing) list to:
    "Choose Preset -> User Presets -> PresetYouJustSaved
  12. Click "Create Default" - The new default should now show up in the list.
  13. Click OK a until you're back to your image, close ACR, and watch Adobe Bridge build new previews, based on the new default, for all images that had no settings. (If an image was already edited, nothing will happen to that image, this will only affect new images, taken by this particular camera, on import.)
That's it, it's not complicated, but I'm not sure what you already know so I tried to be verbose. Lemme know if that works out.

By the way, if you're not viewing in Bridge and just opening in Photoshop to use ACR as a plugin, the settings in ACR's Defaults section are still used. So, even if my assumptions were wrong, you probably want to check the ACR Defaults to ensure you don't have a default set accidentally set or that you're not just missing a Raw Default that will help.
 
Thank you for taking the time to provide such a thorough and thoughtful answer. I truly appreciate it!

The thing is, my old computer (which is still connected) opens everything perfectly. I wish I knew what’s causing the issue. Creating a workaround would mean accepting this phenomenon — and I’m not willing to accept it :-)
So, I’ll keep searching for a resolution...
 
nathany said:
The thing is, my old computer (which is still connected) opens everything perfectly.
Click to expand...
You could have a look in C:\Users\<<UserName>>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings on the old computer and see if there were any saved presets. If there are, copy them to the new computer and then just follow the steps I gave to select the preset.

Like I said, my thought was (and still is) that something is brightening files on the old computer, since it's still running, have a look in that folder and also open the Camera Raw Settings on the computer to see if there's anything set...maybe you set one of the many Adobe provided presets as your default.
 
The camera also presents it properly...
 
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